65
Metascore
6 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe thing about Godspell that caught my heart was its simplicity, its refusal to pretend to be anything more than it is. It's not a message for our times, or a movie to cash in on the Jesus movement, or even quite a youth movie. It's a series of stories and songs, like the Bible is, and it's told with the directness that simple stories need: with no tricks, no intellectual gadgets, and a lot of openness.
- 83ConsequenceSarah KurchakConsequenceSarah KurchakThomas Andrews in Titanic and Spy Daddy Jack Bristow in Alias, sings so sweetly and wears his suspenders, goofy face paint, and guileless enthusiasm so well in the film that it’s easy to see both why he was plucked from the Canadian theatrical cast for the role. And why a bunch of similarly-minded hippies would want to follow him around an empty New York City and sing about love for a hundred minutes.
- 70The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyI like its music, its drive and its determination, even when it's pretending to a kind of innocence and naiveté that I never for a second believe.
- 50TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineThose who lived through the 1960s will enjoy this more than those who haven't, but in the final analysis, Godspell is generally a disappointing film version of a small musical that rocked audiences with its fervor.
- 50Original production’s appealing aspects have remained intact – a strong Stephen Schwartz score and an infectious joie de vivre conveyed by an energetic, no-name cast. So also, unfortunately, have its flaws – a relentlessly simplistic approach to the New Testament interpreted in overbearing children’s theatre-style mugging.
- 25The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsMaybe the broad gestures, colorful costumes, and exaggerated acting worked in the theater. As a movie, it's actively, fascinatingly terrible, with a vision of Christ more likely to instill in viewers a fear of traveling bands of loony street performers than a desire to embrace the Holy Spirit.