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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Popes on film: cinema's five most memorable pontiffs | Popes on film: cinema's five most memorable pontiffs |
| (7 months later) | |
| Following news that Benedict XVI is to be the first pope to resign in 600 years, we introduce the only important matter for debate: what are the best on-screen portrayals of pontiffs? Here are a few of our favourites, including nominations from @guardianfilm Twitter followers @Lazslokovacs, @farah0912, @nigelfloyd, @pafster, @DulachG, @filipequintans and @FPSFilm. | Following news that Benedict XVI is to be the first pope to resign in 600 years, we introduce the only important matter for debate: what are the best on-screen portrayals of pontiffs? Here are a few of our favourites, including nominations from @guardianfilm Twitter followers @Lazslokovacs, @farah0912, @nigelfloyd, @pafster, @DulachG, @filipequintans and @FPSFilm. |
| 1. Robbie Coltrane in The Pope Must Die | 1. Robbie Coltrane in The Pope Must Die |
| The film might not have been a classic, but Robbie Coltrane is certainly one of the most memorable movie popes. | The film might not have been a classic, but Robbie Coltrane is certainly one of the most memorable movie popes. |
| Reading on mobile? Watch the clip on YouTube | Reading on mobile? Watch the clip on YouTube |
| 2. Rex Harrison in The Agony and the Ecstasy | 2. Rex Harrison in The Agony and the Ecstasy |
| Rex Harrison is a remarkably shouty Pope Julius II, butting heads over the painting of the Sistine chapel with an even shoutier Michelangelo in Charlton Heston. Who knew art history could be so testosterone-fuelled? | Rex Harrison is a remarkably shouty Pope Julius II, butting heads over the painting of the Sistine chapel with an even shoutier Michelangelo in Charlton Heston. Who knew art history could be so testosterone-fuelled? |
| Reading on mobile? Watch the clip on YouTube | Reading on mobile? Watch the clip on YouTube |
| 3. John Gielgud in The Scarlet and The Black | 3. John Gielgud in The Scarlet and The Black |
| Gielgud is suitably frosty and beleaguered as Pope Pius XII, struggling against all-out capitulation to the occupying Nazis. | Gielgud is suitably frosty and beleaguered as Pope Pius XII, struggling against all-out capitulation to the occupying Nazis. |
| Reading on mobile? Watch the clip on YouTube | Reading on mobile? Watch the clip on YouTube |
| 4. Michel Piccoli in Habemus Papam | 4. Michel Piccoli in Habemus Papam |
| There'll probably never be a more apt week to watch this amiable farce from Italian director Nanni Moretti, depicting a stress-racked pope who sees a psychiatrist and eventually resigns his position. | There'll probably never be a more apt week to watch this amiable farce from Italian director Nanni Moretti, depicting a stress-racked pope who sees a psychiatrist and eventually resigns his position. |
| Reading on mobile? Watch the clip on YouTube | Reading on mobile? Watch the clip on YouTube |
| 5. Scott Mechlowicz in Eurotrip | 5. Scott Mechlowicz in Eurotrip |
| We admit it: this only made the list as we couldn't find a clip of Paolo Stoppa as Alexander II in Becket. Still, for scenes of papal high jinks you can't do much better than the endearingly stupid Eurotrip. | We admit it: this only made the list as we couldn't find a clip of Paolo Stoppa as Alexander II in Becket. Still, for scenes of papal high jinks you can't do much better than the endearingly stupid Eurotrip. |
| Reading on mobile? Watch the clip on YouTube | Reading on mobile? Watch the clip on YouTube |
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