The death of Pope Francis necessitates the gathering of the College of Cardinals in Vatican City, known as a papal conclave, which comes less than six months after the acclaimed movieConclavewas released. The film addresses this very event, althoughConclavehas some inaccuracies.That said,Conclaveis far from the only movie to have been made about the pope. Over the past century, dozens of films and TV shows have portrayed both real and fictional popes as major characters.
The position has been featured as an important part of many historical movies and TV shows. Various fictional and non-fictional depictions of the pope have served as the basis for some of thebest Christian movies of all time, as well as several compelling political dramas. Not all of the best TV and film characterizations of the pope are dramatic renderings, though, as multiple documentaries about the now-deceased Pope Francis demonstrate.
This classic biopic about the father of the Protestant Reformation stars Irish actor Niall MacGinnis in the titular role, but alsofeatures Pope Leo X, as played by Philip Leaver. Leo X is the pope synonymous with the rebuilding of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. According to the plot ofMartin Luther, this construction project was funded by the pope conferring clerical titles and indulgences, a form of forgiveness in the Catholic Church, on worshippers in exchange for donations.
The movie was co-produced by the Lutheran Church, and while it contains historical inaccuracies, it’s generally an entertaining watch that rarely strays into outright dogmatism. MacGinnis revels in the opportunity to act out Martin Luther’s impassioned arguments in defense of his ideas and the sanctity of the Christian Gospel, most notably in his historic “Here I Stand” speech in front of the Holy Roman Emperor, at the Diet of Worms in 1521.
Becketisn’t just one of the best movies ever made about the pope. It’s among thebest movies of Peter O’Toole’s celebrated career as an actor, alongside the likes ofLawrence of ArabiaandGoodbye, Mr. Chips. O’Toole plays the temperamental King Henry II, who unexpectedly appoints the commoner Thomas Becket, played by Richard Burton, as Archbishop of Canterbury, the most senior religious title in England.
What follows isa tempestuous political drama rich with intrigue, in which Pope Alexander III is forced to interveneto protect the interests of the Catholic Church. The eponymous central character of the film finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place, as John Gielgud’s King Louis VII of France also tries to turn the situation to his advantage. Boasting some of the finest British and Irish actors of its generation, Becket is predictably full of powerhouse performances worthy of its status as a masterful historical epic.
Although it isn’t generally considered one ofCharlton Heston’s best movies,The Agony and the Ecstasyfeatures one of the most moving performances of the legendary actor’s career. Heston plays Michelangelo opposite Rex Harrison’s Pope Julius II, and the film centers on the painting of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel by its main character.
Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel between 1508 and 1512 under Pope Julius II, and then again between 1535 and 1541 under Pope Clement VII and Pope Paul III.
The title of the movie is a reference to the pain Michelangelo enduredin the process of creating his greatest artistic masterpiece, as well as the emotional response his work engenders. While not on the same plane of genius,The Agony and the Ecstasyis a fine piece of work itself, too, directed by Carol Reed, whose most famous movies includeThe Third ManandOliver!.
7We Have A Pope
2011
Almost four decades on from historical films likeBecket andThe Agony and the Ecstasy, the Italian-French black comedyWe Have a Pope(originally entitledHabemus Papamin Italy) took a very different approach to depicting the Holy See. LikeConclave,the movie follows the process of electing a new pope, only with a more satirical tonegiven its comedic bent.
Nevertheless,the twist in the tail ofWe Have a Popeis almost as brilliant asConclave’s. The movie poses the question of how psychotherapeutic treatment can work alongside the doctrine of the Catholic Church in a sensitive and wonderfully human way, which helps make it a hidden gem of a papal story that’s more than worth a watch.
The Borgiasisa gripping historical-political drama about the rise of the real-life House of Borgia, a wealthy noble family from Spain who got their hands on the papacy via the election of Pope Alexander VI. Jeremy Irons plays this pope as a corrupt schemer who’ll stop at nothing to get what he and his family want.
ThisTV show is among the most bingeable Showtimehas ever produced, and is perfect for fans of thrilling costume dramas fromGame of ThronestoWolf Hall. While it was canceled after three seasons as a cost-cutting measure by its TV network, the series has only grown in stature since its release, and remains one of the best dramas ever produced about the pope.
IfThe Borgiashad a real story to tell, thenThe Young Popebegan a succession of fictional movies and TV showsdevoted to imagined behind-the-scenes intrigues at the Vatican. Jude Law plays the titular character of this 10-episode miniseries, which follows the attempts of a newly elected young American pope to implement a radical shake-up of the Catholic Church.
Jude Law’s character Lenny Belardo is fictional, but it is theoretically possible for the Catholic Archbishop of New York to later become pope.
Meanwhile,The Young Pope’s machiavellian cardinal, Angelo Voiello, brings out his smartest tricks in an attempt to curb the ambitions of Pope Pius XIII, as those at the top of the Church look to resist the changes Jude Law’s character is trying to enact. The result isa darkly comic satire from Paolo Sorrentinothat skewers institutional authority in a manner that rivals the best work ofVeepandThe Thick of Itcreator Armando Iannucci.
Not every decent movie or TV show featuring the pope falls under the umbrella of history, satire, or political thriller, however.Pope Francis: A Man of His Wordis a Universal-produced documentary that involves the recently deceased head of the Catholic Church talking candidly into a camera for most of its 96 minutes.
The movie is an undeniably engrossing watch, thanks primarily to the figure it’s about. Whatever else could be said about him,Pope Francis was certainly a worldly intellectual who could hold court charismatically on a whole range of topics, from Italian neorealist cinema to the nature of faith.
One of the most acclaimed movies ever made about the position of pope,The Two Popesis a dramatization of the true storyabout Pope Benedict XVI’s conversations with the future Pope Francis between 2005 and 2014. While much of the film’s script is based on published and verified quotes from its two protagonists, who are played by Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce, respectively, there is plenty of dramatic embellishment thrown into its story for good measure.
Screenwriter Anthony McCarten basedThe Two Popeson his own play,The Pope, based on Joseph Ratzinger and Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s real contributions to philosophical debates within the Catholic Church.
The dramatic license it takes only serves to elevate the movie, though, asitpeers beneath the veil of the papacyto capture sides of these two popes we didn’t get to see. Even if what we see depicted onscreen never really happened asThe Two Popespresents it, the film reveals a picture that an interview given specifically with the public in mind never could.
Thissequel toThe Young Pope, released five years after its forerunner, sees the return of Jude Law’s Pope Pius XIII and Silvio Orlando’s Cardinal Angelo Voiello alongside a new central character, John Malkovich’s new pope John Paul III. Despite having a hard act to follow,The New Popeis a welcome continuation of the story that manages to maintain The Young Pope’s penchant for wickedly dark humor and delightfully villainous intrigue.
The Young PopeandThe New Popego down a treat back-to-back if politically-motivated subterfuge is what you’re looking for.
The show is definitely far more enjoyable if you watchThe Young Popebefore it, but the two miniseries go down a treat back-to-back if politically-motivated subterfuge is what you’re looking for. It remains to be seen whether there’s anything newer thanThe New Popein the offing from Cardinal Voiello and co., but it’d surely be lapped up by the show’s sizable cult following.
With a realconclave set to beginin May and end with the election of a new pope, it’s already time to revisit Edward Berger’s brilliant 2024 political thriller,Conclave. The movie was rightly considered a contender for the Best Picture Oscar during much of its theatrical run, with its rivetingly intricate plot superbly rendered on screen by an ensemble cast that includes Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, and John Lithgow.
