The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) on Netflix
Jesus of Nazareth, a carpenter in Roman-ruled Judea, is torn between his own wants and what God asks of him. Judas is ordered to kill him for working with the Romans.
- Netflix3.4/5
- IMDb7.5/1068,985 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes82%
Trailer
Plot summary
Jesus of Nazareth builds crosses for the Roman occupiers of Judea, a trade that shames him, while he hears a call from God he cannot ignore. Judas Iscariot, his friend, is sent to kill him over this collaboration, but Judas comes to believe Jesus may be the Messiah and asks him instead to lead a war of liberation against Rome. Jesus answers that his message is love, not violence. After he rescues Mary Magdalene, a prostitute, from being stoned, he begins to preach. Disciples gather around him, some of them hoping to throw off Roman rule, while he keeps telling them that the spirit matters more. John the Baptist baptizes him, and he goes out into the wilderness, where Satan tempts him.
Cast
- Michael Beenas John, Apostle
Show all 20 cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- On 22 October 1988 an Integralist Catholic group set fire to the Saint Michel cinema in Paris while it was showing the film. The incendiary device, a charge of potassium chlorate triggered by a vial of sulfuric acid, injured thirteen people, four of them severely burned, and severely damaged the cinema.
- On The Joe Rogan Experience in January 2025, Mel Gibson revealed that Scorsese had asked him to play Jesus and that he answered: “Wow. I'm not doing that.” In his memoir Eric Roberts wrote that he too was offered the part, turned it down after advice from his manager, and alleges Scorsese holds a grudge.
- A protest organized by a religious Californian radio station gathered 600 people to picket the headquarters of Universal's then parent company MCA, and one protester dressed up as MCA chairman Lew Wasserman and pretended to drive nails through Jesus' hands. Evangelist Bill Bright offered to buy the film's negative in order to destroy it.
- The film was banned or censored for several years in Greece, South Africa, Turkey, Mexico, Chile and Argentina, and as of February 2024 remained banned in the Philippines and Singapore. In 2020 Netflix revealed it as one of five titles removed from the Singapore version of Netflix at the government's demand.
- The crucifixion was shot over three days using sixty different camera setups, and filming was difficult because Willem Dafoe could only stay on the cross for two to three minutes.
- Production started at Paramount Pictures in 1983 with a budget of $15-20 million, and the original cast had Aidan Quinn as Jesus and Sting as Pontius Pilate.
- Barbara Hershey rejected the use of a body double in her sex scenes, saying: “I knew if I did the scene, I'd really feel like a whore.”
