Pope John Paul II (TV 2005)

Following the premature death of his mother, Karol Wojtyla is brought up by his father in the Polish city of Krakow during the first half of the 20th century. An outstanding student with a ... See full summary »

Director:

John Kent Harrison

Writers:

John Kent Harrison (teleplay), Francesco Contaldo (earlier teleplay),

Stars:

Jon Voight, Cary Elwes, James Cromwell

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jon Voight	...	Pope John Paul II / Karol Wojtyla
Cary Elwes	...	Young Karol Wojtyla
James Cromwell	...	Cardinal Adam Sapieha
Christopher Lee	...	Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski
Ben Gazzara	...	Cardinal Agostino Casaroli
Daniele Pecci	...	Roman
Vittoria Belvedere	...	Eva
Giuliano Gemma	...	Navarro Valls
Ettore Bassi	...	Gapa
Wenanty Nosul	...	Stanislaw Dziwisz
Stefano Molinari	...	SS Officer
Valeria Cavalli	...	Teresa
Bartosz Glogowski	...	SS Officer
Chiara Conti	...	Anna
Bianca Nappi	...	Vittoria

Storyline

Following the premature death of his mother, Karol Wojtyla is brought up by his father in the Polish city of Krakow during the first half of the 20th century. An outstanding student with a magnetic personality, he dreams of becoming an actor. When his homeland is invaded by the Nazis in 1939, he and his friends secretly oppose the systematic persecution of their Polish culture. But, with the death of his father and the lacerating solitude which accompanies this loss, Karol's personal "resistance" takes on a new form and he decides to follow a priestly vocation. At the end of the war, Poland falls into the grip of Soviet totalitarianism. The newly ordained Karol is constantly surrounded by young people whom he teaches to safeguard and defend human dignity. He could be considered a serious threat to the regime, but the Communist authorities merely see him as an innocuous intellectual and even encourage his nomination for the position of bishop. Karol Wojtila is the youngest bishop in ...

---

Plot Keywords:

pope | poland | bishop | nazi | church | 

---

Taglines:

The faith to inspire millions begins with the power of one.

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama

---

Details

Official Sites:

CBS [us]

Country:

Italy USA Poland

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 December 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Vida de João Paulo II

Filming Locations:

Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Baltmedia, CBS Productions, Granada Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

201 min 186 min 127 min (theatrical) 201 min (2 parts) 171 min (4 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Augustus)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was approved by the late Pope John Paul II. The project started before his death, and Pope John Paul II was very hands-on with the production and knew of the script. Also, Pope Benedict XVI praised the film after watching a screening on November 2005. However, what Pope Benedict XVI saw was a brief cut-down version of Part 1 and all of Part 2, which covers the papacy of Pope John Paul II.

---

Goofs

After Wojtyla accepts the papal election, the cardinals rise and applaud. The camera then pans in towards the new Pope. However, if you look closely, it is actually the mirror image shot from the previous conclave, with John Paul I clearly in the middle of it all instead of John Paul II.

---

Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Catherine Zeta-Jones/Franz Ferdinand (2005)

User Reviews

excellent biography

I commend CBS for airing this excellent biography of Pope John Paul II. I feel it did a marvelous job of portraying his courage, faith and love! There was a continuity from event to event that was not apparent in the biography aired by a rival network a few days earlier. Because of all the Pope did, it was impossible to do an adequate job of showing his life with only a two-hour movie. It is refreshing that an American television network chose to depict the Pope in a positive way instead of denigrating religion as the secular media are often wont to do. I also appreciated being shown how Pope John Paul II turned to God for inspiration when he had choices to make and during his trials. Finally, I think Jon Voigt was able to capture the Pope's sense of humour and his char ism.