The Gospel According to St. Matthew

The Gospel According to St. Matthew follows Jesus from before his birth, when Joseph is told in a dream what is to come and the child must be kept from King Herod, through his baptism by John in the Jordan and his time of testing in the desert. Once he begins preaching, he gathers followers and teaches largely through parables, often aimed at the powerful. His words and his growing following bring him into conflict with the Pharisees, chief priests and elders, who move to have him arrested and tried.

Pier Paolo Pasolini directed and wrote the screenplay, drawing on the Gospel of Matthew. Released in 1965, it was the fourth of the fifteen features he directed, coming after La Rabbia and before The Hawks and the Sparrows. Alfredo Bini produced for Arco Film and Lux Compagnie Cinématographique de France. Enrique Irazoqui plays Jesus, with Margherita Caruso and Susanna Pasolini as the young and older Mary, Marcello Morante as Joseph, Mario Socrate as John the Baptist and Settimio Di Porto as Peter, among thirty-two credited cast members.

The film runs 137 minutes. On IMDb it holds a critics' rating of 8.6 from 37 reviews, while on TMDB its audience rating is 7.4 from 425 votes, a gap suggesting stronger critical than general approval.