Books: "Last Temptation" Book Recounts Religious Controversy Around Film

Twenty years later, Thomas R. Lindlof tells the story behind the production and release of the controversial film "The Last Temptation of Christ" in his book "Hollywood Under Siege: Martin Scorsese, the Religious Right, and the Culture Wars."

Twenty years after the controversy, the story of one of the most contentious films in American cinema history is finally being told. University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications professor Thomas R. Lindlof's book Hollywood Under Siege: Martin Scorsese, the Religious Right, and the Culture Wars examines the storm that surrounded the making and the release of the 1988 film The Last Temptation of Christ, an adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis' 1955 novel of the same name.

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Hollywood Under Siege draws on original interviews with many figures central to the controversy of The Last Temptation of Christ, including the director, Martin Scorsese.

The Last Temptation of Christ, which was banned from release at many theaters and publicly protested at others, depicts the life of Jesus Christ as an earthly man who, while free from sin, was subject to forms of temptation that humans face, including fear, doubt and lust. The movie envisioned him as a man who struggles to reconcile his human and divine natures, a portrayal that has been the source of the film's controversy.

“In writing this book, I found myself with uniquely compelling material to work with," Lindlof said. "This film was a fascinating chapter in our nation’s recent cultural history. When it exploded onto the national stage in 1988, it set loose a series of questions about the politics of religion, the rights and responsibilities of the entertainment industry, and the public’s willingness to tolerate artistic explorations of a widely revered figure. I think that today we are still dealing with the aftereffects of this controversy.”

Directed by Martin Scorsese, one of America’s most notable filmmakers, The Last Temptation of Christ forced Hollywood to defend its creative and economic prerogatives against elements of the religious right who protested the production and release of the film. Scorsese did not find the critics much kinder, as the uproar surrounding the movie made it difficult for reviewers to approach it objectively.

Drawing on original interviews with many figures central to the controversy, including the director, Lindlof captures Scorsese’s long, obsessive and potentially career-derailing pursuit of this project. Hollywood Under Siege depicts the Christian right as trying to solidify its role as self-appointed moral regulator of the entertainment industry with its objections to The Last Temptation of Christ.

In what seems to be a continuous stream of controversy that follows the film even today, Lindlof has marked the 20th anniversary of the movie's historic release with the publication of his book, analyzing the tenuous relationship between Hollywood and the Christian right that persists to the present. Described as "both profound and extremely entertaining" by the Los Angeles Times, Hollywood Under Siege vividly portrays the classic American cultural war question of whether or not artistic expression should be free from government and religious intervention.

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