| The Gospel According to St. Matthew | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 46 reviews)
Sales Rank: 31370
Category: DVD
Actors: Enrique Irazoqui, Margherita Caruso, Susanna Pasolini, Marcello Morante, Mario Socrate
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Publisher: Legend
Studio: Legend
Brand: WELLSPRING/GENIUS
Label: Legend
Format: Black & White, Color, Ntsc, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: Italian (Original Language), English (Subtitled), English (Published)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 136 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 79949
UPC: 796019799492
EAN: 0796019799492
ASIN: B000LP5D5G
Release Date: March 27, 2007
Theatrical Release Date: 1964
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Christ's life is presented with respect for the traditional religious doctrine of the Church but Pasolini's trademark naturalism humanizes his subject and makes him his own. The documentary-style camera captures Christ's meetings with the men who were to become his disciples the Last Supper the betrayal by Judas and the Crucifixion. The impassioned music of Bach Mozart and Prokofiev lends a further aura of spiritual intensity to the proceedings.System Requirements:Runtime: 90 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre:MISCELLANEOUS/SPECIAL INTEREST Rating:NR UPC:796019799492 Manufacturer No:79949
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
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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 3 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 2 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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