Master Rank #608

The Gospel According to St. Matthew

1964

GCML Total7.8640% Greatness · 40% Engagement · 20% Ease

Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini

CastEnrique Irazoqui · Margherita Caruso

Italy / FranceItalianHistory / Drama137 minNot Rated
Sight & SoundNarrative FeatureModerate pace
Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List

Spoiler-free premise

The life of Jesus Christ according to the Gospel of Matthew.

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Using the Gospel of Matthew's text, Pasolini follows Jesus from birth and baptism through teaching, miracles, confrontation, crucifixion, and resurrection. Nonprofessional performers and southern Italian landscapes place the sacred narrative among materially poor faces and places.

Why it belongs

Through nonprofessional faces, handheld movement, stark landscapes, and music crossing sacred traditions, The Gospel According to St. Matthew gives scripture austere immediacy.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

Matera stone, wind, crowds, frontal speech, rough clothing, Bach, spirituals, and Congolese music strip biblical cinema of decorative luxury—Enrique Irazoqui's severe young Jesus makes teaching urgent and political.

Major award wins

No verified wins in this six-institution crosswalk.

Awards are reference metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20

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