Pope Joan (1972 film)
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Pope Joan | |
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Directed by | Michael Anderson |
Written by | John Briley |
Produced by | Kurt Unger Daniel Unger (uncredited) John Briley (associate producer) Leonard C. Lane (executive producer) |
Starring | Liv Ullmann Olivia de Havilland Franco Nero |
Cinematography | Billy Williams |
Edited by | Bill Lenny |
Music by | Maurice Jarre |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date | 16 August 1972 |
Running time | 132 minutes (original uncut version) |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Pope Joan is a 1972 American medieval costume drama film based on the story of Pope Joan.[1] Even though modern consensus generally disputes Pope Joan as legendary,[2] in the film she is treated as fact.
It was directed by Michael Anderson and has a cast which includes Liv Ullmann (in the lead role), Olivia de Havilland, Lesley-Anne Down, Franco Nero and Maximilian Schell. The soundtrack was composed by Maurice Jarre with additional choral music provided by The Sistine Chapel Choir, directed by Domenico Bartolucci.[3]
The film was released on DVD in 2003 on Region 1 format disc.[4] It was also re-titled in some areas as The Devil's Imposter, with much material cut.
The version of the film released in 1972 differed significantly from the version that had originally been filmed. Anderson's original was made with flashbacks and flash-forward sequences about a modern-day evangelical preacher who believes her life parallels that of Pope Joan. In this version psychiatrists try to send her back through her past lives to establish if she is the reincarnation of Pope Joan.[5] However, the distributor decided to have all of the contemporary sequences removed and released the film as a straightforward historical drama. In 2009 the film was re-edited and the previously unreleased footage was re-inserted. It was re-released under the title She… Who Would Be Pope.[6]
Cast
- Liv Ullmann as Pope Joan
- Olivia de Havilland as Mother Superior
- Lesley-Anne Down as Cecilia
- Trevor Howard as Pope Leo IV
- Jeremy Kemp as Joan's Father
- Patrick Magee as Elder monk
- Franco Nero as Louis
- Maximilian Schell as Brother Adrian
- Martin Benson as Lothair
- Terrence Hardiman as Cardinal Anastasius
- André Morell as Emperor Louis the Pious
- Derek Farr as Count Brisini
- Richard Pearson as Father Timothy
- Margareta Pogonat as village woman
- Richard Bebb as Lord of Manor
- John Shrapnel as Father James
- Natasha Nicolescu as Joan's Mother
- Sharon Winter as young Joan
See also
- Pope Joan (2009 film)
- List of historical drama films
References
- ^ "Pope Joan (1972)". IMDb. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ "Catholic Encyclopedia: Pope Joan". Newadvent.org. 1 October 1910. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
- ^ "Pope Joan (1972) Soundtracks". IMDb. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ "Pope Joan". Amazon.com. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ "She... Who Would Be Pope (2009)". British Film Institute. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ "She…Who would be Pope". Shewhowouldbepope.com. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
External links
- 1972 films
- 1970s drama films
- American drama films
- American films
- Films set in Vatican City
- Films set in the Holy Roman Empire
- Films directed by Michael Anderson
- Films set in the 9th century
- Films set in the Viking Age
- Cross-dressing in American films
- Films based upon European myths and legends
- Films about fictional popes
- Columbia Pictures films
- Secret histories