movie world

The Gospel According to Matthew tells the story of the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Pasolini's film skims over the Nativity and other earlier segments, focussing mainly on Jesus' life as an adult.

Pasolini tells the story of Jesus with a cast of amateurs, including Enrique Irazoqui in the pivotal role, from birth straight through to his resurrection and, in his own way, somehow distills his own atheistic views down in a manner that comes across as pure religiosity. By using only small phrases and Christ’s own parables from Matthew he turns the story into one of a radical, anti-establishment leader entreating his followers to rise up against an oppressive (read: Romans) and corrupt (read: the established Jewish leaders) regime, not for his own glory, but for that of his father, God.

BD50 + DVD9 | 1080p AVC, NTSC | 02:17:09 | 44.7 Gb + 7.49 Gb
Language: Italiano
Subtitles: English
Genre: Biography, Drama, History

Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Cast: Enrique Irazoqui, Margherita Caruso, Susanna Pasolini
Country: Italy, France

Extras:

• Sopralluoghi in Palestina (00:53:37) – This documentary depicts Pier Paolo Pasolini’s scouting sorties during his preliminary search, in 1963, for locations for The Gospel According to Matthew, which he would film the following year.

• Newsreel (00:01:16) – An extract from La settimana incom weekly newsreel, No. 2385, July 12, 1963. Pasolini is interviewed on his return from Saint-Vincent, Italy (the Grolle d’oro film awards), and talks of his filming of Sopralluoghi in Palestina.

• Outtakes (00:03:17) – A selection of outtakes from the original Sopralluoghi in Palestina rushes.

• Original Trailer (00:05:06)