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The Popes of Hollywood |
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Hollywood has not always had a very good record when it comes to adapting history to the silver screen. One thing is certain: nothing is sacred; and so the Popes have also been dealt with in film from time to time, sometimes fairly and sometimes not. Some may remember the Canadian actor Raymond Burr, most famous for his portrayal of Perry Mason, as Pope John XXIII in the 1973 film "Portrait: A Man Whose Name was John" showing how the Church helped the Jews in World War II. Anthony Quinn played the fictitious first Russian pope in the 1968 film "The Shoes of the Fisherman". In a little known 1985 film, Tom Conti plays the fictitious Pope Leo XIV who becomes disillusioned with his papal duties and after being mistakenly locked out of the Vatican helps the poor and plague stricken people of a small Italian village. Here is a few other of the better known examples: |
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Elizabeth: A well made and acted but historically atrocious film about the rise to power of Queen Elizabeth I and the plots against her. Only one Catholic in the entire film is portrayed kindly. The aged John Gielgud, who has played three popes in his acting career, is brought in to play "The Pope" who though unnamed, I would guess to be based on Pope St Pius V. Although we only see him in two scenes, the Pope is portrayed as a cruel and scheming tyrant, ready to open the gates of Heaven to the Queen's assasins and calling the movie's heroine "that illegitimate whore". Well, sorry folks, but Elizabeth WAS illegitimate even by Anglican standards as she was fathered before Henry VIII had married his mistess Anne Boleyn. And Elizabeth is shown in the film very hot and heavy with the Earl of Leicester, who is married, so the accusation of being a whore is hardly groundless either. |
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The Agony and the Ecstasy: A 1965 film starring Charleton Heston as Michaelangelo and Rex Harrison as the "Warrior Pope" Julius II. He plays the part well, perhaps even coming off better than the real Julius would have. We see him in full army slashing his way through battles, directing sieges and losing his temper with the fickle Michelangelo. However, he insists that he is a meek and humble man and by the end of the film this is proven true. His combat is for the glory of the Church, to protect her independence and make sure that no foreign power can dominate her. For a part that may seem at first to be that of the villain, we come to see the Warrior Pope as a good, courageous pontiff. |
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The Godfather Part III: The final chapter in the saga of mafia boss Michael Corleone, this 1990 film also featured Raf Vallone as the fictional Cardinal Lamberto who is elected as Pope John Paul I (although they keep the papal name and fit in his actual death with the story, the Pope's real name was Albino Luciani). Cardinal Lamberto is presented as an honest and holy man who Michael seeks out for help against those within and without the Church who are conspiring against him, particularly Archbishop Gilday, head of the Vatican Bank, who is in league with mafia bosses opposed to the Corleone family. The film mentions the sickness and death of Pope Paul VI (who is implied to have 'looked the other way' on the corruption in the Vatican) and the film depicts the conclave electing Cardinal Lamberto who takes the name "Ioannes Paulus Primus". He immediately starts cleaning house. Michael Corleone realizes this will put the new Pope in danger, but it is too late to save Lamberto (John Paul I) whose sudden death after only a month on the Petrine throne is implied to have been the work of poison by Corleone's mafia enemies and their allies in the Church. |
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Pope Joan: Also known as "the Devil's Imposter", soon to be re-made, this 1972 film deals with the fictitious case of "Pope Joan", a legend that arose, was taken as fact for a short time, but which had been firmly refuted as totally false. The movie stars Liv Ullmann as the woman who disguised herself as a man and was elected Pope, taking the name of "John". Trevor Howard is Pope Leo and Maximilian Schell is Adrian, the man who had an affair with the female pontiff. The film itself cannot be seperated from the fact that the story it is based on is totally false. The legend says that "Pope Joan" reigned for 2 years before she was impregnated (in the film by the monk Adrian) and gives birth during a procession, after which she and her child are killed by the enraged Roman mob. |
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