What did you think of The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)?

I think the difference is that Jesus is supposedly meant to have overcome all his temptations during the 40 days in the desert and stayed pure up until his death and resurrection whereas Last Temptation has his last temptation take place right in the middle of his crucifixion. Jesus already knows that he must die this painful death in order to complete his mission on God's behalf, so the idea of him actively giving in to the temptation to be spared such a death and getting to lead a normal life (effectively preventing Christianity from existing in the process) would understandably come across as blasphemous for suggesting that Jesus would actually consider refusing to go through with his divine sacrifice.

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Well just because Jesus didn't overcome all in that 40 days and they stretched out the time period more, I just don't see how that is such a big deal, since it's the same thing, just stretched out more to make for a three act movie (shrug). I don't think that Jesus refuses to go to be crucified since he still went through with it. Sure he had a second thought while dying, but who wouldn't in that situation, when tempted by the devil. It was just a secondary thought, but his actions speak louder than an afterthought, at least I thought so.

You don't have to convince me, I'm just explaining why other people would've gotten that impression.

Yeah for sure, just kind of surprising. I have friends who also refuse to see cause the say they heard it was blasphemous but I think they should at least see it before judging it of course.

The film got me thinking about the nature of temptation. I remember my early years in Catholic school when I was taught that thinking about committing a sin was just as bad as actually doing it. But the nature of temptation is imagining doing/receiving/experiencing the thing that is causing the temptation. To be tempted is not a sin. This is what I learned from that film. It was also well done and one of my favorites.

well if I recall correct Jesus states a line in the Bible, that if you look at a woman in a lustful way you are already committing adultry. So maybe he was in the movie cause he still looked? I don't know...

However, I've only seen two movies about Jesus, this one, and The Passion of the Christ. While The Passion of the Christ is a very good movie, I felt that I really got inside Jesus's head and heart in The Last Temptation of Christ, as as in The Passion of the Christ, I was held at more of a distance by comparison. So I like the fact that I got in his head more here, if that sounds about right.

There is one thing I haven't figured out yet on a second viewing. Jesus asks Judas to betray him. But why, what good does that do exactly? Plus Judas kills himself, so why if he was doing Jesus's will, why would Jesus want that of him since God does not believe in suicide?

I showed the movie to a couple of friends, and there is one scene in the movie I don't get, which they don't either. It's the second sequence in the movie, after Judas comes to talk to Jesus and then leaves. It all of a sudden cuts to a fight scene, where Judas breaks someone's neck. The fight is then never talked about again. I asked my friends if they knew what that fight was about and we couldn't figure it out, like it was just randomly thrown in at the start of a scene, and then gone.

Does anyone know what that fight was about?

I didn't care for it, it was lesser Scorsese to me I think The Silence was a better religious film from him