Pope John Paul II

It was a good showing of the history of the saint and the hardship he went through with a different approach. The people around him were drawn to his love for all.

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Both Carey Elwes and Jon Voight turn in profound and moving performances, but Jon Voight’s seamless embodiment of Saint John Paul II is astounding and should have garnered Voight an Oscar nomination.

This is not a dull historical biography or religious hagiography, but a passionate human story that reaches straight to your heart. Without silliness or exaggeration, "Pope John Paul II" tells the very human story of an ordinary man who responded to the immense sufferings of his life with an extraordinary love that never wavered. There are heartbreaking moments in this film that are so real and understated they will bring tears to your eyes. Karol Wojtyla's mother and older brother (his only sibling) were both dead by the time he was 12. Raised by his single dad, who was a retired army sergeant, he studied theater and philosophy at Krakow's Jagiellonian University, where the German invasion of Poland forced him at age 19 to seek out manual labor in a quarry after the Nazis closed his school. Then his dad died in 1942 and he was left alone in the world. After doing underground theater productions for a little while, he chose to enter an underground seminary, studying secretly for the priesthood during the German occupation. After the war he became a priest, bishop and cardinal, fighting the Communists who had taken over Poland and declared war on religious freedom. After being elected pope at age 58 in 1978, he took the name John Paul II and became a major player on the world stage, helping to topple Soviet Communism and fight for human rights over the course of the next 26 years before he gradually withered away under the onslaught of Parkinson's disease. He was an actor and athlete who loved crowds, but he was also one of the great figures in human history. Due to the modern media, I have read that more people saw John Paul II in person or on camera than any other figure in human history, and his public funeral in April 2005 was a major world event. This film does justice to these events in his life with a first-rate cast (including James Cromwell and Christopher Lee) and location shooting that extends from Poland to Rome. Recreations of big historical moments like the WWII invasion of Poland and the papal conclave of 1978 are incredibly well depicted without any hint of staginess. Both Cary Elwes (as the younger Karol Wojtyla) and Jon Voight (as Karol after he is elected pope) are exceptional as John Paul II, channeling his public persona so well that you sometimes forget you are watching actors. They are especially good at evoking the evolution of Karol Wojtyla from his humble origins to the leader of 1 billion Catholics worldwide. Don't be fooled by the other films on John Paul II: This is the only one that is worthwhile. The made-for-TV productions "Have No Fear" (ABC) and "Karol: The Man, The Pope" (including its prequel) pale in comparison to this heartwarming film. Unlike those productions, this movie (originally aired on CBS) does not merely depict events in the manner of a high school social studies report, but inspires faith in human nature. This is not a film to be missed. Short of meeting the real John Paul II, or seeing one of the better documentaries on his life, this 3-hour telepic is as good as it gets. To people of all faiths and none, I cannot recommend it enough.

It is cleverly handled with Cary Elwes playing JPII as a young man/priest and John Voight taking over as he became Pope. Have watched it many times and have always enjoyed it.

Very well done movie!!! Loved it.

Wonderful movie about the life story of Pope John Paul II and so touching that it brought me to tears. I am very grateful for the producers to put into film the life story of Pope Paul John II. The director of this movie did an excellent job on directing the actors and actresses. Jon Voight did an amazing performance as Pope John Paul. He should have the won the Emmy Award for his performance because he was very realistic. He has also a resemblance to the pope and for a second you think you are looking at the real pope. I recommend this movie to be seen by all religious people. All the actors performed very well in this movie.

I was greatly impressed with the depth of John Paul's early life and his eventual grace to forgive the man who shot him. Great movie about a great man.

Gary Elwes and Jon Voight give the audience very fine performances. Gary (as the young Karol) gives veritable insight to the future Pope's young life and the struggles of living in Poland during the Nazi invasion of his beloved Poland. Gary's performance shows Karol's love of his friends caught in the revolution of the times and his love of God, ultimately leading him to choose the priesthood. Jon Voight's performance is equally if not better, in so far as we now get to know the interesting details Pope's life, his challenges, how he dealt with the assassination attempt and his good works during his long papacy. Whomever cast Voight for this role, knew what they were doing. At some points, Voight's physical appearance and actions makes one believe they are actually looking at the real John ii. Jon delivered an outstanding representation of the Pope. One cannot help admire (even more) some of the many contributions Pope John ii made. A really fine film from Ignatius Press. Elwes and Voight carry the day in this film. The supporting cast, including the likes of veteran actor Ben Gazzara round out a genuinely fine viewer experience.

Between 1993 and 1995 I lived in Lublin, Poland, where Karol Wojtyla used to teach. I met many Poles who thought that this was one of the greatest living men of the time. Not being Catholic, I had no positive nor negative opinions about him.This year for some reason I became curious about the Pole, so many talked about as being a Saint. I had watched the other film about John Paul's life called, Karol-a man who would become Pope, before watching this film. I thoroughly enjoyed the other film, but felt it ended too early, as his life as Pope was not looked at. Karol left me intrigued to find out more about this man. I stumbled across this title by accident, I had no idea John Voight had made it.This film starts with the assassination attempt May 13th 1981. It then regresses back to 1939 when Karol was living in Kracow and was an Actor and University student. Cary Elwes plays the young Karol. For me the actor Piotr Adamczyk who played Karol in the first film I watched was a far better actor for this role, he was just more believable. The two films look at the same events in general, but present what I thought were facts about his life in different ways. One of the films must be inaccurate, I am not sure which one is which. Once again with this film, a great deal of time is spent looking at his time in Poland and how he became Pope.For me the utter delight of this film is in the second half, when John Voight takes over the role as the Pope. This is done whilst dressing, after his election to the Papacy. If I hadn't have seen the film, the idea of Voight playing John Paul would have sounded strange. All I can say after seeing the film is WOW, he looks and acts just like John Paul. Voight is so believable as Pope. The rest of the film looks at the Pope's life after election and looks at the Polish problem in the 1980's from his eyes. The film ends with his death in 2005.This film is a great portrait of a very great man. I have so much admiration for Karol Wojtyla after watching the two films. This is a made for TV film and does suffer from some low budget special effects, but these do not detract from what is a great biopic film of a great man.

It is incredible that this film had not had a public showing in the UK. Here is a fascinating life of the greatest pope of the last century , a great saint, a man of enormous faith and intellect. We follow the story from the beginning of the second world war, the Nazi occupation of Poland, through to the post-war communist regime: the fears and courage, the doubts and the moral choices both the young and the old have to make under these extraordinary circumstances. There is a good balance of tension, drama, spirituality and humour. Although this was really good, in my opinion the film came into its own when the story moved to the Vatican. The determination and urgency with which John Paul II worked to achieve his objective, peace in the world, was infectious. I was deeply touched by his heroism, courage, self-giving and optimism. We knew about it while he lived but the details bring it home even more. It is also wonderful to see the conclave from the inside, the visitors to the private audiences as well as friends, cardinals, doctors, politicians. The director made a great job of this! And John Voight - although he does NOT look like John Paul II despite having a Czech grandfather - does really act like him and manages to convey his strength, charisma, charm, humility, cheerfulness and shall I call it luminosity? - simply his sanctity. The film is well researched. I was amazed to see that Cassaroli managed to arrange to have Lech Walesa brought out of prison for a private meeting with the pope somewhere in the countryside - with both communist minders and pope`s security men looking on from the distance!I would also like to mention the moving music by Marco Frisina, an Italian composer and a priest. Whoever watched the recent beatification of John Paul II in Rome, will not easily forget the official hymn he wrote for the occasion, Aprite le porte a Cristo - Open the doors to Christ.The international scope of the film deals with several different nationalities, Poles, Italians, Germans (Cardinal Ratzinger!) and more, and I found it really charming how all these actors speak English with a particular heavy foreign accent whether they are English or American, Polish or Italian.I will watch this inspirational film again and do recommend it to anyone. John Paul II is a modern hero worthy of our admiration, a man with a big heart who suffered a lot and carried his cross with admirable generosity and love. I was interested to see what my non-Catholic friends would say: they have watched it and loved it!

What can be said about this iconic figure of the 20th Century that hasnt been said. This film gives a good review of St John Paul II's life and gives a good portrayal of the man behind the legend. Particularly moving performance by Jon Voight of the Pope's final days as he succumbs to Parkinson's disease is s tribute to the unyielding spirit of faith that kept him going to the very end.

This pope will be canonised on 27/04/13.I would love to be present at the canonisation of this amazing manI first started to watch this video (in Polish) during a pilgrimage to Poland from England.I therefore purchased the English version from America,on return to UK.a GRIPPING story throughout.Maureen

Excellent production, respectfully and sensitively done. Carey Elwes and John Voigt are superb as the younger and older Karol Wotijla respectively. The film begins with the shooting of Pope JP2 in Rome and then traces back his early life and activities, showing how from the beginning he was involved in the cause of justice in Poland, and his emerging finally as the ideal candidate for the Papacy. With directorial assistance from the Vatican, this film is true to Wotijla's life and done with great style. Voigt's protrayal of the physical decline of the ageing Pope is very well done without being sentimental or stagey. The images from this film remained in my memory for weeks after my first viewing. I recommend it thoroughly.