Where to watch
Available at home
A Russian political prisoner becomes Pope to prevent atomic war.
Why watch this film?
Based on the best-selling book by Morris L. West, this sweeping epic follows Academy Award-winner Anthony Quinn ("Zorba the Greek", "Lawrence of Arabia") as a Russian political prisoner who becomes Pope and tries to prevent an atomic war. Also starring Oscar-winners Sir Lawrence Olivier ("Wuthering Heights," "Marathon Man") and Sir John Gielgud ("Arthur," "Ghandi"), and TV's original "Fugitive," David Janssen. Received Oscar nominations for Best Original Score and Art Direction.
"The Shoes of the Fisherman is a movie starring Anthony Quinn and based on the novel of the same name by Morris West. It tells the story of a Soviet archbishop who, after spending 20 years in a labor camp, is unexpectedly released and sent to Rome to be made a cardinal, during a time of tension between the Soviet Union and China during the Cold War. However, things change when the Pope dies, and he is suddenly elected as his successor. Although it is clearly a product of its time, and its plot might seem unlikely today, the film brings us closer to the papal conclave process, as well as presenting the role of the Catholic Church in global politics and, above all, the spiritual conflicts of the people at the heart of it all. "