History Film / TheGospelAccordingToStMatthew

* AdaptationExpansion: Averted in general, but Pasolini does add a small silent scene where Joseph, after the Three Wise Men leave, goes and hugs little Jesus (now a toddler).
* BigOlUnibrow: Of all the characters in drama, you probably wouldn't expect Jesus Christ to have one. But it's how Enrique Irazoqui really looked, and it kind of fits this film's vision of a militant, rabble-rousing Jesus.

* OurAngelsAreDifferent: The angel that appears to tell Joseph what to do about his pregnant wife is dressed as a simple peasant girl, as befitting this NoBudget production.

* PragmaticAdaptation: Pasolini didn't write anything new, but he did cut a couple of scenes, like the Transfiguration (which would have required a lot more money and is usually AdaptedOut anyway) and the scene where a 12-year-old Jesus challenges the rabbi.

* AmateurCast: This was done quite frequently in the Italian Neorealism movement. The entire cast was filled with amateurs. Jesus is played by a Spanish student, Enrique Irazoqui, who asked Pasolini for an autograph at a university talk the latter gave. Pasolini immediately cast him as Jesus. After playing Jesus, [[https://en.chessbase.com/post/the-gospel-according-to-enrique-irazoqui- he later went on to become a professor in economics, literature and computer science expert]].

* InfantImmortality: The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_the_Innocents Massacre of the Innocents]] probably has never been staged in a more terrifying manner than Pasolini does here, with a squadron of soldiers rampaging through Bethlehem, chasing terrified mothers, ripping the babies from their arms and chopping the babies with swords.

Pier Paolo Pasolini was a gay atheist communist--in other words, about as unlikely a candidate as can be imaginable to film a Jesus movie. But in 1962 he was invited by Pope John XXIII to attend a dialogue the Pope wished to have by unbelievers. In his hotel room he wound up reading all four Gospels. Inspired by the quality of the Gospels as stories, Pasolini decided to make a movie, and picked the Gospel of Matthew as being the most cinematic.

* DespairEventHorizon: This is perhaps the first adaptation of Jesus that features him declaring on the Cross: "Father why has thou forsaken me?"

* BigOlUnibrow: Of all the characters in drama, you probably wouldn't expect Jesus Christ to have one. But it kind of fits this film's vision of a militant, rabble-rousing Jesus.

It is the most faithful cinematic adaptation of the Bible ever made. Pasolini did not invent any original story, sticking exclusively to the Gospel of Matthew. Not only that, he didn't even write a script, sticking to the verbatim dialogue straight from the Bible. The resulting film was named by the Vatican in 2015 as the best Jesus movie ever made.

* CultureChopSuey: The soundtrack combines Creator/JohannSebastianBach's ''St. Matthew's Passion'' (especially Pasolini's favorite Erbarme Dich, Mein Gott) with Missa Luba (the Congolese version of the Latin Mass that was a popular world music recording in the 50s-70s), with American blues: Odetta's "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" (which plays during the meeting of the three wise men with Mary and Joseph) and even a Jewish music "Kol Nidre".

* TimePassesMontage: Rather than show the Sermon on the Mount as a single speech, as it's presented in Matthew, it's shown as various clips of Jesus speaking on different occasions, showing the progress of his ministry.

* AdaptationExpansion: Averted in general, but Pasolini does add a small silent scene where Joseph after the Three Wise Men leave goes and hugs little Jesus (now a toddler).

* SilenceIsGolden: As noted above, Pasolini didn't write a word of original dialogue for the movie. Consequently, scenes needed for the story that don't have any dialogue in Matthew don't have any dialogue in the film either. The scene at the beginning establishes the story by showing a closeup of Mary, a closeup of Joseph, a medium shot showing that Mary is heavily pregnant, and a long shot of an obviously distress Joseph walking away--all in silence.

''The Gospel According to St. Matthew'' is a 1964 Italian film directed by Creator/PierPaoloPasolini.

* AmateurCast: This was done quite frequently in the Italian Neorealism movement. The entire cast was filled with amateurs.

* GoodIsNotNice: As noted above under BigOlUnibrow, this is a rather fiery, militant Jesus. Even when he heals people he orders them not to tell anybody. There's more than a hint of Pasolini's left-wing Marxism. The quote "I am come not to bring peace on the earth but the sword", often left out of adaptations that present a more gentle, loving Jesus, is very appropriate here. The film also includes a pissed-off Jesus killing a fig tree, another scene usually left out of Bible adaptations.

* DisturbedDoves

* GoodIsNotNice: As noted above under BigOlUnibrow, this is a rather fiery, militant Jesus. Even when he heals people he orders them not to tell anybody. There's more than a hint of Pasolini's left-wing Marxism. The quote "I am come not to bring peace on the earth but the sword", often left out of adaptations that present a more gentle, loving Jesus, is very appropriate here.

* PragmaticAdaptation: Pasolini didn't write anything new, but he did cut a couple of scenes, like Jesus's ascent into heaven and the scene where a 12-year-old Jesus challenges the rabbi.

It is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, namely, a cinematic adaptation of the Gospel of St. Matthew, one of Literature/TheFourGospels. It fits as much of the story of Jesus as one can into 2 hours and 17 minutes, starting with the Nativity story, following Jesus through his ministry, making a side trip to dramatize the beheading of John the Baptist, and ending with Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.

* {{Jesus}}: That's him!