Jesus, a humble Judean carpenter beginning to see that he is the son of God, is drawn into revolutionary action against the Roman occupiers by Judas -- despite his protestations that love, not violence, is the path to salvation. The burden of being the savior of mankind torments Jesus throughout his life, leading him to doubt.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.1/10
IMDb: 7.5/10
Letterboxd: 3.92/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 82%
Metacritic: 80
TMDB: 7.2/10
Director
Martin Scorsese
Production
Universal Pictures, Cineplex-Odeon Films
Cast
Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Paul Greco, Steve Shill, Verna Bloom, Barbara Hershey, Roberts Blossom, Barry Miller, Gary Basaraba, Irvin Kershner, Victor Argo, Michael Been, Paul Herman, John Lurie, Leo Burmester, Andre Gregory, Peggy Gormley, Randy Danson, Robert Spafford, Doris von Thury
Curator Review
Verdict
A provocative, serious-minded biblical drama that treats faith as a lived crisis rather than a stained-glass certainty. Scorsese’s direction, Dafoe’s vulnerable performance, and the film’s willingness to wrestle with doubt, desire, and sacrifice make it one of the most distinctive religious films ever made.
Best for
Viewers interested in challenging religious cinema
Fans of psychological character studies
People who like intense, adult historical drama
Scorsese completists
Audiences open to controversial reinterpretations of scripture
Skip if
You want a reverent or devotional Jesus film
You dislike theological debate and spiritual ambiguity
You prefer straightforward historical epics
You are sensitive to blasphemous or iconoclastic material
Overview
Martin Scorsese turns a biblical story into a feverish interior drama, less concerned with pageantry than with the agony of belief. The film imagines Jesus as a man torn between divine calling, human fear, and the temptation to live an ordinary life, which gives the story an unusual emotional voltage.
Worth noting
Willem Dafoe’s performance is the anchor: tender, frightened, stubborn, and physically present in a way that makes the spiritual stakes feel immediate. Harvey Keitel’s Judas and the film’s rough, earthy texture push it away from sanctimony and toward a messy, human struggle over violence, duty, and salvation.
Bottom line
It remains controversial because it refuses easy piety, but that’s also what makes it endure. This is a film about faith under pressure, and about the cost of imagining holiness as something lived by a person rather than symbolized by an icon.
Top Letterboxd reviews
siobhan (3.5★) · 4420 likes
convinced that willem dafoe as jesus, david bowie as pontius pilate, and harvey keitel as judas with a new york accent shouting “whaddaya doin building crosses?” is historically accurate and that this was not a fiction but a documentary
Karsten (4.5★) · 2548 likes
I worship Paul Schrader, even though Paul Schrader has made it clear in multiple films that I shouldn’t worship Paul Schrader.
annabelle (3.5★) · 2486 likes
harvey keitel as judas be like eeeyyyyyy jesus i’m prayin here now kiss me square on the mouth you sonofabitch
Wesley R. Ball (5★) · 2042 likes
Before I begin, I would like everyone to understand that I grew up in a strictly Christian background (which I am thankful for and still adhere to). So when I speak about my beliefs, I'm not attempting to generalize everyone in the same boat as I am, religiously speaking, but rather I am trying explain the environment and beliefs that I personally was raised on (which, again, I still stick to and am eternally grateful for).
I avoided Martin Scorsese's… more
Jake Cole (5★) · 1905 likes
Ironically, it is this mortal treatment of Jesus as a man that makes me more willing to think of him as a divine figure than the purified Gospels.
1979 · Comedy · 1h 34m · R · Curator 8.2/10 (811.1K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Peacock Premium, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus
For audiences interested in how sacred narratives can be reinterpreted through irreverence and satire.