The Gospel According to St. Matthew

The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Italian: Il Vangelo secondo Matteo) is a 1964 Italian film directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini. The dialogue is primarily taken directly from the Gospel, as Pasolini felt that "images could never reach the poetic heights of the text." He reportedly chose the Gospel of Matthew over the others because he had decided that "John was too mystical, Mark too vulgar, and Luke too sentimental." Pasolini had previously been... more

The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Italian: Il Vangelo secondo Matteo) is a 1964 Italian film directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini. The dialogue is primarily taken directly from the Gospel, as Pasolini felt that "images could never reach the poetic heights of the text." He reportedly chose the Gospel of Matthew over the others because he had decided that "John was too mystical, Mark too vulgar, and Luke too sentimental." Pasolini had previously been sentenced to jail for the allegedly blasphemous and obscene content of his contribution to the anthology film RoGoPaG. As a reputed atheist, the reverential nature of his film was surprising, but Pasolini himself said "If you know that I am an unbeliever, then you know me better than I do myself. I may be an unbeliever, but I am an unbeliever who has a nostalgia for a belief." The film's credits include the announcement that it is dedicato alla cara, lieta, familiare memoria ("dedicated to the dear, joyous, familiar memory") of Pope John... less