''Pope John Paul II'' is a 1984 American biopic

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

based on the life of

Karol Wojtyła Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, from his early days as an activist in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

to his installation as

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. Written by Christopher Knopf and directed by

Herbert Wise Herbert Wise (31 August 1924 – 5 August 2015) was an Austrian-born film and television producer and director. He was born as Herbert Weisz in Vienna, Austria, and began his career as a director at Shrewsbury Repertory Company in 1950. He was at ...

, the film stars Albert Finney,

Caroline Bliss Caroline Bliss (born 12 July 1961) is an English actress who trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She is best known for her appearance as M's secretary, Miss Moneypenny, in the James Bond films of the Timothy Dalton era. Early life S ...

, Brian Cox, and

John Forgeham John Henry George Forgeham (14 May 1941 – 10 March 2017) was an English actor known for his television work, notably the role of businessman Frank Laslett in the ITV series ''Footballers' Wives''. Born in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, For ...

. The film marks both Albert Finney's American television debut and the first script Finney had ever turned down upon initial reading.

Synopsis

This film's timeline begins with the death of

Pope John Paul I Pope John Paul I ( la, Ioannes Paulus I}; it, Giovanni Paolo I; born Albino Luciani ; 17 October 1912 – 28 September 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City from 26 August 1978 to his death 33 days later. Hi ...

on September 28, 1978, and then flashes back to Karol Wojtyła as a young man growing up decades earlier in

Wadowice, Poland Wadowice (; ger, Frauenstadt – Wadowitz) is a town in southern Poland, southwest of Kraków with 19,200 inhabitants (2006), situated on the Skawa river, confluence of Vistula, in the eastern part of Silesian Foothills (Pogórze Śląskie). W ...

. The storyline then returns to pre-October 16 dates in 1978 and flashes back to Wojtyła's early life, family relationships, his political involvements fighting against

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and against

Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

afterwards in the Cold War, and his relationship and involvement in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

as he becomes a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

, a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

, a cardinal, and is eventually installed as the titular new

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Cast

* Albert Finney as Karol Wojtyła, Pope John Paul II *

as Rosa Kossack * Brian Cox as Father Góra *

as Officer Moljek *

Derek Francis Derek Francis (7 November 1923 – 27 March 1984) was an English comedy and character actor. Biography Francis was a regular in the Carry On film players, appearing in six of the films in the 1960s and 1970s. He appeared in '' The Tomb of Lig ...

as Bishop Lec *

Nigel Hawthorne Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne (5 April 1929 – 26 December 2001) was an English actor. He is most known for his stage acting and his portrayal of Sir Humphrey Appleby, the permanent secretary in the 1980s sitcom '' Yes Minister'' and the Cabi ...

as Cardinal

Stefan Wyszynski Stefan may refer to: * Stefan (given name) * Stefan (surname) * Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname * Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname * Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Stefan Heym, pseudonym of German writ ...

Marne Maitland James Marne Kumar Maitland (18 December 1914 – March 1992) was an Anglo-Indian character actor in films and television programmes. Biography Maitland was born in Calcutta, and educated at Bedales School before going up to Magdalene College, ...

as Mountain Sacristan *

John McEnery John McEnery (1 November 1943 – 12 April 2019) was an English actor and writer. Born in Birmingham, he trained (1962–1964) at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, playing, among others, Mosca in Ben Jonson's ''Volpone'' and Gaveston ...

as Mikołaj Kuczkowski *

Lee Montague Lee Montague (born Leonard Goldberg; 16 October 1927) is an English actor noted for his roles in film and television, usually playing tough guys. Montague was a student of the Old Vic School. Montague's film credits include ''The Camp on Blo ...

Ivan Konev Ivan Stepanovich Konev ( rus, link=no, Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев, p=ɪˈvan sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ ˈkonʲɪf; – 21 May 1973) was a Soviet general and Marshal of the Soviet Union who led Red Army forces on the ...

* Michael Müller as Pawel *

Jonathan Newth Jonathan Newth (born 6 March 1939) is an English actor. Early life Newth trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Career Newth's theatre work includes appearances with the RSC, in the West End and on Broadway. His television cre ...

as Archbishop

Adam Stefan Sapieha Prince Adam Stefan Stanisław Bonifacy Józef Cardinal Sapieha (; 14 May 1867 – 23 July 1951) was a senior-ranking Polish prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Kraków from 1911 to 1951. Between 1922 and 1923, he was a se ...

* Derrick O'Connor as Swiacki * Valentine Pelka as Boguslaw Banas *

Ronald Pickup Ronald Alfred Pickup (7 June 1940 – 24 February 2021) was an English actor. He was active in television, film, and theatre, beginning with a 1964 appearance in ''Doctor Who''. Theatre critic Michael Billington described him as "a terrific sta ...

as Jan Tyranowski *

Bruce Purchase Bruce Purchase (2 October 1938 – 5 June 2008) was a New Zealand actor known for his roles on stage and television. Born in Thames, New Zealand, he won a scholarship to study acting in England, training at RADA, and went on to become a foundin ...

as Jerzy Loparicz *

Andrew Ray Andrew Ray (31 May 193920 August 2003) was an English actor who was best known as a child star. Biography He was born Andrew Olden (Ray was his father's stage name) in Southgate, Middlesex, the son of the radio comic Ted Ray and his wife, sh ...

as Stanisław Pigoń *

Vincent Riotta Vincenzo Ricotta (born 14 October 1959), professionally known as Vincent Riotta, is a British actor. Career Riotta studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He went on to perform in various stage plays, such as Shakespeare's ''Romeo'', wh ...

as Teodor Krawick *

William Simons Clifford William Cumberbatch Simons (17 November 1940 – 21 June 2019) was a Welsh-born actor best known for his role as PC Alf Ventress in '' Heartbeat'', a role he played for 18 years, from 1992 to 2010. Early life Simons was born on 17 Novem ...

as Foreman Krauze *

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actors ...

as Party Secretary Wladyslaw Gomulka *

Philip Stone Philip Stone (14 April 1924 – 15 June 2003) was an English actor, well known for portraying film characters such as "Pa", the father of Alex DeLarge, in ''A Clockwork Orange''; General Alfred Jodl in '' Hitler: The Last Ten Days''; Delbert ...

as Archbishop Eugeniusz Baziak *

Kevin Stoney Kevin Stoney (22 January 1921 – 22 January 2008) was an English actor. He was best known for his television roles, in which he became familiar for his "portrayal of establishment types". During the Second World War, Stoney served with the Ro ...

as Bishop Dygat *

Malcolm Tierney Malcolm Tierney (25 February 1938 – 18 February 2013) was an English actor who appeared in many film and television roles. Early life Tierney's father, Ernest, was a boilermaker and trained draughtsman, from Warrington, who worked at Blackpoo ...

as Church Affairs Minister Skarzynski *

Fiona Walker Fiona Walker (born 24 May 1944) is an English actress, known for numerous theatre and television roles between the 1960s and 1990s. An early leading role was as Sue Bridehead in a BBC television production of ''Jude the Obscure'' (1971). She ma ...

as Anna Loparicz *

Tim Woodward Timothy Oliver Woodward (born 24 April 1953) is an English actor. Tim Woodward was born in Kensington, London, England, the son of actors Edward Woodward and Venetia Barrett. He was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College. He is pr ...

as Juliusz Kydrynski *

Sam Dastor Sam Dastor is an Indian-born British actor best known for his appearances in British television series. Life and career Dastor was born in India and raised in a Parsi family of Zoroastrian faith, though he later converted to Christianity. He g ...

as Józef Teitelbaum * Robert Austin as

Hans Frank Hans Michael Frank (23 May 1900 – 16 October 1946) was a German politician and lawyer who served as head of the General Government in Nazi-occupied Poland during the Second World War. Frank was an early member of the German Workers' Party ...

* Michael Crompton as Young

* Antony Brown as Father Zary *

Alfred Burke Alfred Burke (28 February 1918 – 16 February 2011) was an English actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Frank Marker in the drama series '' Public Eye'', which ran on television for ten years. Early life Born in London's south-east ...

as Karol Wojtyła Sr. * Victoria Fairbrother as Ruth Teitelbaum * Kilian McKenna as Stefan Putrya * Patrick Marley as Raczynski * Neil Nisbet as Wiktor * Natalie Slater as Hanna Jastrun * Eve Slatner as Sister Jadwiga * John Stacy as Grabowski * Mario Viggiano as Franciszek * Edwin Alexander Francis as Forest Guard

Production

Once Karol Wojtyła was installed as Pope, executive producer Alvin Cooperman made his decision to create the film project, and with the assistance of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the New York (state), State of New York. It encom ...

, sought

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

approval and cooperation. After reviewing the script, the Vatican welcomed the project. British actor Michael Compton portrayed Karol Wojtyła from ages 18 through 26, and Albert Finney portrayed Wojtyła from 27 years old, up to the time the former bishop was installed as Pope John Paul II. Finney had initially declined the role upon first reading the script, as he felt playing the role of someone so high-profile would be unnerving, but after re-reading the script, he accepted. Deciding that then-political problems in Poland would make shooting there problematical, producer Alvin Cooperman received permission to shoot in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, using

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

to represent

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. Three days before major filming was to commence, the Yugoslavian government rescinded permission and confiscated location footage that had already been shot. The production company was told they were not welcome due to the script's anti-Communist overtones as set by Wojtyła's disagreements with the Communist regime while he was a priest, cardinal and bishop. The project was subsequently filmed at locations in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, as well as in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Caprarola Caprarola is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, in the Lazio region of central Italy. The village is situated in a range of volcanic hills known as the Cimini Mounts. The town is home to the large Renaissance mansion or villa which ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The film debuted on CBS Television on

Easter Sunday Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel P ...

, April 22, 1984.

Reception

The Day The Day may refer to: Film and television * ''The Day'' (1914 film), an Australian silent film * ''The Day'' (1960 film), a short film * ''The Day'' (2011 film), a Canadian film * ''The Day'' (2022 film), a Bangladeshi–Iran joint production ...

'' wrote that in their considering the difficulties in offering a project about an incumbent Pope, the filmmakers treated the subject "with verve - and honesty". In not being a true

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

, the depiction of the life of Karol Wojtyła was not "tied to exact factual details", and included the addition "theatrical flourishes and appropriate emotional atmosphere", but still remained "a sound and vivid dramatization" reflecting the biographical record of a man whose "background had plenty of high drama in it without making it up". They did note that "some of the transitions were a bit ragged, and some of the ecclesiastical artificially stiff," but that "generally, the story has authenticity". '' The Courier'' in noting that lead Albert Finney was

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

, both director Herbert Wise and writer Christopher Knopf were

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, and cinematographer Tony Imi was Roman Catholic, wrote that the film was successful as "a compelling story about a man, rather than a religious tract about a pontiff." Producer Alvin Cooperman spoke toward the difficulties extant in writing about a living exalted person, and how he worked to dispel preconceptions that he was offering either a documentary or a "hallowed portrait" of (then-incumbent) John Paul II. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' made note of difficulties inherent in creating a film about a historical person while the person is living. They offered that while a person might be mythicized after their death, and might even be so when living, it is when they are living that a production company has boundaries, as "current images, common knowledge, popular consensus shape them." They wrote that this project was "at once enhanced and hindered by this." They granted that while Pope John Paul II's life story "is sure-fire for a biography", and viewers would likely have their own views and impressions of him, with his being a living subject, when it comes to historical accuracy, "A filmmaker can tamper with this only lightly, not only because heavy tampering would be distasteful, even irreverent, but because it would be jarring, an assault on our sensibilities." In the production company respecting this, the film becomes "almost a series of anecdotes." ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' made note that director

's choice of flashback to tell the story made the timeline easy to follow and allowed him to "introduce scenes from Wojtyła's early life in black and white." They applauded makeup artists for their making actor Albert Finney look "eerily like the Pope", and the actor himself for mastering "the Pope's stoop and his hand gestures". They found that in the director portraying "Wojtyła as a man without a flaw", the story itself was "without a moral dilemma and, therefore, without dramatic edge".

Accolades

AllRovi RhythmOne , previously known as Blinkx, and also known as RhythmOne Group, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel. Blinkx was founded in 2004, went publ ...

wrote that the screenplay by Christopher Knopf was "written with reverence and intelligence". The film received a 1985

WGA Awards The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility The ...

nomination for writer Christopher Knopf for 'Original Drama Anthology'.

References

External links

* {{Herbert Wise 1984 television films 1984 films 1984 drama films CBS network films American biographical drama films Films about Pope John Paul II Films set in Kraków Films shot in Poland Films shot in Austria Films shot in Rome American drama television films Films directed by Herbert Wise 1980s American films