Godspell (film)

Godspell
Godspell
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	David Greene
Screenplay by	David Greene; John-Michael Tebelak;
Based on	Godspell; Stephen Schwartz; John-Michael Tebelak; Gospel of Matthew; Matthew the Apostle
Produced by	Edgar Lansbury
Starring	Victor Garber; David Haskell;
Cinematography	Richard Heimann
Edited by	Alan Heim
Music by	Stephen Schwartz
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release dates	March 21, 1973 (New York); May 10, 1973 (Cannes);
Running time	102 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	English; Hebrew; Spanish
Budget	$1.3 million
Box office	$1.2 million (US/Canada rentals)

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]

^ "Big Rental Films of 1973", Variety, 9 January 1974 p 60
^ Vincent Canby (March 22, 1973). "Godspell (1973) The Gospel According to 'Godspell' Comes to Screen". The New York Times.
^ "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.