Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful film, inexcusably poor DVD
Review: This is the very best of the Jesus movies, for its genuineness and transparency. The choice of using local, non-actors to portray the characters is brilliant. Pasolini doesn't embellish the gospel text, he simply tries to remain true to it, though no-one is uncolored by their own views (Pasolini's Marxism shows). The film's only weak points are the soundtrack, which is crude and inappropriate ("Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" at the Nativity scene?? "Fatherless" would have been more appropriate!) The miracles are also rather childishly portrayed, in what a friend calls an "I Dream of Jeanie" style. What is inexcusable is that the transfer to DVD is so poor. Even the subtitles (unfortunately adopting the King James translation) look terrible. There are not even any chapter divisions, so it is impossible to navigate around the film. The only thing approaching an informative "bonus feature" is an abstruse and outdated documentary about Pasolini. (Funny, too, how the DVD cover doesn't depict a scene from the film, or Jesus, but Pasolini!) By all means see the movie, but you might as well get the VHS, as you gain nothing from the DVD version.
Rating:
Summary: Minimal black and white
Review: This movie, by one of Italy's premier directors, was filmed in the early 1960s with many non-professional actors. By doing so, I feel that he kept the emphasis away from the star actor and placed the emphasis on the story. If you are a fan of action and special effects, then this movie is not for you. Also, if you are looking for historical accuracy, the soldiers' uniforms don't quite fit the time. The focus of the film is on the words being spoken and on the reaction in people's faces. The camera moves from face to face in a crowd so that you can see how the events are affecting us all. Although different versions exist, I chose the one with subtitles so that I could focus on the camera work. This may not have been a good choice. The translation was more King James-ish so you had plenty of "thee" and "thou." There are some misspellings, which can be a little distracting. Most distracting though is the white lettering with the black and white background. In some scenes, you can read what all is being printed. The subtitled version would not be my first choice to recommend viewing.
Rating: 
Summary: A true biblical classic!
Review: Unlike many other movies about Jesus, this one, i.e., The Gospel According to St. Matthew, does not have the flashy outfits or the special effects. In fact, in its sparseness one can come closer to the true essence of the Christ figure without getting lost in the Hollywood garments or scene-stealing actors.
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