- Note: Blu-ray discs are in a high definition format and need to be played on a Blu-ray player. To find out more about Blu-ray, visit our Hi-Def Learn & Shop store.
- Important Information on Firmware Updates: Having trouble with your Blu-ray disc player? Will certain discs just not play? You may need to update the firmware inside your player. Click here to learn more.
Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Reviews
Product Description
Legendary director (and avowed atheist) Pier Paolo Pasolini's The Gospel According to Matthew [Il vangelo secondo Matteo] is one of the great retellings of the story of Christ a cinematic rendering (filmed by invitation from the Pope, no less) at once both passionate and poetic.
With stunning black-and-white photography, an eclectic soundtrack (Odetta, Bach, a Congolese mass, etc), and using a cast of non-professionals who voice dialogue drawn directly from scripture, The Gospel According to Matthew depicts the key events in the life of Christ, from immaculate conception to death on the cross.
Vaunted by the Vatican as one of its select few recommended films, acclaimed by the Archbishop of Canterbury as a “great film”, and revered by critics and audiences alike, Pasolini's Oscar-, Golden Lion-, and BAFTA-nominated film remains a magnificent, awe-inspiring experience.
SPECIAL DUAL FORMAT EDITION:
With stunning black-and-white photography, an eclectic soundtrack (Odetta, Bach, a Congolese mass, etc), and using a cast of non-professionals who voice dialogue drawn directly from scripture, The Gospel According to Matthew depicts the key events in the life of Christ, from immaculate conception to death on the cross.
Vaunted by the Vatican as one of its select few recommended films, acclaimed by the Archbishop of Canterbury as a “great film”, and revered by critics and audiences alike, Pasolini's Oscar-, Golden Lion-, and BAFTA-nominated film remains a magnificent, awe-inspiring experience.
SPECIAL DUAL FORMAT EDITION:
- New high-definition transfer in the film s original aspect ratio
- Original Italian theatrical trailer for the feature
- Sopralluoghi in Palestina [Scouting in Palestine], Pasolini s 1965 film on the surveying of locations for The Gospel According to Matthew
- A 1963 newsreel extract on The Gospel According to Matthew and Sopralluoghi in Palestina
- A selection of outtakes from the original Sopralluoghi in Palestina rushes
- Newly translated optional English subtitles on both films
- A 36-page booklet featuring a 1963 letter by Pasolini to Lucio S. Caruso of the Catholic Pro Civitate Christiana; a 2012-updated essay on the film by critic Pasquale Iannone; excerpts from a 1969 interview with Pasolini by Oswald Stack, on The Gospel According to Matthew and Sopralluoghi in Palestina; an excerpt from the Book of Matthew; and rare archival imagery
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This was the film that got me into film 40 years ago.I still vividly recall the effect it had on me all those years ago, and I named my firstborn Matthew in tribute. I am a faith-free person however, and had not seen the film since I was 16, until now. It retained all its power and passion, despite being monochrome and subtitled. The music is inspired, the acting always strong, and the direction unquestionably emotional, conjuring love and fear. For an atheist this has been a devotional experience, and a reminder of film as it should be, raw, brave, humane.
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Pasolini was a gay,Marxist atheist who made the best film there is about Jesus and dedicated it to Pope John XXIII.The Almighty does indeed move in mysterious ways.
It was filmed in southern Italy with a mostly amateur cast,and the locations are great(the scenes where Jesus is tempted by Satan were filmed on the volcanic wastes of Mount Etna)-fans of Mel Gibson's "The Passion" will note that both films were shot in the same village.
The character of Jesus is played by an actor who is quite short in stature,though his eyes could probably burn a hole in steel.This emphasis on Jesus' humanity is the dominant theme in the film,even though it sets out to depict Matthew's Gospel word for word,including miracles.
Soundtrack is great,from "Missa Luba" to US blues and gospel.
Compared to Hollywood attempts at a film about Jesus,this is head and shoulders above them.The only other film about Jesus you should consider buying(or watching)is Scorcese's "Last Temptation Of Christ"-and that would probably never have been made without Pasolini's example and inspiration.
It was filmed in southern Italy with a mostly amateur cast,and the locations are great(the scenes where Jesus is tempted by Satan were filmed on the volcanic wastes of Mount Etna)-fans of Mel Gibson's "The Passion" will note that both films were shot in the same village.
The character of Jesus is played by an actor who is quite short in stature,though his eyes could probably burn a hole in steel.This emphasis on Jesus' humanity is the dominant theme in the film,even though it sets out to depict Matthew's Gospel word for word,including miracles.
Soundtrack is great,from "Missa Luba" to US blues and gospel.
Compared to Hollywood attempts at a film about Jesus,this is head and shoulders above them.The only other film about Jesus you should consider buying(or watching)is Scorcese's "Last Temptation Of Christ"-and that would probably never have been made without Pasolini's example and inspiration.
32 of 33 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:VHS Tape
Cinematographically this is a quite extraordinary, deeply religious and visually challenging film. The choice of locations, inventive use of music, and above all the casting (the faces are extraordinary) makes this a film which we will watch time and time again. Pasolini has always been controversial - he brings to the subject matter subtle, interesting and powerful viewpoints.
Perhaps the film would be viewed by more non-Italian speakers if it was advised that the video has English sub-titles.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 74 reviews
3.8 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jesus Christ
Great Movie! Pasolini's movie, that I like best. The Blu-ray presentation and the special features are excellent. Read more
Published 11 days ago by JCL
5.0 out of 5 stars
This you can believe!
Of all the filmed attempts to portray the life of Christ, I think this is the best. This Jesus is human, cheerful and angry by turn, a rounded character in whom you could believe. Read more
Published 19 days ago by Bing
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointed
Disappointed.The film had a good write up about it but I felt it tended to drag. Noticed also that it did not totally conform to scripture though maybe that was not surprising as... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. Mary Senior
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gorgeous Classic film
A beautiful classic film. Seems a to be choice of versions. I chose this one because it seemed the cheapest and the best. Read more
Published 4 months ago by David Reeve
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stirring, Striking, Strident, Stunning, Stamina Required
Utterly memorable for its moments of 'everyday miracles' more remarkable because of the way they just'happen'. The central performance is brilliantly committed. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mario
5.0 out of 5 stars
the mystery remains intact
What I love about this film is the way it combines physical beauty and wonder, in the form of faces and landscapes, with a sense of the mystery of the events described in Matthew's... Read more
Published 11 months ago by schumann_bg
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bear with the first 10 mins to enjoy a film of a lifetime
Div head I must be because when reading all the estatic reviews of this DVD I had not cottoned on to the fact it was a 1960s black and white film - for some reason I had thought... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Linda
1.0 out of 5 stars
A Gospel with Russian folksongs soundtrack
Or yes, I do remember - this one is supposed to be THE masterpiece... and yet, in my humble opinion, this is a very bad film, hopeless, full of pathetic clichés and impotent... Read more
Published 13 months ago by G. Account
4.0 out of 5 stars
The 'Real' Passion of (The) Christ....
This richly applauded and immensely passionate study of Christ's finest hour (so to speak) was much praised by the few friends that I knew had seen it. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Tim Kidner
5.0 out of 5 stars
The definitive edition of a classic of world cinema
Typical top-notch presentation from Masters of Cinema of what is perhaps Pasolini's greatest film. This is undoubtedly the best available edition of the film on home video.
Published 14 months ago by Frederick M. Veith
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
