Martin Scorsese takes the lessons learned by the likes of Rossellini, Pasolini, and in-between regarding religious pictures and makes one that appropriately makes it right. This time around, you don't necessarily have to be completely into Jesus or a Christian to see the heart and intelligence put into the material. Paul Schrader's script distills what must have been a mammoth book of ideas and stories from Kazantzakis and what's provided is obviously controversial. But its message is not layered with anything to insult the viewer's intelligence. There's real food for thought here, even for those who don't believe in myself (if anything, it shows Scorsese, in one of his five best films, showing the notion of making a difference in his other films sticks out great here). A little long, but never gets boring, and even features one of the all-time champion final shots in any film. And Willem Dafoe makes for a candidate for best Jesus in any film. One of the best films of 1988.