Here's the surprisingly intimate scene between Pontius Pilate (David Bowie) and Jesus Christ(Willem DeFoe) from the film based on the 1961 novel by Nikos Kazantzakis. Both book and later film stirred up a storm of controversy. Scorsese's work was protested vehemently by some Catholic groups and a number of evangelical Christian organizations ,such as James Dodson's far-far right "Focus on the Family". The protests and the anonymous threats against those involved with the film put a decided chill on Hollywood making anything in a the way of a challenging religious film for some time.
You will notice Jesus remarks, which are consistent with the gospel accounts, make no political claim whatsoever. Pilate gets Jesus' worldview wrong--sees him as a politician, a dubious designation then and now-- and then the Roman realizes how truly revolutionary this little colonial trouble-maker really is.
They are two men are at complete odds in values from one another.
Traditionally after this encounter, Jesus will be whipped, then mocked by occupying Roman soldiers as "King of the Jews". The Pulitzer-Prize winning historian and Catholic Gary Wills in his book "What Jesus Meant" (2006) points out something ironic and telling about the brutal and shameless mock-coronation that the gospel accounts report Jesus was given by the soldiers and future events :
"the clothing of Jesus in spurious emblems of temporal authority, has been repeated down through the centuries by people claiming to be Christ's followers... Christian emperors did it,both in the East and the West. The Popes did it. The divine -right kings. Now some evangelical Christians do it. All have dressed Jesus in borrowed political robes. They will not listen to the gospels, where Jesus clearly says that his reign is not in the present order of things. The political power they claim to exercise in his name is a parody...like the mock robe and crown put on him by the Roman soldiers. These purported worshipers of Jesus are doing the work of Pontius Pilate. Jesus, born on the run from power, is still hunted by it."
Good point! But this also proves that we don't need to expect the modern times of secularization to see that in some circumstances religious statements/claims is also politics. Either way Pilate was right.
ReplyDeleteWe Catholics don't look up to Jesus as a political figure but a spiritual savior whose Kingdom not on earth but in Heaven.
ReplyDeleteThe historical chance of Christianity was that eventually it merged with the realm of politics, being embraced by the Roman emperors. Their reasons weren't exclusively spiritual. Without that one couldn't possibly speak today as Catholics (or Protestants, or Orthodox, etc.) ;)
ReplyDeleteI think all representations of this story are political Doug. I have to say that in this clip which is all I have seen of this film I didn't find either Bowie or DeFoe convincing in the roles they were playing.
ReplyDeleteI have an image very much at odds with this interpretation derived from Mikhail Bulgakov's brilliant politcal satire (and magical realism) on Stalinist Russia the Master and Margarita. His description of the encounter between Pontius Pilate and Jesus Christ is much darker than this and to me at least more understandable.
I'd be interested to know your view of this Russian television film clip Doug, I love it myself, but it is still not how I imagined the scene when I read the book, although it is the closest I could find on Youtube.
aaranaardvark, where did the scriptwriter get his materials for the dialogue in the video? They're not in the Bible.
ReplyDeleteThe Master and Margarita carldecs
ReplyDeleteHow did I ever get to miss David Bowie as Pontius Pilate?! Such an odd casting.
ReplyDeleteTrue jus. A revolution in the way people think can be even more dangerous the long run than the violent long-shot rebellions all empires come to face at some point. Thanks for you comments.
ReplyDeleteAs I think many Christians like myself and of my acquaintance do, Carlos. I think rather it is the leaders of some sections of the faith who skew the figure of Christ to justify a hierarchical structure they wasn't present in His own ministry. "The first shall be last and the last shall be the first" doesn't always get through to many leaders, especially those who use their piety as a backdrop for political ambitions.
ReplyDeletePilate saw no political aim in Jesus' works. He did not consider Jesus as one who would usurp his throne. He did not see any threat from Jesus. He was rather afraid to lose his job if he should set Jesus free because he would be reported to his superiors.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I suppose the great question is how much was Christianity's primary messages of love (agape), faith and caring compromised after the Fouth Century of the Common Era by the bureaucratic centralzation of those emperors of Rome, Byzantium, Ravenna, et al.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, I can't argue with that, AA. Man is a political animal as Aristotle said--as all humanity is---and you can't teach anything that gathers a following without shaking something politcal down up on your head, as I'm sure you're more than aware.
ReplyDeleteThe three clips I viewed of the interrogation were indeed relvelatory.To me, one thing Bulgakov seems to be saying that it is one thing to call upon the overthrow of an authority, but why not take the next step and put an end to --and privledges--of Authority itself? I thought it amusing that Jesus throws out the "What is Truth?" question to Pilate for a change. In the end the Procurator can only be comfortable believing that the threatening figureheads (warlike or peaceful, like this Jesus) must be stopped because they purpose to throw Tiberius Caesar and bring forth a new boss with new procurators to judge the next brand of threat. But to call on a break in such a long and bloody cycle! Now that is revolutionary.
Thanks for adding the "Messiah and the Margarita" to the mix!
I totally agree. Pilate himself was probably just trying to get through this, to him, bizarre Passover festival, with a clean record. He had already run into problems in dealing with pressing Rome's authority without losing honor or triggering a full-scale revolt.
ReplyDeleteI believe he was eventually recalled by Rome, but some years after the gospel events.
lol Yes, Iri Ani, Ziggy Stardust was "The Man" in Jerusalem, 30 AD.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, Martin Scorsese was set on casting a rock star for this part. The reason for that is not appparent in Bowie's performance, although I like the setting for the encounter and the script despite the odd casting. Scorsese does like making documentaries on rock and blues stars, to his credit in most cases.
I remember reading the director had originally cast Sting as Pilate(?!), but perhaps he flunked the screen test. I guess if Bowie wasn't ready to accept the role , Elvis Costello was somewhere in the wings.:-)
The Lloyd/Webber version with everyone singing worked for me - I always liked Pilate's "walk across my swimming pool" line for some reason hehe
ReplyDeleteI love David Bowie, whom I ran into as a young runaway on a Hollywood street corner. Such a character and fine musician, as well as a true radical, contradicting our labels of him as soon as we try. William DeFoe makes the faux pas of being gorgeous. Jesus was a Jew, and I'm not saying that Jewish men aren't gorgeous, not at all. But I can't get past DeFoe's very Anglican handsomeness, as I'm a Celt myself...and panting - LOL.
ReplyDeleteI joined Ransomedheart.nl because a girlfriend I grew up with has asked me several times to do so. I almost deleted my account too. Then I decided to write 'Shopping Mall Jesus' (http://www.ransomedheart.net/profiles/blogs/shopping-mall-jesus), noticing that there are some uniquely creative intellects on the site as well as the rest who can't seem to breathe out one word without the next having a 'praise the Lord', 'God bless' added to it. I'm not knocking these people. Who am I after all? But, frankly, they annoy me.
As for Bulgakov (Master and Margarita), he was a political screenwriter oppressed by Communism. All artists of those days did things 'in the closet', so to speak, meaning that they had to say their piece in various guises. The Master meeting Pilate was symbolic of Russia's two headed eagle, where a nation fiercely protective of its heritage was bought out by a passionate desire to revolutionise as had been done in the West. My most favourite modern take on the theme has been seen in Stoppard's brilliantly crafted play 'Travesties'.
True enough.... it took Hollywood almost 20 years to catch up.
ReplyDeleteBowie is too young to play Pilate. He wasn't even made up to look older. This makes Pilate look like a contemporary of Jesus not an elderly official. Poor casting.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the real Pilate had a swimming pool installed somewhere--those Romans were big on aqueducts and bathing :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the real Pilate had a swimming pool installed somewhere--those Romans were big on aqueducts and bathing :-)
ReplyDeleteGlad you had such a positive experience with Bowie, Red Cat.
ReplyDeleteWell, thanks to you and Aaran I have a new author, Bulgakov, to look into. I can imagine Stoppard's take on the meeting of Jesus and Pilate would be both profound and hilarious.
Some Christian bloggers do seem to write in catch phrases. I, too, am in no position to judge but the repetitiveness of key phrases is distracting.
Since Pilate was pensioned off a few years after this, I gather he was an older man.
ReplyDeletelol I thought DeFoe was quite ugly, I found him quite off-putting.
ReplyDeletePut him down as another one of those darn Ugly Americans I guess ;-)
ReplyDelete