the assistance of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, sought Vatican approval and cooperation. After reviewing the script, the Vatican welcomed the project. British actor Michael Compton portrayed Karol Wojtyła from ages 18 through 26, and Albert Finney portrayed Wojtyła from 27 years old, up to the time the former bishop was installed as Pope John Paul II. Finney had initially declined the role upon first reading the script, as he felt playing the role of someone so high-profile would be unnerving, but after re-reading the script, he accepted. Deciding that then-political problems in Poland would make shooting there problematical, producer Alvin Cooperman received permission to shoot in Yugoslavia, using Zagreb to represent Kraków. Three days before major filming was to commence, the Yugoslavian government rescinded permission and confiscated location footage that had already been shot. The production company was told they were not welcome due to the script's anti-Communist overtones as set by Wojtyła's disagreements with the Communist regime while he was a priest, cardinal and bishop. The project was subsequently filmed at locations in Austria, as well as in Italy in Caprarola and Rome. The film debuted on CBS Television on Easter Sunday, April 22, 1984. Reception The Day wrote that in their considering the difficulties in offering a project about an incumbent Pope, the filmmakers treated the subject "with verve - and honesty". In not being a true documentary film, the depiction of the life of Karol Wojtyła was not "tied to exact factual details", and included the addition "theatrical flourishes and appropriate emotional atmosphere", but still remained "a sound and vivid dramatization" reflecting the biographical record of a man whose "background had plenty of high drama in it without making it up". They did note that "some of the transitions were a bit ragged, and some of the ecclesiastical artificially stiff," but that "generally, the story has authenticity". The Courier in noting that lead Albert Finney was Protestant, both director Herbert Wise and writer Christopher Knopf were Jewish, and cinematographer Tony Imi was Roman Catholic, wrote that the film was successful as "a compelling story about a man, rather than a religious tract about a pontiff." Producer Alvin Cooperman spoke toward the difficulties extant in writing about a living exalted person, and how he worked to dispel preconceptions that he was offering either a documentary or a "hallowed portrait" of (then-incumbent) John Paul II. The