The Last Temptation of Christ
A tormented Jesus, struggling with his divine destiny and human doubts, faces the ultimate test as he resists the lure of revolution and the temptation to abandon his path of love and sacrifice.
Synopsis
Jesus, a humble Judean carpenter who begins to realize he is the son of God, becomes involved in revolutionary action against the Roman occupiers through Judas, despite his insistence that love, not violence, should be the path to salvation. The weight of being the savior of mankind torments Jesus throughout his life, leading him to experience moments of doubt.
Credits
Related titles
No curated related titles yet. Use the edit affordance to add "More from this director", "Same franchise", or "Adaptation source material" entries — every change goes through the wiki review queue.
How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 244+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Thelma SchoonmakerShot by Michael BallhausScored by Peter GabrielDesigned by John BeardSound by Skip LievsayCostumes by Jean Pierre DeliferStunts by Franco Maria SalamonVFX by Craig Barron
Box Office
1988 · Box office
💰 Box-office hit — grossed 4.8× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$33.8M
US & Canada: $8.4M — 25% of worldwide · International: $25.4M (75%)
Also known as
- Die letzte Versuchung Christide
- La última tentación de Cristoes
- La Dernière Tentation du Christfr
- L'ultima tentazione di Cristoit
Release dates around the world5 countries · showhide
- TürkiyeMay 26, 1988
- CanadaAug 12, 1988
- United StatesAug 12, 1988
- ItalySep 7, 1988
- United KingdomSep 9, 1988
Production & Distribution
Community tags
Be the first to tag this page — tags appear right away. Try a theme, capability, or subject (e.g. WWII, heist, slow burn, time travel, A24).
Cast & Crew
244 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Willem Dafoe
as Jesus
Harvey Keitel
as Judas
Barbara Hershey
as Mary Magdalene
Paul Greco
as Zealot
Gary Basaraba
as Andrew Apostle
Steve Shill
as Centurian
Verna Bloom
as Mary Mother of Jesus
Roberts Blossom
as Aged Master
Barry Miller
as Jeroboam
Irvin Kershner
as Zebedee
Victor Argo
as Peter Apostle
Michael Been
as John Apostle
Supporting cast
44Paul Herman
as Phillip Apostle
John Lurie
as James Apostle
Leo Burmester
as Nathaniel Apostle
Andre Gregory
as John The Baptist
Peggy Gormley
as Martha Sister of Lazarus
Randy Danson
as Mary Sister of Lazarus
Robert Spafford
as Man At Wedding
Doris Von Thury
as Woman with Mary Mother of Jesus
Tomas Arana
as Lazarus, Voices in Crowd
Alan Rosenberg
as Thomas Apostle
Del Russel
as Money Changer
Nehemiah Persoff
as Rabbi
Donald Hodson
as Saducee
Harry Dean Stanton
as Saul, Paul
Peter Berling
as Beggar
David Bowie
as Pontius Pilate
Juliette Caton
as Girl Angel
Mohammed Mabsout
as Other Apostles
Ahmed Nacir
as Other Apostles
Mokhtar Salouf
as Other Apostles
Mahamed Ait Fdil Ahmed
as Other Apostles
Russel Case
as People at Sermon
Wanja Mary Sellers
as People at Sermon
Donna Magnani
as Voices in Crowd
Penny Brown
as Voices in Crowd
Gabi Ford
as Voices in Crowd
Dale Wyatt
as Voices in Crowd
Domenico Fiore
as Voices in Crowd
Ted Rusoff
as Voices in Crowd
Leo Damian
as Voices in Crowd
Robert Laconi
as Voices in Crowd
Jonathan Zhivago
as Voices in Crowd
Illeana Douglas
as Voices in Crowd
D J Sharp
as Voices in Crowd
Khalid Benghrib
as Dancers
Redouane Farhane
as Dancers
Fabienne Panciatili
as Dancers
Naima Skikes
as Dancers
Souad Rahal
as Dancers
Otmane Chbani Idrissi
as Dancers
Jamal Belkhayat
as Dancers
Giovanni Cianfriglia
as Roman Soldier
Rodd Dana
as Soldier.
Leo Marks
as Satan, Archangel
Directors
1Writers
2Producers
2Other crew
188Roberto Penna
accountant
Lisa J Levine
adr editor (as Lisa Levine)
Marc S Shaw
adr editor (as Marc Shaw)
Mel Zelniker
adr recordist (uncredited)
Marcus Chun
apprentice editor
Brian Johnson
apprentice sound editor
Andrew Sanders
Art Director
John Frankish
assistant art director
Miki Zachar
assistant art director (uncredited)
Hadj Lahcen Kahia
assistant construction coordinator (as Lahcen Kahia)
Brahim Derhem
assistant location manager (as Brahim Derham)
Barbara Minor
assistant music editor
Parents Guide
AI Personalities
Advisory Bot AI
I keep the family-safety picture honest — community advisories, AI-moderated, summarized without spin.
Ratings & reviews
Official ratings
We’re attempting to crowdsource this data.
Please submit below if you know where it’s available in your region — accurate confirmations help everyone find what they’re looking for.
Where to watch
Live · bot-verified- The Criterion ChannelStream
Gallery
Add imageNo community images for The Last Temptation of Christ yet
Add a still, a storyboard, or concept art — every image gets its own page where members can discuss it.
Trailers
No trailers logged for The Last Temptation of Christ yet — add the first one below.
Spot a trailer we’re missing?
Add a trailer from any film, show, or game.
Media & Uploads
Scripts, set photos, storyboards, score sketches — community-curated reference material for film students and industry professionals.
Did you or a loved one work on The Last Temptation of Christ?
Every stage matters — pitch decks and treatments from development, location scouts and table-reads from pre-production, set photos and crew anecdotes from production, edit-bay notes from post, and press kits, festival memories, or marketing ephemera from distribution. Any moment that didn't make the press tour, any document or photograph that's been sitting in a box — please share it so it's not lost to time.
We particularly welcome contributions from writers, producers, cast, crew, festival programmers, distributors, marketing teams, their families, and anyone who was there at any stage.
Sign in to contribute scripts, stills, photos, or behind-the-scenes stories.
Be the first to share something on The Last Temptation of Christ.
Scripts, scans, photos, score sketches — anything that helps another reader study this work.
Memorable quotes
Browse all →No quotes logged for The Last Temptation of Christ yet — add the first memorable line below.
Got a quote we’re missing?
Submit a line from any film, show, or game.
The conversation
Loading the conversation…
Comments (0)
on The Last Temptation of ChristNo comments yet. Be the first to share what you think.
Edit history
Loading edit history…