Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II (1984)

Sub-Genres - Biopic [feature], Religious Drama  |   Release Date - Apr 22, 1984 (USA - Unknown)  |   Run Time - 150 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson

Filmed in Rome and Austria on a budget of $5 million, the made-for-TV biopic Pope John Paul II stars Albert Finney, making his American TV debut as the Polish-born Pontiff. The film begins in 1938, when teen-aged Karol Wojtyla (Michael Crompton), a would-be actor, decides instead to enter the priesthood. Played from age 26 onward by Finney, Wojtyla spends the war years in the Polish anti-Nazi movement. He continues battling for his beliefs with the Communist-ruled Polish government in the postwar years. In 1978, Wojtyla is elected to succeed Pope John Paul I, thereby becoming the first non-Italian pope in four centuries. Pope John Paul II was written with reverence and intelligence by Christopher Knopf; it was originally telecast April 22, 1984.

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Keywords

leader, activism, career, Catholicism, Communism, Nazism, Pope, religion