Pope John Paul II (2005) (TV)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

John Kent Harrison

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

4 December 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

Following the premature death of his mother, Karol Wojtyla is brought up by his father in the Polish...

Plot Keywords:

Pope | Poland | Cardinal | Bishop | Church

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Giovanni Paolo II (Italy)
Jan Pawel II (Poland)

Runtime:

USA:186 min (including commercials) | Poland:127 min (theatrical version) | Italy:201 min (2 parts) | Poland:171 min (4 episodes)

Country:

Italy | USA | Poland

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Augustus)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Finland:K-11

Filming Locations:

Italy

Company:

Baltmedia

Trivia:

Ian Holm was originally cast for the role of Pope John Paul II but left for personal reasons.

Goofs:

Continuity: When John Paul gives the Urbi et Orbi blessing after he is elected, there are 16 people standing on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica. But in the following wide shot from St. Peter's Square, only two people can be seen on the balcony.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Catherine Zeta-Jones/Franz Ferdinand (#31.3)" (2005)

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.