Pope John Paul II (2005) (TV)

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)

Pope John II TV movie was brilliant and inspiring

I was riveted to the television set, watching Cary Elwes' brilliant and beautiful performance as John Paul the Great. It is such a pleasure to see a show on network TV, which seeks to instruct and uplift rather than the usual trash on TV, which demeans and degrades. When Mr. Elwes spoke, I could have sworn it was Wotyla himself. He captured the accent of the late Pope speaking English to the tee. There is no doubt that the late JPII was one of the most important figures of the 20th century. What I find the most appealing in this show, was the ability of Elwes and Voight to capture the warmth of the man. It also demonstrated his political shrewdness as a voice for Polish freedom. I wish there were more shows like this on television. What a breath of fresh air !!!!...10,000,000,000,000 stars !!!