‘The Godfather Part III’ (1990)
Parts of Francis Ford Coppola's threequel starring Al Pacino, Andy Garcia and Diane Keaton were based loosely on historical events, namely the 33-day papacy of John Paul I in 1978. Like the movie's fictional Cardinal Lamberto (Raf Vallone), who becomes John Paul I, the real John Paul — known as "The Smiling Pope — was found dead in his bed soon after becoming pontiff.
‘Angels and Demons’ (2009)
Brian Grazer and Ron Howard famously brought Dan Brown's hit novel to the big screen with Tom Hanks reprising his role as symbologist Robert Langdon from The Da Vinci Code. The film shows Rome as it prepares for the conclave as Camerlengo Patrick McKenna (Ewan McGregor) assumes temporary control of the Vatican. It later emerges that McKenna came up with a scheme to become pope, which leads to his suicide.
‘Pope Joan’ (2009)
Donna Woolfolk Cross’ historical best-seller, about a ninth century pope who actually was a woman, took longer to bring to the big screen than the reign of most pontiffs. After decades in development purgatory, German producer Constantin finally delivered — with German actress Johanna Wokalek moving from playing a terrorist in the Oscar-nominated The Baader Meinhof Complex to ascending St. Peter’s throne. John Goodman has a supporting role as wine-swilling Pope Sergius.
‘Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult’ (1994)
Actor Gene Greytak played the pope in Leslie Nielsen's final outing at Lt. Frank Drebin and in other 1990s slapstick films thanks to his resemblance to John Paul II. The impersonator, a retired real estate broker, died in 2010. In Naked Gun 33 1/3, Greytak joins an actor playing Bill Clinton in running away from an attack.
‘The Pope’s Toilet’ (2007)
El Bano del Papo details the frenzied preparations by a small South American village on the border of Uruguay and Brazil ahead of an expected 1998 visit by Pope John Paul II. Written and directed by Cesar Charlone and Enrique Fernandez, the movie was Uruguay's submission for the foreign-language film Oscar race but didn't get a nomination.
‘The Borgias’ (Showtime) and ‘Borgia’ (Netflix, U.S.)
The notorious Borgia family, the 15th century dynasty that became known for spawning the worst of the bad popes, has inspired a dozen films and TV series. In Neil Jordan's Showtime series The Borgias, Jeremy Irons gives his Machiavellian best as family patriarch Rodrigo Borgia. John Doman gives that same character a tough-guy touch in Tom Fontana's French-German series Borgia, whose second season premieres March 13 on Canal Plus in France and will be available this year on Netflix in the U.S.
‘We Have a Pope’ (2011)
Much-feted Italian director Nanni Moretti turned his filmmaking eye to the pope with his usual dry wit. The film details the relationship between a newly elected pope and his therapist. Michel Piccoli won a best actor award at the David di Donatello Awards, Italy's top film awards, for his turn as the head of the Catholic Church.
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