Passion: Peter Gabriel

After I saw Martin Scorsese's film The Last Temptation Of Christ, people asked me if the movie was any good. I said 'no, but the soundtrack was great'. I didn't know it was by Peter Gabriel due to all the controversial hype the movie received at that time and I didn't pay attention to the movie credits!

Never seen the movie.  Love the OST!

One of the two PG albums I like from beginning to end. 

It's the best thing Peter Gabriel ever did.

Not really my kind of music, but it's cool for a soundtrack. With competition like Jesus Christ Superstar, the film looks like a rather poor modern take on Jesus.

Edited by Friday13th - December 17 2014 at 15:44

SteveG wrote: Friday13th wrote: Not really my kind of music, but it's cool for a soundtrack. With competition like Jesus Christ Superstar, the film looks like a rather poor modern take on Jesus. I can definitely understand someone not liking this type of music. The book this movie is based on, Nikos Kazantzakis' The Last Temptation of Christ, is an existential almost mystical novel that did not translate well to the movie, IMHO.   Its' not an easy read, but it is a superb work of fiction.

Your know, it's strange. I thought it translated very well to the movie. I also found it an incredibly moving story, both written and screen. The idea that Christ could be tempted, and fallible, as the rest of us mere mortals, but, when confronted with the outcome, fulfilled His destiny and climbed back on the cross and died an agonising death. I have always found that a staggeringly astounding piece of religious theatre, and, btw, made an absolute mockery of the so called religious fundamentalists who objected at the time to the idea that Christ might have had.....gasp.....had a girl. That was never the point. The point was the fact that he made the ultimate sacrifice, and it really was an incredible piece of homage to the idea of Christ the Redeemer.

I also thought, given that this is a music thread, that Gabriel's music really brought it all to life, but certainly more in the album than the film itself. The album is almost a screenplay in its own right, with the concept and execution of a distant past and violent time starkly given life in a modern context.

lazland wrote: SteveG wrote: Friday13th wrote: Not really my kind of music, but it's cool for a soundtrack. With competition like Jesus Christ Superstar, the film looks like a rather poor modern take on Jesus. I can definitely understand someone not liking this type of music. The book this movie is based on, Nikos Kazantzakis' The Last Temptation of Christ, is an existential almost mystical novel that did not translate well to the movie, IMHO.   Its' not an easy read, but it is a superb work of fiction. Your know, it's strange. I thought it translated very well to the movie. I also found it an incredibly moving story, both written and screen. The idea that Christ could be tempted, and fallible, as the rest of us mere mortals, but, when confronted with the outcome, fulfilled His destiny and climbed back on the cross and died an agonising death. I have always found that a staggeringly astounding piece of religious theatre, and, btw, made an absolute mockery of the so called religious fundamentalists who objected at the time to the idea that Christ might have had.....gasp.....had a girl. That was never the point. The point was the fact that he made the ultimate sacrifice, and it really was an incredible piece of homage to the idea of Christ the Redeemer. I also thought, given that this is a music thread, that Gabriel's music really brought it all to life, but certainly more in the album than the film itself. The album is almost a screenplay in its own right, with the concept and execution of a distant past and violent time starkly given life in a modern context.

In truth Laz, it's been some twenty something years since I saw the movie and I held Kazantzakis' work in such high regard, particularly The Last Temptation, that I might have gone to see the film with blinders on. As I said, I love the soundtrack and the novel, so I think it's a good idea for me to have another look at the movie with a more open mind this time around. Thank you for your feedback.

Friday13th wrote: Not really my kind of music, but it's cool for a soundtrack. With competition like Jesus Christ Superstar, the film looks like a rather poor modern take on Jesus.

Sadly, this is a very bad representation and understanding of the issues regarding "history" and "fiction" and the very bad "translations" of many books, now available after having been hidden for over 1500 years!

The version that you are familiar with, is probably the most poetic of all ... but being a fan of "progressive" music, you can not accept that there is different music, different words and different ideas elsewhere out there in the world, and you think that your God is right and everyone else's God is wrong! It's a shame that you can not read the original book, because you are too ingraned in the bad translation of another book, in order to even appreciate a different point of view.

The church's point of view was a story decided in a conclave 300 years after the man was done. Thus, any idea that a real man existed (which would be very important for you to believe in yourself instead of a book and idea or a very graven image!), is not possible and people continually stick to an idea, and not anything that might have some truth in it.

Folks do the same thing here about "progressive music" ... it doesn't exist anywhere else in the world, especially in the earlier days! It's much more alive today than it was 40 years ago ... and the truth is ... it was alive everywhere before and after and always will be! But the truth can't be denied, and that is the main reason why a board like this has survived so long!

Being a soundtrack, it's not quite as well-rounded without the film, but the music itself is great. More world-y than his earlier records, so obviously I don't like it as much as his arty, cult albums (i.e. Scratch, Melt, and So). I've never seen the film completely, just snippets, but I imagine it would come together more working with the images/as background music.

Nothing about the music or the images are period correct.  It's a work of fiction both on record and the big screen.

That being said, it's a soundtrack.  One of the most listenable soundtracks I have ever heard apart from the film.  The music could stand alone without further imagery or explanation.

I loved the film, the soundtrack and how they worked together.  It was a three way win, for Martin, for Peter and all who enjoyed the film for what it was.