IMDb > To Kill a Priest (1988)

To Kill a Priest (1988) More at IMDbPro »

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To Kill a Priest (1988) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
5.9/10   559 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
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Director:
Agnieszka Holland
Writers:
Michael Cooper (English adaptation)
Agnieszka Holland (screenplay)
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Contact:
View company contact information for To Kill a Priest on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
13 October 1989 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | History | Thriller more
Plot:
A young priest speaks out against the Communist regime in Poland and is killed for it. | add synopsis
User Comments:
Central miscasting spoils a good film more (4 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Christopher Lambert ... Father Alek

Ed Harris ... Stefan

Joss Ackland ... Colonel

Tim Roth ... Feliks

Timothy Spall ... Igor

Pete Postlethwaite ... Josef (as Peter Postlethwaite)
Cherie Lunghi ... Halina

Joanne Whalley ... Anna
David Suchet ... Bishop

Charlie Condou ... Mirek (as Charles Condou)
Tom Radcliffe ... Young Soldier
Wojciech Pszoniak ... Bridge Player (as Wojtek Pszoniak)
Johnny Allen
George Birt (as Georges Birt)
André Chaumeau (as Andre Chaumeau)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Le complot (France)
Popieluszko
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Runtime:
117 min
Country:
France | USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby
Certification:
Spain:13 | West Germany:16 | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Finland:K-16 | USA:R | Argentina:13

FAQ

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8 out of 19 people found the following comment useful.
Central miscasting spoils a good film, 11 February 2005
6/10
Author: Hairy_Lime from Phoenix, Arizona

Every so often, you can see a mediocre film, and get a hint of what the film could have been with just a few changes. This is one of them; it features several excellent actors - Ed Harris, Tim Roth, Pete Postlethwaite, Joss Ackland (sorry for misspellings!) - but one unforgivably bad casting decision: casting the absolutely charisma-deprived Christopher Lambert as the Priest. To believe in the film at all, the priest has to be seen as dangerously attractive to the people, a charismatic leader. Lambert cannot portray that. He is one of the worst actors around, and he kills this picture dead.

Two other major gripes about the film: there is a scene where the priest is lectured by his bishop and then sent to Rome - or not, since he never actually goes. What was that there for? To show that the Polish Church was in cahoots - or at least practiced accommodation - with the government? Fine. But at least, SEND HIM TO ROME. Otherwise you have a useless scene that detracts from the movie.

The other gripe: I suppose there is some screenwriter union rule that dictates that if you have a movie involving a priest, an attractive woman has to fall hopelessly in love with him. What a stupid, useless, cliché, especially in a movie like this.

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