Product description

The Gospel According to Saint Matthew [DVD] [1967] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Price: £11.79
Average customer rating: 4.5

Binding : DVD
EAN : 0759259140400
Label : Water Bearer Films
Manufacturer : Water Bearer Films
Publisher : Water Bearer Films
Release date : 2003-07-22
Title : The Gospel According to Saint Matthew [DVD] [1967] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]
Actor : Array
Format : Array
Languages : Array
Number of items : 1
Original release date : 1967-01-01
Region code : 1
Running time : 135
Studio : Water Bearer Films
Theatrical releaseDate : 1964
MPN : D14040D

Customer reviews

review by: date: 2009-06-17 rating:

Not as groundbreaking as it once seemed but still worthwhile
Pasolini's The Gospel According to Matthew (with a bit of Mark and Isiah thrown in too) looks a little less edgy these days. Much of the first half feels like a lavishly mounted Mystery Play, with the Sicilian and Southern Italian locations seeming surprisingly appropriate for First Century Judea (indeed, Scorsese originally planned to film his Passion there). It even cleverly playing on the regional accents in the moment where Peter's "speech betrays him" (Jesus and his followers were much derided as hicks for their coarse accents just as Sicilians and Southern Italians often still are). Yet there's the definite feeling that much of Pasolini's oft-cited political interpretation is more in his own head than actually on the screen at times, and it almost seems a cheat that while he casts amateur actors he uses professionals to voice them (most notably Enrico Maria Salerno, most famous for voicing Clint Eastwood in Leone's paella westerns, as Jesus). br / br /It's not until the last half hour that he really cuts loose stylistically, with the trials witnessed from a distance from the point of view of the disciples hiding in the crowd, a real urgency in Judas' suicide scene and no holding back from the visceral violence of being nailed to the cross. But there are enough moments - the adoration of the Magi accompanied by Billie Holiday's Motherless Child, the bored Roman soldiers stifling a yawn as Jesus preaches with increasing anger and frustration, the look on Jesus' face as he sees the children greet him on Palm Sunday - to make it worthwhile. Maybe it has lost some of its radical edge with time... br / br /Tartan's DVD has an acceptable but not outstanding transfer but no extras.

review by: janeMW date: 2009-02-18 rating:

How could anyone recommned this film?
It was a huge disappointment. There are so many other really good films about Jesus' life; has any one tried the Miracle Maker, to name one? Really not worth the £ and the time; it's not even good or artistic filming. How could anyone recommneded this? No stars from me, but I could not submit this without at least 1.

review by: highlander1715 date: 2007-10-25 rating:

A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS JESUS SON OF GOD
If ever I loved Jesus and I do, this one portrayal of him comes the nearest to the man (God) I follow.Hollywood has never done the portrayal of Jesus justice for me and the only film that has come close for me is Mel Gibsons " the Passion ". And that with reservations .( I have not yet seen Martin Scorcese 's The Last Temptation of Christ" ). None though of all the others whether mentioned here and including ones not discussed here are equal to this one and I was riveted throughout watching it.This film should be in every real christian's film library.It makes me feel like this potrayal of Jesus could be closer to the actual divine Jesus than any other one yet made. This film showing his courage,his endurance,his mercy,his compassion,his wisdom,his miracles moved me beyond words and the music throughout the film added yet more poignancy which easily avoided sentimentality.I thank God this film was made.

review by: date: 2007-09-16 rating:

Tthe best film about Jesus ever made.
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. br /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. br /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. br /Soundtrack is great,from "Missa Luba" to US blues and gospel. br /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. br / br /

review by: date: 2007-04-23 rating:

the power and the passion
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.

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