Pope Joan (1972)

In medieval Europe, a pious young woman becomes a scholar of theology, disguises herself as a man, rises through the Catholic Church hierarchy and is elected Pope.

Director:

Michael Anderson

Writer:

John Briley (screenplay)

Stars:

Liv Ullmann, Jeremy Kemp, Natasa Nicolescu

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Liv Ullmann	...	Pope Joan
Jeremy Kemp	...	Joan's Father
Natasa Nicolescu	...	Joan's Mother
Sharon Winter	...	Joan as a child
Margareta Pogonat	...	Village woman
Richard Bebb	...	Lord of Manor
Peter Arne	...	Richard
Patrick Magee	...	Elder monk
George Innes	...	Monk
Nigel Havers	...	Young monk
Lesley-Anne Down	...	Cecilia
Susan Macready	...	Sister Nunciata
Shelagh Wilcocks	...	Sister Louise
Olivia de Havilland	...	Mother Superior
André Morell	...	Emperor Louis

Storyline

This movie is based on the medieval legend of Pope Joan, who was made Pope for a brief period around 855 A.D. Although it is questionable that Pope Joan really did exist, this movie presents her existence as fact, and portrays her relationships with other notables of the time.

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Plot Keywords:

pope | woman priest | religion | catholicism | character name as title | 

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Taglines:

Heresy ... or history ?

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 October 1972 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Devil's Imposter

Filming Locations:

Brasov, Romania

Company Credits

Production Co:

Big City, Command Production Establishment, Roadshow Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original plan was to shoot on location in Italy but this proved too expensive so the film was made at Bray Studios outside London, home to the Hammer horror movies. Some location work was done in Romania and Cyprus. Shooting in Romania proved to be rather difficult, given that there was hardly anything of a native film industry and also because the country was very tightly controlled by the Communist regime.

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Alternate Versions

The 2009 cut includes the 20th century scenes but omits 20 minutes of scenes with Joan being Pope.

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Connections

Version of Pope Joan (2009)

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Soundtracks

Tu es Petrus
Sung by The Sistine Chapel Choir
Under the Direction of Domenico Bartolucci

User Reviews

Don't moan at Joan, moan at the post production

The early 1970's was my favourite period in recent cinema history, classics such as Kubrick's Clockwork Orange, Skolimowsky's Deep End and Visconti's Death in Venice abound; but there are some, less than ringing endorsements of the era, this half-forgotten movie being one.

Liv Ullman, the embodiment of Scandinavian sang-froid, the epitome of ephemeral solemnity, plays Joan, a pious and youthful nun, who travels from a medieval convent, burnt down by Saxons, raping and pillaging, as if they misconstrued it for a set on a Ken Russell film, to Rome where disguised as a (rather attractive) young man, she wins her spurs, becomes a cardinal and eventually the first - and possibly last - female pope.

The trouble is, although Liv's performance is full of meaning and her fights against the alleged sin of lust, particularly enthralling, the editing, jumpiness and preposterousness of some scenes, leave an anxious viewer in need of redemption elsewhere.

True, it is interesting to see actors of the time - Lesley Anne Down, Maximillian Schell, Trevor Howard and Olivia de Havilland - giving robust performances, but a sandwich with an attractive filling is hardly worth eating if the bread is stale. And this is a stale mish mash, which ultimately fails to satisfy. It is a shame. The theme is interesting, whether the story is true or not. Given the current arguments amongst many religions on the role of women, it has significance for us in the 21st Century.

The scenery around Brasov, Romania, where it was filmed, which I visited post Ceausescu, is exemplary. Mind you, maybe the reason for the film's disjointed nature is just that - that the dictator, in his first flush of dictatorial youth, was in charge of production. There again, maybe Ceausescu was a woman. Now that would be a tale worth telling...