Pope Joan (1972)
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23% of users liked it
(297 ratings)
Liv Ullman portrays a female pope -- based on a long-held rumor that the papacy was held by a woman between the reigns of Leo IV and Benedict III -- in this rambling saga directed by Michael Anderson. The British version of the film has been cut, not only removing twenty-one minutes of the film but… More Liv Ullman portrays a female pope -- based on a long-held rumor that the papacy was held by a woman between the reigns of Leo IV and Benedict III -- in this rambling saga directed by Michael Anderson. The British version of the film has been cut, not only removing twenty-one minutes of the film but also an entire contemporary framing story. In the full version, a modern-day woman evangelist, played by Ullman, who feels an affinity to the legendary Pope Joan, pays a visit to her psychiatrist (Keir Dullea). Searching through her past lives to see whether she is the reincarnation of Pope Joan, the film then flashbacks 1000 years to pick up Joan (Ullman in an earlier incarnation of her character) undergoing a succession of trials and tribulations. Joan then meets up with and becomes the mistress of Adrian (Maximilian Schell), a monk with an artistic bent. After the death of Charlemagne when roving bands of Saxons are raping women and ransacking the countryside, Joan flees the country by cutting her hair short and dressing like a man. Together Joan and Adrian escape to Greece. In Greece, Joan's street-corner preaching draws the attention of Pope Leo IV (Trevor Howard), who is impressed by her impassioned rendering of the Gospel. Still disguised as a man, Pope Leo, clueless as to her true sex, hires her as his secretary. From there, she rises up the ladder of the Roman Catholic Church, becoming a cardinal and then Pope Leo's successor. But then she becomes pregnant by a lover from her past (Franco Nero) and Joan must hide her delicate condition from the papal authorities and the rowdy masses. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Directed By
- Michael Anderson
- Genres
- Drama, Art House & International, Classics
PG,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1972 Wide
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Cast
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Liv Ullmann
as Joan
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Trevor Howard
as Pope Leo
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Lesley-Anne Down
as Cecilia
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Franco Nero
as Louis
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Olivia de Havilland
as Mother Superior
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Maximilian Schell
as Adrian
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Peter Arne
as Richard
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Robert Beatty
as Dr. Corwin
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Richard Bebb
as Lord of Manor
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Martin Benson
as Lothair
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Carl Bernard
as Ancient Monk
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Jack Byron
as Cardinal Jerome
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Kurt Christian
as Prince Charles
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Keir Dullea
as Dr. Stevens
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Derek Farr
as Cardinal Brisini
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Terence Hardiman
as Cardinal Anastasius
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Nigel Havers
as Young Monk
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George Innes
as 2nd Monk
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Jeremy Kemp
as Joan's Father
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Neil Kennedy
as Louis' Emissary
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Duncan Lamont
as 1st Wounded Soldier
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Susan Macready
as Sister Nunciata
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Patrick Magee
as Elder Monk
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André Morell
as Emperor Louis
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Natasa Nicolescu
as Joan's Mother
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Richard Pearson
as Father Timothy
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Katherine Schofield
as Alma
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John Shrapnel
as Father James
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Sharon Winter
as Joan as a child
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Mary Healey
as Nun
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Philip G. Ross
as Peasant In Hut
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Manning Wilson
as Bishop
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Margareta Pogonat
as Village Woman
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John Arineri
as Church Official
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Neville Aurelius
as Duty Doctor
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Lorain Bertorelli
as Nun
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Ion Grafini
as Wounded Soldiers
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Sheelah Wilcocks
as Sister Louise
