# To Kill a Priest

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> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{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](/source/Agnieszka_Holland)
| screenplay     = Agnieszka Holland <br> [Jean-Yves Pitoun](/source/Jean-Yves_Pitoun)
| story          = Agnieszka Holland
| producer       = [Jean-Pierre Alessandri](/source/Jean-Pierre_Alessandri)
| starring       = [Christopher Lambert](/source/Christopher_Lambert)<br>[Ed Harris](/source/Ed_Harris)<br>[David Suchet](/source/David_Suchet)<br>[Tim Roth](/source/Tim_Roth)<br>[Joanne Whalley](/source/Joanne_Whalley)<br>[Pete Postlethwaite](/source/Pete_Postlethwaite)<br>[Cherie Lunghi](/source/Cherie_Lunghi)<br>[Joss Ackland](/source/Joss_Ackland)
| music          = [Georges Delerue](/source/Georges_Delerue)
| cinematography = [Adam Holender](/source/Adam_Holender)
| editing        = [Hervé de Luze](/source/Herv%C3%A9_de_Luze)
| studio         = [France 3 Cinéma](/source/France_3_Cin%C3%A9ma)
| distributor    = [AMLF](/source/Path%C3%A9) (France)<ref>{{cite web|title=To Kill a Priest (1988)|website=[UniFrance](/source/UniFrance)|access-date=26 November 2021|url=https://en.unifrance.org/movie/8649/to-kill-a-priest}}</ref><br>[Columbia Pictures](/source/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](/source/drama_film) directed by [Agnieszka Holland](/source/Agnieszka_Holland). The film tells a story based on the murder, under the [Polish Communist regime](/source/People's_Republic_of_Poland), of the priest [Jerzy Popiełuszko](/source/Jerzy_Popie%C5%82uszko).<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](/source/Christopher_Lambert) as a fictionalized version of Popiełuszko and [Ed Harris](/source/Ed_Harris) as the [secret police](/source/S%C5%82u%C5%BCba_Bezpiecze%C5%84stwa) captain set to assassinate him.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

==Cast==
*[Christopher Lambert](/source/Christopher_Lambert) as Father Alek
*[Ed Harris](/source/Ed_Harris) as Stefan
*[Joss Ackland](/source/Joss_Ackland) as Colonel
*[Tim Roth](/source/Tim_Roth) as Feliks
*[Timothy Spall](/source/Timothy_Spall) as Igor
*[Pete Postlethwaite](/source/Pete_Postlethwaite) as Josef
*[Cherie Lunghi](/source/Cherie_Lunghi) as Halina
*[Joanne Whalley](/source/Joanne_Whalley) as Anna
*[David Suchet](/source/David_Suchet) as Bishop
*[Jerome Flynn](/source/Jerome_Flynn) as Traffic militiaman
*[Vincent Grass](/source/Vincent_Grass)

==Discography==

The CD soundtrack composed and conducted by [Georges Delerue](/source/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](/source/Joan_Baez).

==Reception==
===Critical response===
''To Kill a Priest'' has an approval rating of 67% on [review aggregator](/source/review_aggregator) website [Rotten Tomatoes](/source/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](/source/Popieluszko%3A_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}}

{{Agnieszka Holland}}
{{Jerzy Popiełuszko}}

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

{{1980s-France-film-stub}}
{{1980s-US-film-stub}}
{{Catholic-film-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [To Kill a Priest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Kill_a_Priest) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Kill_a_Priest?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.