Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #100655 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-04-01
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 50 minutes

Amazon.com
Subtitled Statesman of Faith, this 46-minute documentary details the surprising history of the man who became the first Polish Pope. Toughened by the tragedy of losing his entire family, Karol Wojtyla was a young acting student when the Nazis invaded his Polish city. Old friends and colleagues describe how that event eventually turned him toward an underground seminary and how, amid the war and the resulting Communist takeover, Wojtyla evolved into an inspiring figure who led youth groups, published a book on sexuality, and became a rising academic. When the Vatican chose him to replace Pope John Paul I, it was with provocation of the Soviet Union in mind. This A&E Biography takes viewers through the new Pope's successful efforts to help end Communism and convince Catholics to celebrate conservative moral values. Included with the expected footage of the Pope amongst international throngs, there is graphic footage of the 1981 attempt on his life and candid photos of his 50th class reunion held at the Vatican. --Kimberly Heinrichs

Customer Reviews

Real life look at a great man
This is an excellent overview of the life of JohnPaul II. It is a great teaching tool to show people a real life view. It is amazing to see where this man came from and the hard life he endured to get to where he is now. The only drawback is that there are many interviews with people who are, at times, very difficult to understand because of their thick accents. I recommend this for Junior high and older students and all Catholic adults, non-Catholics alike will enjoy the tape!

A Pillar of Faith
This video tells the story of a man devoted to God. Pope John Paul's life documents the struggle of a Christian also devoted to the teachings of the Catholic church, and how he reconciled these teachings to become a world leader within the church. The interviews with his friends were very interesting, showing that they recognized his special qualities very early. As our world struggles with great problems, it is good to see how one man has chosen to confront them. I recommend this video for any public or private library.

A brief look at the Pope
I enjoyed Biography's coverage of the late Pope John Paul II.

The video is too brief only 40 minutes long. The first 20 minutes talk about the years before his Pontificate. The last 20 minutes cover the time as Pope. It ends rather abruptly. Also, the video was filmed in the late 90's, six years before his passing on. There is no coverage of his final six years.

For a pope who accomplished so much, I felt the covergage was too little. There are good interviews with Childhood friends of the Pope as well as one of his Biographers, Tad Szulc. One major theme is that this Pope helped bring a peaceful end to communism in Poland.

The effort is well done but I found myself wanting more details and broader coverage.

The DVD extras that are included are only text.

Biography has done a good job one the video however if you only want to purchase one video, purchase Witness to Hope by Weigel.