Godspell (film)

This article is about the film and its soundtrack. For the musical, see Godspell. For the musical's album, see Godspell (1971 Off-Broadway Cast).

Godspell
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDavid Greene
Screenplay by
Based onGodspell
Stephen Schwartz
John-Michael Tebelak
Gospel of Matthew
Matthew the Apostle
Produced byEdgar Lansbury
Starring
CinematographyRichard Heimann
Edited byAlan Heim
Music byStephen Schwartz
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release dates
  • March 21, 1973 (1973-03-21) (New York)
  • May 10, 1973 (1973-05-10) (Cannes)
Running time
102 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
Hebrew
Spanish
Budget$1.3 million
Box office$1.2 million (US/Canada rentals)[1]

Godspell (full title: Godspell: A Musical Based on the Gospel According to St. Matthew) is a 1973 American musical comedy-drama film, an adaptation of the 1971 Off-Broadway musical Godspell (in turn based on the Gospel of Matthew), created by John-Michael Tebelak with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz.

Directed by David Greene with stars Victor Garber (in his film debut) as Jesus and David Haskell as Judas/John the Baptist, the film is set in contemporary New York City. Tebelak is credited as co-writer of the screenplay and served as creative consultant, although Greene said Tebelak did not write the screenplay.[2][3]

  1. ^ "Big Rental Films of 1973", Variety, 9 January 1974 p 60
  2. ^ Vincent Canby (March 22, 1973). "Godspell (1973) The Gospel According to 'Godspell' Comes to Screen". The New York Times.
  3. ^ "Tebelak and I are enjoying an ideally smooth working relationship.… But he is not codirecting the film with me. He did not write the screenplay; he participated only minimally in pre-production planning and discussions, and attended very few rehearsals." — Letter by David Greene to Variety, Dec. 6, 1972.