| The Gospel According to St. Matthew | 
 enlarge | Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Actors: Enrique Irazoqui, Margherita Caruso, Susanna Pasolini, Marcello Morante, Mario Socrate
Studio: Water Bearer Films, Inc
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $13.26
You Save: $16.69 (56%)
New (25) Used (16) from $10.59
Avg. Customer Rating:  46 reviews
Sales Rank: 20212
Format: Black & White, Dvd-video, Letterboxed, Ntsc, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: Italian (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: Unrated
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 142
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: D14040D
UPC: 759259140400
EAN: 0759259140400
ASIN: B00009Y3PP
Theatrical Release Date: 1964
Release Date: July 22, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New and Factory Sealed Item Fast Shipping
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Amazon.com
Released in 1964, The Gospel According to St. Matthew marks an important shift away from the gritty urban realism of Pasolini's earlier films towards the visionary imagery of his later work. A committed but far from conformist Marxist, Pasolini took a powerful and immediate approach, with no false piety or sentimentality. Employing a cast drawn largely from the peasantry of Southern Italy, where the film was shot, the action has the feel of a mystery play reenacted for the camera. Enrique Irazoqui's Christ is part folk hero, part political agitator, but always pursuing his destiny with unswerving conviction. The disciples make for vivid contrasts in facial expression, while Susanna Pasolini (mother of) is unforgettable as Mary, distraught at the Crucifixion. The recourse to handheld cameras and zoom sequences is well ahead of its time, while the almost jump-cut editing and diverse soundtrack--including Bach, Mozart and the Missa Luba--enhance the sense of action being experienced as it happens. A classic of post-war cinema which has lost none of its urgent humanity. --Richard Whitehouse
Product Description
The birth, life, teachings, and death on the cross of Jesus Christ presented almost as a cine-verite documentary. Pasolini's second feature seemed a strange choice for such a revolutionary director, but it is an attempt to take Christ out of the opulent church and present him as an outcast Italian peasant. Applying Neo-Realist methods, the director shot the film in Calabria, using the expressive faces of the non professionals including that of his motoher as the Virgin Mary. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW is considered the greatest screen version of the 'greatest story ever told' and this freshly remastered version brings the film to life in a way that has never been seen before.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 41 more reviews...
 Good presentation of Pasolini's Gospel of Matthew August 29, 2008
The colorized, short version on the DVD as the main attraction is disappointing. The added color adds nothing to the movie and the dubbed English likewise. However, in the special matter also on the DVD is the original film, complete with Italian dialogue and English subtitles. It is also the complete original (although the editors refer to it as enhanced). It is an excellent example of Pasolini's work, spare, subtle, and very moving. The film has a primitive feeling about it that works very well with the subject.
 Dated and Overrated July 23, 2008
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
Purchased this after reading Thomas Merton's high praise of the film in one of his books.If Thomas Merton said it was great,then I knew I had to get it.I found the film to be dated and unremarkable.Worse yet,I couldn't help but be repeatedly drawn to the unibrow of the character who played Jesus.It really is weird and distracting,check it out.
 It's about Jesus, so it's good, but... April 25, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have to confess, I have not watched all of this, but that's because I found it un-interesting. There are sub-titles and acting, etc. that I didn't like. On the other hand, the DVD "The Gospel of John", which I bought at the same time, has suddenly become my favorite movie of all time.
Easter March 21, 2008
Yes, it's Easter, and some embedded cultural murmuring summons me to pull out this piece of early Pasolini for a re-run. It's lost none of its power during the four decades since I first saw it. If ever a film aspired to the condition of poetry, this is it. And its worth remarking that the black and white only intensifies the experience of being thrust into antiquity free of the laboured veils of Hollywood remakes of the Christ story. What a supreme remove this is from Pre-Raphaelite sweetness in imaging Jesus. Here is a man amidst men and women, the toothless, maimed and infirm. His fierce gaze is something to behold. His language cuts to the bone. The earth itself is addressed with boney fragility. Authenticity has been striven for by the likes of Mal Gibson, but this work is in a class of its own; casting, set locations, pacing, it has the lot. I agree with the brilliant account reviewer, J Clark from NY gives including his gripe about the score...where I first heard Blind Willie Johnson and Missa Luba, by the way! Why the choice of gospels, Matthew in preference to Mark, for instance, is another question that a more theologically inclined bod than me might explain. But, this remains my favourite Pasolini. I found my print in Baku, Azerjaiban, so it's Italian dubbed in Russian and has extraordinary clarity...a visual feast!
A Tragic Christ August 19, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Very austere and literal version of Matthew's gospel, from birth to death of Jesus. All speechs are direct from the Gospel. Jesus is rather serious here, the defender of the poor and sick against the rich and self-righteous. Lots of close-ups on Jesus's face. Brilliant use of music.
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