THE MOVIES

Press, 7 October 1988, Page 24

THE MOVIES

Prints rushed here

By

HANS PETROVIC

To cash in on the controversy surrounding Martin Scorsese’s “The Last Temptation of Christ,” the distributor, United Pictures International, has rushed prints of the film to New Zealand. It has been passed by the censor with an RPI3 certificate (restricted to persons 13 years and over unless accompanied by a parent or guardian, with the added note “content may offend”) and will begin at the Midcity today. The managing director of U.1.P., Timothy Ord, says that few films in recent years have generated such heated debate, exaggerations and misconceptions. “The Last Temptation of Christ” was made available to New Zealand audiences to allow them to draw their own conclusions. The film stars Williem Dafoe (“Platoon”) as Christ, Harvey Keitel as Judas, Barbara Hershey (“Shy People”) as Mary Magdalene, David Bowie as Pontius Pilate, and Harry Dean Stanton (“Paris, Texas”) as Paul. The controversy is about a series of temptation faced by Christ, including a dream sequence in which he supposedly marries and sleeps with Mary Magdalene. Scorsese says he believes he has made a very religious film and deplores the attacks waged by individuals both in the United States and other countries who have not seen this film. “Films are the most important part of my

life,” says Scorese, “but I have to find good reasons to use the tools which are offered to me.” “The Last Temptation of Christ” became one of those “good reasons" as soon as he read Nikos Kazantzakis' provocative book. But it took personal evolution as well as tremendous resilience to nurture this project along the road to fruition. Despite obstacles and setbacks, including the last-minute cancellation of an earlier production in December, 1983, the director never gave up this most cherished dream. Addicted to films at an early age, Scorses was born in Flushing, New York in 1942. Of Italian descent, he grew up in Lower Manhattan’s Little Italy neighbourhood, where his chronic poor health limited his involvement in boyhood activities. To relieve his loneliness, his father took him to the movies, which kindled a life-long obsession with the cinema. For lack of a camera, Martin sketched scenes from imaginary films and, in the process, developed considerable skill as a graphic artist. Raised as a Roman Catholic, he originally wanted to become a priest. At the age of 14, he enrolled in a junior seminary and later transferred to Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx. Although he later failed the entranace examination for the Jesuits’ Fordham College, he did not entirely abandon the idea of entering the priesthood

until he discovered his true calling — film-mak-ing. Scorsese entered New York University intending to major in English, but his future course was irrevocably set when he discovered the film department and realised that a career could be forged out of his love for movies. He made there several award-winning student films and wrote the script for what would eventually become his first feature film, “Who’s That Knocking At My Door?” (1969). During the late 60s, in addition to his teaching duties at N.Y.U., Scorsese supervised a militant documentary feature, “Street Scenes 1970,” which focused on public reaction to the American invasion of Cambodia. He was also a supervising editor and assistant director on “Woodstock.” Scorsese first came to California in 1971. He met producer-director, Roger Corman, who offered him a job directing “Boxcar Bertha,” an oddly original genre piece designed "for the boys of 42nd Street.” Encouraged by the ac-tor-director, John Cassavetes, to follow a more personal direction, he began to rework a script which he and his old N.Y.U. classmate, Mardik Martin, had written in 1966. While working as an editor, he finished the script which became the basis for “Mean Streets” (1973), a gritty, violent and semi-autobiographical chronicle of Little Italy.