The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
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Wikidata Q646031, film, IMDb tt0095497, TMDB 11051: matched by corpus:resolve, told apart by the only film by that title; 7 more episodes agree.
What a model would be handed about it, for corpus:ask.
In the store as #153, The Last Temptation of Christ (1988).
Who talked about it
Blank Check with Griffin & David
- David Sims: 4 lines in The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie
- Jamelle Bouie: 3 lines in The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie
- Griffin Newman: 2 lines in The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie
- Unattributed: 34 lines, the speaker unknown or under 0.5 sure.
The Big Picture
- Unattributed: 1 line, the speaker unknown or under 0.5 sure.
The Rewatchables
- Sean Fennessey: 3 lines in ‘After Hours’ with Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey
- Bill Simmons: 1 line in ‘After Hours’ with Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey
- Unattributed: 2 lines, the speaker unknown or under 0.5 sure.
Came from
What the speakers say it drew on. Each is a speaker's account: “the maker said so” when they report the maker's own words, “the host's read” when the read is theirs.
Barbara Hershey: 1 line the host's read ×1
-
lineage (origin of project):
Barbara Hershey ⇒ The Last Temptation of Christ (the host's read).
Hershey also planted the book in Scorsese's head and told him to let her audition as Mary Magdalene.
“But it's planted in his head by her.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:44:30 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
Ben-Hur: 1 line the host's read ×1
-
unmapped (accent convention):
Ben-Hur ⇒ The Last Temptation of Christ (the host's read).
Scorsese made the Romans British, as in Ben-Hur, with everyone else American.
“He said the big thing was to give let the Romans be British.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:02:57 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
Boxcar Bertha: 1 line the maker said so ×1
-
unmapped (production method):
Boxcar Bertha ⇒ The Last Temptation of Christ (the maker said so).
Scorsese's Corman-style Boxcar Bertha experience let him storyboard and time every shot to make Last Temptation cheaply.
“I never would have been able to make this movie if I didn't have my Corman background and experience a boxcar Bertha specifically”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:54:52 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
The Color of Money: 1 line the host's read ×1
-
career (career enabler):
The Color of Money ⇒ The Last Temptation of Christ (the host's read).
The paycheck-gig hit stabilizes Scorsese's career and makes Last Temptation and Goodfellas possible.
“Must admit though, it is the guarantor that allows him to immediately then make. Last temptation of Christ in Goodfellas.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Color of Money with Chris Ryan · 0:17:57 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
The Robe: 1 line the host's read ×1
-
lineage (influence):
The Robe ⇒ The Last Temptation of Christ (the host's read).
The Robe is the first Christ movie Scorsese remembers seeing.
“The 1st Christ movie he remembers seeing is the robe.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:45:07 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
Led to
What the speakers say drew on it, marked the same way.
After Hours: 3 lines the maker said so ×2 the host's read ×1
-
career (personal projection):
The Last Temptation of Christ ⇒ After Hours (the maker said so: Scorsese quoted in an oral history).
Scorsese worked Kafka's Before the Law into the club doorman scene to reflect his frustration over Last Temptation.
“inspired by Franz Kafka's before the law. And Scorsese said the short story reflected his frustration toward the production of the Last Temptation of Christ.”
The Rewatchables · ‘After Hours’ with Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey · 1:23:31 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
Cape Fear: 1 line the host's read ×1
-
industry (business deal):
The Last Temptation of Christ ⇒ Cape Fear (the host's read).
Universal's deal to make Last Temptation obliged a bigger film later, resulting in the Spielberg swap and Cape Fear.
“it gets fear is a direct result of his deal with Universal for this month.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 2:00:50 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
Connected to
After Hours: 4 lines career ×2 unmapped ×2
-
unmapped (sliding door):
The Last Temptation of Christ → After Hours.
Paramount cancelling Last Temptation sent Scorsese to a small fast job; one of movie history's sliding doors.
“it is one of the massive sliding doors in movie history because him not making it leads to him making this movie”
The Rewatchables · ‘After Hours’ with Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey · 0:17:03 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)
Kundun: 3 lines unmapped ×3
-
unmapped (slower religious cut):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Kundun.
Scorsese's religious movies are slower and more painterly than the fast style of After Hours.
“His religious movies are more slower paced and more painterly, I would say.”
The Rewatchables · ‘After Hours’ with Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey · 0:23:46 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
Ben-Hur: 2 lines contrast ×1 unmapped ×1
-
contrast (genre contrast):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Ben-Hur.
Biblical epics already existed in public mind in the 60s, so a Last Temptation would have drawn less ire then than in the 80s.
“Precisely because the biblical epic already existed in like the public mind.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:53:23 · Jamelle Bouie (0.70 sure it was them)
Peter Gabriel: 2 lines lineage ×1 verdict ×1
-
verdict (verdict):
Peter Gabriel → The Last Temptation of Christ.
The host praises the Peter Gabriel soundtrack to the Scorsese film that was cancelled and later made.
“I really like the soundtrack. It is a good soundtrack. It's I was really cranking it in the late 80s.”
The Rewatchables · ‘After Hours’ with Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey · 0:16:39 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)
The Color of Money: 2 lines career ×2
-
career (career strategy):
The Last Temptation of Christ → The Color of Money.
The Color of Money was Scorsese showing he could work with stars and studios to make a hit.
“And then he makes color of money to be like, I can work with stars.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:51:14 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
Barbara Hershey: 1 line lineage ×1
-
lineage (origin of project):
Barbara Hershey → The Last Temptation of Christ.
Hershey also planted the book in Scorsese's head and told him to let her audition as Mary Magdalene.
“But it's planted in his head by her.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:44:30 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
Benedetta: 1 line unmapped ×1
-
unmapped (controversy):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Benedetta.
Protest against Benedetta was six nuns, showing religious outrage has faded since Last Temptation.
“it kind of shows that they just can't be bothered anymore.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:13:56 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
Blue Velvet: 1 line industry ×1
-
industry (Oscar oddity):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Blue Velvet.
Like Blue Velvet, it got just a director nomination and no picture nomination; list also includes Mulholland Drive and Short Cuts.
“Well, Blue velvet was the same thing.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 2:03:06 · Griffin Newman (0.30 sure it was them)
Boxcar Bertha: 1 line unmapped ×1
-
unmapped (production method):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Boxcar Bertha.
Scorsese's Corman-style Boxcar Bertha experience let him storyboard and time every shot to make Last Temptation cheaply.
“I never would have been able to make this movie if I didn't have my Corman background and experience a boxcar Bertha specifically”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:54:52 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
Cape Fear: 1 line industry ×1
-
industry (business deal):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Cape Fear.
Universal's deal to make Last Temptation obliged a bigger film later, resulting in the Spielberg swap and Cape Fear.
“it gets fear is a direct result of his deal with Universal for this month.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 2:00:50 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
Gangs of New York: 1 line industry ×1
-
industry (money):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Gangs of New York.
Last Temptation put Scorsese in debt until Cape Fear; Gangs put him back and The Departed got him out.
“He says the movie put him in debt and like he didn't come out of it until he made Cape Fear.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:59:52 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
Goodfellas: 1 line unmapped ×1
-
unmapped (follow-up):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Goodfellas.
Goodfellas was Scorsese's next film and likely overshadows Last Temptation.
“His follow-up is good, which is like, which probably just overshadows us as well”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 2:03:16 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
Graceland (album): 1 line craft ×1
-
craft (music/cultural moment):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Graceland (album).
Gabriel's score and Paul Simon's Graceland are late-80s world music breakthroughs.
“Yeah, I mean, along with like Graceland, right?”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:53:12 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
Ishtar: 1 line theme ×1
-
theme (shared locations):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Ishtar.
Per Miriam Bale, it shares many Moroccan locations with Ishtar, shot around the same time.
“Yes, it shares a lot of locations with Ishtar, which was made around the same time.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:07:01 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
It's a Wonderful Life: 1 line theme ×1
-
theme (scene echo):
The Last Temptation of Christ → It's a Wonderful Life.
Jesus dragging himself back to the cross after seeing the life he wasn't given plays like the wonderful-life reversal.
“also a very kind of like it's a wonderful life scene.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:50:06 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
Killers of the Flower Moon: 1 line unmapped ×1
-
unmapped (gothic abstraction):
Killers of the Flower Moon → The Last Temptation of Christ.
Ernest's poison-fever abstract sequence is the kind of artistic reach seen in Last Temptation or Silence.
“really Gothic abstract sequence that is very uncommon that you only really see in kind of like last temptation of Christ or silence.”
The Big Picture · ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Is Astounding · 1:02:00 · Amanda Dobbins (0.40 sure it was them)
Martin Scorsese: 1 line industry ×1
-
industry (industry):
Martin Scorsese → The Last Temptation of Christ.
Scorsese was trying to get Last Temptation of Christ made at the time he was offered this.
“He was trying to get last temptation of Christ made.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ With Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 1:03:24 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
Mean Streets: 1 line career ×1
-
career (career thread):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Mean Streets.
The Jesus figure runs through Scorsese's whole filmography back to Mean Streets.
“But what's like this Jesus is as central of this guy's entire filmography as anything?”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 2:18:50 · Jamelle Bouie (0.40 sure it was them)
New York, New York: 1 line craft ×1
-
craft (structural):
The Last Temptation of Christ → New York, New York.
Both run long stretches of repeated set pieces around a central pairing, then a final act turning inward, ending in a tragic blow; Last Temptation reads as a corrective.
“I think this movie is fascinatingly, structurally so similar to New York, New York.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:00:52 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
Robert Eggers: 1 line craft ×1
-
craft (aesthetic):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Robert Eggers.
Its depiction of the past as truly alien feels like Eggers's work.
“Feels very like Robert Iggers to me these days of like trying to take seriously the fact that the past is truly different”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:05:21 · Jamelle Bouie (0.70 sure it was them)
Satyricon: 1 line industry ×1
-
industry (Oscar oddity list):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Satyricon.
Collider's list of films with a lone director nomination includes Satyricon and Last Temptation.
“Collider says there are 7 movies.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 2:02:07 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
Silence: 1 line unmapped ×1
-
unmapped (trilogy):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Silence.
Silence completes the faith trilogy with Kundun.
“Because of course, because he makes Kundun in silence, he has this kind of loose trilogy about faith”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 2:01:54 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
Spider-Man: 1 line people ×1
-
people (actor persona):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Spider-Man.
Dafoe's cursed-villain/old-coot career is the through-line from Norman Osborn to Jesus.
“Wilm Defoe gets used so much now the last 25 years as a villain and or an old coot.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:02:53 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
Stan Brakhage: 1 line craft ×1
-
craft (craft):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Stan Brakhage.
A cameraman exposing the magazine too early burned the crucifixion-ending image into abstract flashing light, which a host likens to Brakhage.
“And that was because, and a cameraman exposed the magazine too early. Oh yeah. And it fucked up, you know, the film. But it's like Stan Brackett shit almost.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:50:46 · Griffin Newman (0.35 sure it was them)
Star Trek: The Next Generation, 'The Inner Light': 1 line theme ×1
-
theme (plot parallel):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Star Trek: The Next Generation, 'The Inner Light'.
Jesus lives a whole accelerated lifetime in a vision, like Picard living 50 years on a village.
“You can't not think of the inner light, the most famous episode of this of that show.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:43:14 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
The Odyssey: 1 line unmapped ×1
-
unmapped (language debate):
The Last Temptation of Christ → The Odyssey.
Modern vernacular dialogue in antiquity draws the same complaints as it did for Nolan's Odyssey.
“Nolan had this happen this year with the Odyssey where people are like, well, I don't understand.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:02:31 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
The Passion of the Christ: 1 line contrast ×1
-
contrast (contrast):
The Last Temptation of Christ → The Passion of the Christ.
A host prefers Scorsese's humble Jesus-at-work to Gibson's solemn first-chair invention.
“I prefer to the Mel Gibson passion of the Christ thing where Jesus makes, it seems like, is it the 1st chair in existence?”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:06:02 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
The Right Stuff: 1 line unmapped ×1
-
unmapped (industry cause):
The Right Stuff → The Last Temptation of Christ.
The Right Stuff's failure was the final blow to Paramount's appetite for Last Temptation-style hauteur.
“The right stuff comes out, the Irvin Winkler production, obviously. Another huge Phil Kaufman movie does so poorly. That is the final blow.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · After Hours with Alison Sivitz · 0:32:03 · unknown host (0.40 sure it was them)
The Robe: 1 line lineage ×1
-
lineage (influence):
The Last Temptation of Christ → The Robe.
The Robe is the first Christ movie Scorsese remembers seeing.
“The 1st Christ movie he remembers seeing is the robe.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:45:07 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
Tucker: The Man and His Dream: 1 line programming ×1
-
programming (passion-project pairing):
Tucker: The Man and His Dream → The Last Temptation of Christ.
Scorsese and Coppola released passion projects the same weekend.
“Just interesting that Marty and Francis on the same weekend released like passion projects”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 2:14:40 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
Verna Bloom: 1 line unmapped ×1
-
unmapped (last role):
Verna Bloom → The Last Temptation of Christ.
Bloom plays Mary in Last Temptation, which with After Hours are her last two films.
“Last temptation, which she plays, Jesus's mom, Mary, heard of her.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · After Hours with Alison Sivitz · 2:02:56 · unknown host (0.35 sure it was them)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit: 1 line industry ×1
-
industry (same box office week):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Roger Rabbit, Die Hard, Cocktail and others filled the box office the week Last Temptation opened at #13.
“The movie comes out August 12, 1988.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 2:03:26 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
Willem Dafoe: 1 line what-if ×1
-
what-if (what-if):
Willem Dafoe → The Last Temptation of Christ.
Dafoe was nearly Doc Holliday but Buena Vista balked over Last Temptation.
“we're not casting the guy who was... was in Last Temptation of Christ 5 years earlier.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Tombstone’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:41:38 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
X2: 1 line theme ×1
-
theme (creepy-child trope):
The Last Temptation of Christ → X2.
Judas recognizing the child angel as Satan is jokingly tied to creepy-girl villains in Resident Evil and X2's White Queen.
“Have you ever seen Resident Evil?”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:49:12 · Griffin Newman (0.30 sure it was them)
Where it came up
- subject in Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie, first at 0:00:01, 60 times
- compared in Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Color of Money with Chris Ryan, first at 0:18:02, 6 times
- anecdote in Blank Check with Griffin & David · After Hours with Alison Sivitz, first at 0:30:18, 8 times
- passing in Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raging Bull with David Krumholtz, first at 2:05:59, 2 times
- passing in Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park, first at 0:04:23, 1 time
- passing in The Rewatchables · ‘Species’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan, first at 1:17:38, 1 time
- anecdote in The Rewatchables · ‘After Hours’ with Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey, first at 0:15:17, 8 times
- compared in The Rewatchables · ‘The Color of Money’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey, first at 0:17:17, 1 time
- passing in The Rewatchables · ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ With Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan, first at 1:03:24, 1 time
- passing in The Rewatchables · ‘Tombstone’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan, first at 0:41:42, 2 times
- passing in The Big Picture · The 1990 Movie Draft, first at 0:28:03, 1 time
- compared in The Big Picture · ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Is Astounding, first at 1:00:16, 2 times
What was said about it, by kind
career (5)
-
career (career strategy):
The Last Temptation of Christ → After Hours.
After Hours was Scorsese proving he could make movies quickly and responsibly.
“he makes after hours, which is a great movie, but is obviously him being like, see, I can make movies quick.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:51:12 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them) -
career (career strategy):
The Last Temptation of Christ → The Color of Money.
The Color of Money was Scorsese showing he could work with stars and studios to make a hit.
“And then he makes color of money to be like, I can work with stars.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:51:14 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them) -
career (career thread):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Mean Streets.
The Jesus figure runs through Scorsese's whole filmography back to Mean Streets.
“But what's like this Jesus is as central of this guy's entire filmography as anything?”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 2:18:50 · Jamelle Bouie (0.40 sure it was them) -
career (career enabler):
The Color of Money → The Last Temptation of Christ.
The paycheck-gig hit stabilizes Scorsese's career and makes Last Temptation and Goodfellas possible.
“Must admit though, it is the guarantor that allows him to immediately then make. Last temptation of Christ in Goodfellas.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Color of Money with Chris Ryan · 0:17:57 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them) -
career (personal projection):
After Hours → The Last Temptation of Christ.
Scorsese worked Kafka's Before the Law into the club doorman scene to reflect his frustration over Last Temptation.
“inspired by Franz Kafka's before the law. And Scorsese said the short story reflected his frustration toward the production of the Last Temptation of Christ.”
The Rewatchables · ‘After Hours’ with Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey · 1:23:31 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
contrast (2)
-
contrast (contrast):
The Last Temptation of Christ → The Passion of the Christ.
A host prefers Scorsese's humble Jesus-at-work to Gibson's solemn first-chair invention.
“I prefer to the Mel Gibson passion of the Christ thing where Jesus makes, it seems like, is it the 1st chair in existence?”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:06:02 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them) -
contrast (genre contrast):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Ben-Hur.
Biblical epics already existed in public mind in the 60s, so a Last Temptation would have drawn less ire then than in the 80s.
“Precisely because the biblical epic already existed in like the public mind.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:53:23 · Jamelle Bouie (0.70 sure it was them)
craft (4)
-
craft (structural):
The Last Temptation of Christ → New York, New York.
Both run long stretches of repeated set pieces around a central pairing, then a final act turning inward, ending in a tragic blow; Last Temptation reads as a corrective.
“I think this movie is fascinatingly, structurally so similar to New York, New York.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:00:52 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them) -
craft (aesthetic):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Robert Eggers.
Its depiction of the past as truly alien feels like Eggers's work.
“Feels very like Robert Iggers to me these days of like trying to take seriously the fact that the past is truly different”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:05:21 · Jamelle Bouie (0.70 sure it was them) -
craft (craft):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Stan Brakhage.
A cameraman exposing the magazine too early burned the crucifixion-ending image into abstract flashing light, which a host likens to Brakhage.
“And that was because, and a cameraman exposed the magazine too early. Oh yeah. And it fucked up, you know, the film. But it's like Stan Brackett shit almost.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:50:46 · Griffin Newman (0.35 sure it was them) -
craft (music/cultural moment):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Graceland (album).
Gabriel's score and Paul Simon's Graceland are late-80s world music breakthroughs.
“Yeah, I mean, along with like Graceland, right?”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:53:12 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
industry (6)
-
industry (money):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Gangs of New York.
Last Temptation put Scorsese in debt until Cape Fear; Gangs put him back and The Departed got him out.
“He says the movie put him in debt and like he didn't come out of it until he made Cape Fear.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:59:52 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them) -
industry (business deal):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Cape Fear.
Universal's deal to make Last Temptation obliged a bigger film later, resulting in the Spielberg swap and Cape Fear.
“it gets fear is a direct result of his deal with Universal for this month.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 2:00:50 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them) -
industry (Oscar oddity list):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Satyricon.
Collider's list of films with a lone director nomination includes Satyricon and Last Temptation.
“Collider says there are 7 movies.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 2:02:07 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them) -
industry (Oscar oddity):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Blue Velvet.
Like Blue Velvet, it got just a director nomination and no picture nomination; list also includes Mulholland Drive and Short Cuts.
“Well, Blue velvet was the same thing.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 2:03:06 · Griffin Newman (0.30 sure it was them) -
industry (same box office week):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Roger Rabbit, Die Hard, Cocktail and others filled the box office the week Last Temptation opened at #13.
“The movie comes out August 12, 1988.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 2:03:26 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them) -
industry (industry):
Martin Scorsese → The Last Temptation of Christ.
Scorsese was trying to get Last Temptation of Christ made at the time he was offered this.
“He was trying to get last temptation of Christ made.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ With Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 1:03:24 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
lineage (3)
-
lineage (origin of project):
Barbara Hershey → The Last Temptation of Christ.
Hershey also planted the book in Scorsese's head and told him to let her audition as Mary Magdalene.
“But it's planted in his head by her.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:44:30 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them) -
lineage (influence):
The Last Temptation of Christ → The Robe.
The Robe is the first Christ movie Scorsese remembers seeing.
“The 1st Christ movie he remembers seeing is the robe.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:45:07 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them) -
lineage (influence):
Peter Gabriel → The Last Temptation of Christ.
Gabriel's score is claimed to shape how every Middle East-set film sounds.
“But like every movie set in the Middle East now sounds like this because of this score.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:52:21 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
people (1)
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people (actor persona):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Spider-Man.
Dafoe's cursed-villain/old-coot career is the through-line from Norman Osborn to Jesus.
“Wilm Defoe gets used so much now the last 25 years as a villain and or an old coot.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:02:53 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
programming (1)
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programming (passion-project pairing):
Tucker: The Man and His Dream → The Last Temptation of Christ.
Scorsese and Coppola released passion projects the same weekend.
“Just interesting that Marty and Francis on the same weekend released like passion projects”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 2:14:40 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
theme (4)
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theme (shared locations):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Ishtar.
Per Miriam Bale, it shares many Moroccan locations with Ishtar, shot around the same time.
“Yes, it shares a lot of locations with Ishtar, which was made around the same time.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:07:01 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them) -
theme (plot parallel):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Star Trek: The Next Generation, 'The Inner Light'.
Jesus lives a whole accelerated lifetime in a vision, like Picard living 50 years on a village.
“You can't not think of the inner light, the most famous episode of this of that show.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:43:14 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them) -
theme (creepy-child trope):
The Last Temptation of Christ → X2.
Judas recognizing the child angel as Satan is jokingly tied to creepy-girl villains in Resident Evil and X2's White Queen.
“Have you ever seen Resident Evil?”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:49:12 · Griffin Newman (0.30 sure it was them) -
theme (scene echo):
The Last Temptation of Christ → It's a Wonderful Life.
Jesus dragging himself back to the cross after seeing the life he wasn't given plays like the wonderful-life reversal.
“also a very kind of like it's a wonderful life scene.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:50:06 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
unmapped (14)
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unmapped (controversy):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Kundun.
Kundun, via Chinese government anger, is offered as a rival for Scorsese's most controversial film.
“If you're going by pure numbers, I guess you could go for Kundu”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:13:16 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them) -
unmapped (controversy):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Benedetta.
Protest against Benedetta was six nuns, showing religious outrage has faded since Last Temptation.
“it kind of shows that they just can't be bothered anymore.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:13:56 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them) -
unmapped (production method):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Boxcar Bertha.
Scorsese's Corman-style Boxcar Bertha experience let him storyboard and time every shot to make Last Temptation cheaply.
“I never would have been able to make this movie if I didn't have my Corman background and experience a boxcar Bertha specifically”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:54:52 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them) -
unmapped (language debate):
The Last Temptation of Christ → The Odyssey.
Modern vernacular dialogue in antiquity draws the same complaints as it did for Nolan's Odyssey.
“Nolan had this happen this year with the Odyssey where people are like, well, I don't understand.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:02:31 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them) -
unmapped (accent convention):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Ben-Hur.
Scorsese made the Romans British, as in Ben-Hur, with everyone else American.
“He said the big thing was to give let the Romans be British.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:02:57 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them) -
unmapped (trilogy):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Kundun.
Together with Silence, Kundun and Last Temptation form a loose trilogy about faith.
“he has this kind of loose trilogy about faith that is really funny.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 2:01:54 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them) -
unmapped (trilogy):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Silence.
Silence completes the faith trilogy with Kundun.
“Because of course, because he makes Kundun in silence, he has this kind of loose trilogy about faith”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 2:01:54 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them) -
unmapped (follow-up):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Goodfellas.
Goodfellas was Scorsese's next film and likely overshadows Last Temptation.
“His follow-up is good, which is like, which probably just overshadows us as well”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 2:03:16 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them) -
unmapped (industry cause):
The Right Stuff → The Last Temptation of Christ.
The Right Stuff's failure was the final blow to Paramount's appetite for Last Temptation-style hauteur.
“The right stuff comes out, the Irvin Winkler production, obviously. Another huge Phil Kaufman movie does so poorly. That is the final blow.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · After Hours with Alison Sivitz · 0:32:03 · unknown host (0.40 sure it was them) -
unmapped (cause):
The Last Temptation of Christ → After Hours.
After Paramount collapsed Last Temptation, Scorsese wanted a cheap, personal film; After Hours is his reaction to the Hollywood ordeal.
“it's a reaction against my year and a half into Hollywood trying to get last temptation to Christ made.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · After Hours with Alison Sivitz · 0:50:49 · unknown host (quoting Scorsese) (0.35 sure it was them) -
unmapped (last role):
Verna Bloom → The Last Temptation of Christ.
Bloom plays Mary in Last Temptation, which with After Hours are her last two films.
“Last temptation, which she plays, Jesus's mom, Mary, heard of her.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · After Hours with Alison Sivitz · 2:02:56 · unknown host (0.35 sure it was them) -
unmapped (sliding door):
The Last Temptation of Christ → After Hours.
Paramount cancelling Last Temptation sent Scorsese to a small fast job; one of movie history's sliding doors.
“it is one of the massive sliding doors in movie history because him not making it leads to him making this movie”
The Rewatchables · ‘After Hours’ with Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey · 0:17:03 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them) -
unmapped (slower religious cut):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Kundun.
Scorsese's religious movies are slower and more painterly than the fast style of After Hours.
“His religious movies are more slower paced and more painterly, I would say.”
The Rewatchables · ‘After Hours’ with Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey · 0:23:46 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them) -
unmapped (gothic abstraction):
Killers of the Flower Moon → The Last Temptation of Christ.
Ernest's poison-fever abstract sequence is the kind of artistic reach seen in Last Temptation or Silence.
“really Gothic abstract sequence that is very uncommon that you only really see in kind of like last temptation of Christ or silence.”
The Big Picture · ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Is Astounding · 1:02:00 · Amanda Dobbins (0.40 sure it was them)
verdict (1)
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verdict (verdict):
Peter Gabriel → The Last Temptation of Christ.
The host praises the Peter Gabriel soundtrack to the Scorsese film that was cancelled and later made.
“I really like the soundtrack. It is a good soundtrack. It's I was really cranking it in the late 80s.”
The Rewatchables · ‘After Hours’ with Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey · 0:16:39 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)
what-if (1)
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what-if (what-if):
Willem Dafoe → The Last Temptation of Christ.
Dafoe was nearly Doc Holliday but Buena Vista balked over Last Temptation.
“we're not casting the guy who was... was in Last Temptation of Christ 5 years earlier.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Tombstone’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:41:38 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
Fun items about it
-
fun, about
The Last Temptation of Christ:
Jesus building a crude cross opens the film; hosts riff on the chair-inventing scene in Gibson's film and the invention of chairs.
“The guy who made us his chair got crucified.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:06:24 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them) -
fun, about
The Last Temptation of Christ:
Watched the film then the Criterion vintage commentary, intercut among Cox, Schrader, Scorsese and Defoe, recorded as multiple interviews edited together.
“And it's intercutting between Cox, Schrader, Scorsese, and Defoe.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:06:51 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them) -
fun, about
The Last Temptation of Christ:
Novel history: Kazantzakis published 1955, Orthodox Church tried to excommunicate him; Scorsese first heard of it as an NYU student and only read it around 1972-79.
“The novel, presented Deeply Human Christ, contemplating a normal life spent with Mary Magdalene”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:42:45 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them) -
fun, about
The Last Temptation of Christ:
With only five centurions, Scorsese whip-panned among them to suggest twenty-five without ever showing them in one frame.
“And he reuses 5 centurions to make them 25 centurions.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:06:13 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them) -
fun, about
The Last Temptation of Christ:
Jesus' trick of raising a cup became a meme; the water-into-wine scene shifts into Scorsese's Mean Streets rhythm of two guys needling each other.
“It is so funny that it's the one scene where Marty goes into like Shinebox rhythm, right?”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:24:07 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them) -
fun, about
The Last Temptation of Christ:
The final crucifixion film burn: a cameraman exposed the magazine too early, ruining film in the final shot, and the flashing light damage was kept.
“a cameraman exposed the magazine too early.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:50:46 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them) -
fun, about
The Last Temptation of Christ:
Jamelle's Letterboxd line: fundamentalists hating it makes sense because Christ as all-encompassing love opposes the in-vogue Christ of vengeance.
“Christ as emissary of total and all encompassing love is in direct tension with the quote unquote Christ of vengeance and domination”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:58:34 · Jamelle Bouie (0.80 sure it was them) -
fun, about
The Last Temptation of Christ:
Box office: opened August 12, 1988, number 13, about $8M domestic and around $30M worldwide; one Oscar nomination (Scorsese for director), Hershey and score got Globe nods.
“The movie comes out August 12, 1988.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 2:02:50 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
Who the speakers said made it
As said on the shows, not checked against the real credits.
- Martin Scorsese: director (The Big Picture, ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Is Astounding)
- Martin Scorsese: director (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Color of Money with Chris Ryan)
- Martin Scorsese: director (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Martin Scorsese: director (The Rewatchables, ‘After Hours’ with Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey)
- Martin Scorsese: director (The Rewatchables, ‘The Color of Money’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey)
- Martin Scorsese: director (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Lost World: Jurassic Park)
- Willem Dafoe: actor (Jesus) (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Willem Dafoe: actor (Christ) (The Rewatchables, ‘After Hours’ with Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey)
- Willem Dafoe: actor (The Rewatchables, ‘Tombstone’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan)
- Eric Roberts: turned down Jesus (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Paramount Pictures: studio that dropped it (Blank Check with Griffin & David, After Hours with Alison Sivitz)
- Paramount Pictures: studio that dropped the first attempt (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Robert De Niro: considered for Jesus, declined (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Paul Schrader: screenwriter (Blank Check with Griffin & David, After Hours with Alison Sivitz)
- Paul Schrader: screenwriter (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Universal Pictures: studio that made and released (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Christopher Walken: considered for Jesus (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Verna Bloom: actress (Mary) (Blank Check with Griffin & David, After Hours with Alison Sivitz)
- Verna Bloom: actor (Mary, mother of Jesus) (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Michael Ballhaus: cinematographer (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Harry Ufland: Scorsese's agent (Blank Check with Griffin & David, After Hours with Alison Sivitz)
- Jay Cocks: screenwriter (rewrote with Schrader) (Blank Check with Griffin & David, After Hours with Alison Sivitz)
- Aidan Quinn: was to play Christ (Blank Check with Griffin & David, After Hours with Alison Sivitz)
- Aidan Quinn: original choice for Jesus (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Aidan Quinn: actor cast as Jesus (The Rewatchables, ‘After Hours’ with Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey)
- Barry Diller, Michael Eisner, Jeff Katzenberg: Paramount executives who greenlit then dropped it (Blank Check with Griffin & David, After Hours with Alison Sivitz)
- Jack Lang: French minister of culture who tried to find French money (Blank Check with Griffin & David, After Hours with Alison Sivitz)
- Harvey Keitel: actor (Judas) (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Harvey Keitel: actor (Judas) (The Rewatchables, ‘After Hours’ with Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey)
- Irwin Winkler: producer (took Last Temptation script to United Artists) (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- J. Cox: screenwriter, uncredited; fought for WGA arbitration (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Nikos Kazantzakis: novelist (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Peter Gabriel: composer (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Peter Gabriel: composer (The Rewatchables, ‘After Hours’ with Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey)
- Barbara Hershey: actor (Mary Magdalene) (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- David Bowie: actor (Pontius Pilate) (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Harry Dean Stanton: actor (Paul) (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Victor Argo: actor (Peter) (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Andre Gregory: actor (John the Baptist) (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Irvin Kershner: actor (Zebedee) (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Robert Bloom: actor (the dead priest) (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Thomas Arana: actor (Lazarus) (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Sting: was to play Pontius Pilate in the cancelled Paramount version (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Jeffrey Katzenberg and Michael Eisner: Paramount heads who greenlit then cancelled (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Mike Ovitz: agent who steered the film to Universal (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Tom Pollock: head of Universal; greenlit (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Lew Wasserman: head of MCA, target of anti-Semitic attacks (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Jack Valenti: head of the MPA, attended Last Temptation screening (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- United Artists: studio that turned down the script (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)
- Criterion: home-video label with the vintage composite commentary (Blank Check with Griffin & David, The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie)