| The Pope Must Diet! | |
|---|---|
 Canadian video poster for The Pope Must Die, renamed The Pope Must Diet! | |
| Directed by | Peter Richardson |
| Written by | Peter Richardson Pete Richens |
| Produced by | Stephen Woolley Michael White |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Frank Gell |
| Edited by | Katherine Wenning |
| Music by | Jeff Beck Anne Dudley |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Palace Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £2.5 million |
| Box office | £1,150,000 (UK)[1] $582,510 (US)[1] |
The Pope Must Die (alternative known title as The Pope Must Diet! in the United States and Canada) is a 1991 British Catholic Church comedy film directed by Peter Richardson, who also wrote the screenplay with Pete Richens derived from elements of an earlier screenplay for a three-part mini-series satirising the Catholic Church, and which had been rejected by Channel 4. The film stars Robbie Coltrane as a low ranking priest who is mistakenly elected Pope, then has to avoid being assassinated by the Mafia. The film co-stars Adrian Edmondson, Annette Crosbie, Herbert Lom and Alex Rocco. The film was released by Palace Pictures with the backing of Channel 4 Films.
The film was originally planned as a part of a three-part mini-series for Channel 4, which was cancelled by the station after press outcry. This led Richardson to sever his long relationship with Channel 4 and move his future productions to the BBC. The budget for the film was later approved by Palace Pictures with the backing of Channel 4 Films. The production was filmed in 1990 in Yugoslavia on a budget of £2.5 million.
The film's subject matter was controversial, which caused the distributors serious difficulties with its promotion, London Transport refusing to carry advertising for it until the film's posters were censored. In the United States the Big Three television networks refused to show commercials for the film, which they said was sacrilegious and offensive. Many newspapers in the US also censored or refused to carry advertising for the film.