Last Temptation of Christ, The

Last Temptation of Christ, The, motion picture about the final days of the life of Jesus Christ and his temptation by the Devil, based on the 1951 novel by Nikos Kazantzakis. Released in 1988, this controversial, critically acclaimed film was directed by Martin Scorsese. Jesus realizes he has been chosen to carry the messages of God, including tolerance and forgiveness, and is faced with great self-doubt. The Devil takes advantage of the situation, and Jesus is visited on the cross with hallucinations of what it might have been like had he chosen to lead an ordinary life. This film was released amid great protest by conservative Christian groups that objected to scenes about Jesus’s self-doubts and his hallucinatory visions of him enjoying sexual relations in a marriage with Mary Magdalene.

Director

• Martin Scorsese

Cast

• Willem Dafoe (Jesus Christ)
• Harvey Keitel (Judas Iscariot)
• Barbara Hershey (Mary Magdalene)
• Harry Dean Stanton (Saul, Paul)
• David Bowie (Pontius Pilate)
• Verna Bloom (Mary, Mother of Jesus)
• Andre Gregory (John the Baptist)
• Juliette Caton (Girl angel)
• Roberts Blossom (Aged master)
• Irvin Kershner (Zebedee)
• Gary Basaraba (Andrew)
• Victor Argo (Peter)
• Michael Been (John)
• Paul Herman (Phillip)
• John Lurie (James)
• Leo Burmester (Nathaniel)
• Alan Rosenberg (Thomas)
• Nehemiah Persoff (Rabbi)
• Barry Miller (Jeroboam)
• Paul Greco (Zealot)
• Steven Shill (Centurion)
• Russell Case (People at sermon)
• Mary Seller (People at sermon)
• Donna Marie (People at sermon)
• Mohamed Mabsout (Martha, sister of Lazarus)
• Ahmed Nacir (Martha, sister of Lazarus)
• Mokhtar Salouf (Martha, sister of Lazarus)
• Peggy Gormley (Martha, sister of Lazarus)
• Randy Danson (Mary, sister of Lazarus)
• Robert Spafford (Man at wedding)
• Doris von Thury (Woman with Mary)
• Del Russell (Money changer)
• Donald Hodson (Saducee)
• Peter Berling (Beggar)
• Penny Brown (Person in crowd)
• Gabi Ford (Person in crowd)
• Dale Wyatt (Person in crowd)
• Domenico Fiore (Person in crowd)
• Ted Rusoff (Person in crowd)
• Leo Damian (Person in crowd)
• Robert Laconi (Person in crowd)
• Jonathon Zhivago (Person in crowd)
• Illeana Douglas (Person in crowd)
• David Sharp (Person in crowd)
• Leo Marks (Voice of the Devil)