The Gospel of St. Matthew (Il vangelo secondo Matteo) is a 1964 Italian neorealist biblical drama film written and directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini.
It is a film adaptation of the tale of Jesus (as portrayed by non-professional actor Enrique Irazoqui) as told in Matthew’s Gospel, from the Nativity through the Resurrection. Pasolini based the discourse on the Gospel of Matthew because “pictures could never attain the lyrical heights of the text.” He allegedly picked Matthew’s Gospel above the others because “John was too mystical, Mark was too profane, and Luke was too romantic.”
The film is regarded as a neorealist and global cinema masterpiece. Following its first release, it received the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, as well as three Nastro d’Argento Awards, including Best Director. It was nominated for three Academy Awards as well. The Vatican City daily L’Osservatore Romano rated it the finest film ever made on Christ in 2015.