A committed Marxist, Pasolini made this chronicle of the life of Christ faithfully according to St. Matthew’s account, clearly showing the revolutionary and radical fervor implicit in the story and imparting the nature of its appeal to common people over so many centuries. The use of nonprofessional actors, location shooting in southern Italy (with a remarkable rock-wall city in a barren landscape), western classical music, and the African “Misa Luba,” all combine to render Pasolini’s earthiness, directness, and desperate spirituality. This is one of the greatest films ever made on Biblical subject matter.