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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
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 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.
17 of 17 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.
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
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 21 days ago by Mrs. L. Watson
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 1 month ago by G. Account
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 2 months ago by Tim Kidner
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 2 months ago by Frederick M. Veith
Worth the price
Simply the best DVD/Blu-ray release of the Gospel according to Pasolini. Didn't check for the boni yet, but I'm sure I'll convert myself if they are as perfect as the master of the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Karamzin
Contender for release of the year
Early reviews from the likes of DVD Beaver suggest that this is one of the best releases of the year. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Nicholas J. Paleocrassas
Abysmal
Please note that this is solely a review of the film itself, not the quality of this or any other release of it. Read more
Published 2 months ago by James the King
A secular meditation
Pasolini has said that his film is not primarily a representation of one book but of two thousand years of story-telling. Read more
Published 13 months ago by R. A. Richardson
Time is cruel with this timeless story
An extremely famous film about an extraordinarily famous Gospel, that of Saint Matthew, yet I am wondering what makes it different from so many other versions of that story. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Jacques COULARDEAU
The only film that gets anywhere near
An amazing document utlizing material from Mathew's Gospel using unknown actors and non-acting native people and
filmed in and around villages in southern Italy. Read more
filmed in and around villages in southern Italy. Read more
Published 23 months ago by technoguy
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