The Last Temptation of Christ

1988 2h 44m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

🍅

82%

FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.5

IMDB

★7.2TMDB · 1,243🍅82%Rotten Tomatoes●80Metacritic★7.5IMDB · 66,884

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Jesus, a humble Judean carpenter beginning to see that he is the son of God, is drawn into revolutionary action against the Roman occupiers by Judas -- despite his protestations that love, not violence, is the path to salvation. The burden of being the savior of mankind torments Jesus throughout his life, leading him to doubt.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Willem Dafoe
Jesus
Harvey Keitel
Judas
Paul Greco
Zealot
Steve Shill
Centurian
Verna Bloom
Mary, Mother of Jesus
Barbara Hershey
Mary Magdalene
Roberts Blossom
Aged Master
Barry Miller
Jeroboam

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Paul Schrader
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America, Canada

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 164 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.8× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

38 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Canada.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Martin Scorsese, shot by Michael Ballhaus. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Peter Gabriel. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Thelma Schoonmaker shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Willem Dafoe and Harvey Keitel and Paul Greco carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Martin Scorsese directs. Michael Ballhaus behind the camera. Peter Gabriel scores. Thelma Schoonmaker cuts. A long sit — settle in. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America, Canada. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 164 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2Made its money back 4.8× over at the box office.
338 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Canada.
5Directed by Martin Scorsese, shot by Michael Ballhaus. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Peter Gabriel. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Thelma Schoonmaker shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Willem Dafoe and Harvey Keitel and Paul Greco carry the top of the cast.
9IMDB entry: tt0095497 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 14 themes, including "christianity", "traitor", "roman", "crucifixion".
11Released under 25 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Michael Ballhaus
Original score: Peter Gabriel
Editing: Thelma Schoonmaker
Production design: John Beard
Costume design: Jean-Pierre Delifer
Makeup / hair: Manlio Rocchetti
Sound: Tom Fleischman
Runtime: 164 min · 2h 44m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $7,000,000
Box office: $33,773,585
Return: 482% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
Rotten Tomatoes: 82% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 80/100
IMDB rating: 7.5/10 · 66,884 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 2 wins & 7 nominations total

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Martin Scorsese

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-08-20
★ 7/10
I come to this film as a bit of an agnostic, and so I rather appreciated the innovative take on the biblical events surrounding the life of Jesus Christ. It's an excellent Willem Dafoe who takes on that role as he roams the land of Palestine trying to spread a message of love. It's clear at the start that this is not Gospel-based, and that becomes evident as his closest ally is the sceptic "Judas" (Harvey Keitel) and by the fact that he makes a living making the cross-beams for the crucifixion crosses that the Romans use to execute his fellow citizens. As the story evolves, we are introduced to the characters who ended up being his apostles and we uncover more of a man who is constantly facing temptation - of the spirit and of the flesh - at the hands of a father who seems determined to test the very fabric of his son's essence. It largely follows the well trammelled path of previous "King of Kings" style chronologies but there are plenty of variations in the detail of the characterisations and some of the more memorable quotations and "miracles" are adapted. That doesn't always work and many of the most significant phrases from Christian literature are delivered a little underwhelmingly. A bit like saying "Alas poor Yorick - he used to be a mate of mine..." sort of thing, and that's where it feels a little uncomfortably akin to "Life of Brian" (1979). It's the last forty minutes that offers us much of the potency of the film (and it's title) and that's where the story becomes much more provocative - both intellectually and physically. In hindsight, given the way the life of Jesus is continually depicted as having/living, this offers us a perfectly rational continuation of his forty day ordeal in the desert and it also imbues the man with an innate degree of humanity and frailty that I found touching and plausible. It also quite openly postulates that "God" might be vengeful, might not be this benign entity and that perhaps deities in general are a creation of mankind's necessity for hierarchy and search for an understanding of the inexplicable rather than evidentially based on some miraculously benevolent being whose love of his children (us) is boundless. Barbara Hershey provides an emotionally engaging performance as the prostitute Mary Magdalene and there's the odd laugh in here too (especially if you are named Judith) to temper the accruing intensity of the story. I didn't really love the photography, and the occasional use of slo-motion seemed a bit incongruous, but that's nit picking. It's thought-provoking regardless of whether or not you have a religious frame of mind, and though a little on the slow side out of the starting gates, matures into something that challenges established and contrary perspectives and is well worth a watch.

Production companies