To Kill a Priest

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox film | name = To Kill a Priest | image = To kill a priest.jpg

| caption = Theatrical release poster | director = Agnieszka Holland | screenplay = Agnieszka Holland Jean-Yves Pitoun | story = Agnieszka Holland | producer = Jean-Pierre Alessandri | starring = Christopher Lambert Ed Harris David Suchet Tim Roth Joanne Whalley Pete Postlethwaite Cherie Lunghi Joss Ackland | music = Georges Delerue | cinematography = Adam Holender | editing = Hervé de Luze | studio = France 3 Cinéma | distributor = AMLF (France)<ref>{{cite web|title=To Kill a Priest (1988)|website=UniFrance|access-date=26 November 2021|url=https://en.unifrance.org/movie/8649/to-kill-a-priest}}</ref> Columbia Pictures (International) | released = {{Film date|1988|09|07|France|1989|10|13|USA}} | runtime = 117 minutes | country = France | language = English | budget = | gross = }} '''''To Kill a Priest''''' is a 1988 drama film directed by Agnieszka Holland. The film tells a story based on the murder, under the Polish Communist regime, of the priest Jerzy Popiełuszko.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070525065012/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,317095,00.html To Kill a priest review], ''Entertainment Weekly'', April 6, 1990</ref> It stars Christopher Lambert as a fictionalized version of Popiełuszko and Ed Harris as the secret police captain set to assassinate him.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

==Cast== *Christopher Lambert as Father Alek *Ed Harris as Stefan *Joss Ackland as Colonel *Tim Roth as Feliks *Timothy Spall as Igor *Pete Postlethwaite as Josef *Cherie Lunghi as Halina *Joanne Whalley as Anna *David Suchet as Bishop *Jerome Flynn as Traffic militiaman *Vincent Grass

==Discography==

The CD soundtrack composed and conducted by Georges Delerue is available on the Music Box Records label ([http://www.musicbox-records.com/en/cd-soundtracks/1326-to-kill-a-priest-le-complot.html website]). The main theme, "Crimes of Cain", was written and performed by Joan Baez.

==Reception== ===Critical response=== ''To Kill a Priest'' has an approval rating of 67% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 6 reviews, and an average rating of 5.8/10.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/to_kill_a_priest | title=To Kill a Priest | access-date=2024-08-10 | website=www.rottentomatoes.com}}</ref>

==See also== *''Popieluszko: Freedom Is Within Us''

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{IMDb title|id=0096280|title=To Kill a Priest}} *{{Mojo title|tokillapriest|To Kill a Priest}} *{{rotten-tomatoes|to_kill_a_priest|To Kill a Priest}}

Category:1988 films Category:1988 drama films Category:American drama films Category:French drama films Category:Films scored by Georges Delerue Category:Films directed by Agnieszka Holland Category:Films set in Poland Category:Drama films based on actual events Category:Films à clef Category:Films about Catholic priests Category:Films critical of communism Category:English-language French films Category:1988 English-language films Category:1988 American films Category:1988 French films Category:English-language drama films Category:Works about the assassination of Jerzy Popiełuszko