The death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday and his funeral on Easter Saturday have put renewed focus on Edward Berger’s 2024 film, Conclave, which is available for streaming and on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K UHD.

Conclave is not the first theatrical film to focus on a Catholic pope or indeed the conclave that follows the death of a pope and the election of his successor. We only have to go back as far as 1963 to find the first major film that did that.

Otto Preminger’s The Cardinal from Henry Morton Robinson’s 1950 novel which outsold all fiction and non-fiction books published that year, was about the life of a priest who eventually becomes a cardinal. As he is elevated to prince of the church, he looks back on his life which includes his first visit to Rome in 1939 for the conclave that will elect Pope Pius XII, the World War II pope. He goes as the secretary of his then Boston cardinal, played by John Huston in a memorable Oscar-nominated performance.

Nominated for six Oscars including Best Picture and Director, the film included a host of fine performances by the likes of Tom Tryon in the lead, Romy Schneider as the woman he falls in love with during a brief suspension of his vows, Carol Lynley as both his sister and her daughter, Dorothy Gish as his mother, Maggie McNamara as another sister, Burgess Meredith and Ossie Davis a poor priests, and Raf Vallone and Tullio Carminatti as influential Italian cardinals.

Pius XII died in 1958 and was succeeded by the ecumenical pope, John XXIII who made many changes within the Catholic Church. He died in 1963 and was succeeded by Paul VI who served during the tumultuous years of the culture wars until his death in 1978.

The year after The Cardinal came Peter Glenville’s Becket starring Richard Burton as future saint Thomas Becket and Peter O’Toole as England’s Henry II in roles played on Broadway by Anthony Quinn and Laurence Olivier who alternated the roles of the conscience driven priest and his king during their run.

Nominated for twelve Oscars including Best Picture, Director, and two Best Actors, it won for Edward Anhalt’s adapted screenplay from Jean Anouilh’s play.

Taking place during the 11th Century papacy of Alexander III, the pope played by Paolo Stoppa plays an important supporting role in the drama about the love-hate relationship between a king and his priest.

In 1965 came The Agony and the Ecstasy about the painting of the Sistine Chapel, the room in the Vatican where the conclaves take place, starring Charlton Heston as Michelangelo and Rex Harrison as his mentor and tormentor, Pope Julius II.

Nominated for five Oscars including one for Leon Shamroy’s stunning cinematography, the Academy surprisingly ignored Rex Harrison’s fiery performance and Philip Dunne’s screenplay, both of which had been nominated for Golden Globes.

Four years after Becket, Peter O’Toole would reprise his role of Henry II in 1968’s The Lion in Winter. That same year, Broadway’s Becket stars, Anthony Quinn and Laurence Olivier, renewed their enmity as the pope and his Communist tormentor in Michael Anderson’s The Shoes of the Fisherman. John Gielgud played the pope who makes him a cardinal and whose death paves the way for Quinn’s election.

Nominated for two minor Oscars, the film did better at the Golden Globes where it was nominated for Best Picture and the National Board of Review where it won Best Picture.

Based on Morris West’s bestselling novel, the film is about the election of a Russian pope, the first non-Italian pope in centuries, foreshadowing the election of John Paul II in 1978

Before John Paul II came John Paul I, who served just a few days before passing away. While no film has ever been made about the short papacy of John Paul I, Francis Ford Coppola’s 1990 film, The Godfather Part III uses a similar death of a pope as a major plot point.

After John Paul II came conservative German Benedict XVI in 2005 who retired in 2013 and lived until December 31, 2022, who at 95 when he passed away, was the longest-lived pope in history.

Fernando Meirelles’ 2019 film, The Two Popes, was about a fictionalized meeting between Benedict and Francis before Benedict’s resignation and Francis’ election. Liberal Francis was the runner-up to conservative Benedict in the 2005 election, and the presumed front-runner if Benedict were to retire. The film also traces Francis’ long career as a priest and archbishop in Argentina. The film was nominated for three Oscars including Best Actor for Jonathan Pryce as Francis and Best Supporting Actor for Anthony Hopkins as Benedict. The third nomination was for Anthony Carten’s screenplay.

The film has been available for streaming on Netflix since shortly after its limited theatrical release. It has never been released on home video.

Conclave which takes us inside the Sistine Chapel and other private rooms of the Vatican is the first film about the election of a pope that provides vivid detail about the secret meeting. It is based on Robert Harris’ 2016 novel.

The film, which won many year-end awards including BAFTAs for both Best Film and Best British Film, was nominated for eight Oscars including Best Picture, Actor Ralph Fiennes as the Cardinal-Dean leader of the conclave, and Supporting Actress Isabella Rossellini as a nun who sees everything. Former Oscar nominees Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow play two of the leading candidates for the next pope, one liberal, one conservative.

The film has a surprise, some would say shocking, ending that is unlikely to prevail in the real-life election of Francis’ successor.

Be sure to watch Conclave if you haven’t already, and if you can, catch up on The Cardinal, Becket, The Agony and the Ecstasy, The Shoes of the Fisherman, and The Two Popes as well.

Happy viewing.