40 h. ago What Conclave the film gets right and wrong about the next Pope’s election

The film, which stars Ralph Fiennes, has enjoyed a surge in popularity since the death of Pope Francis

Politics

7 d. ago Model of The Grand Budapest Hotel among items in new Wes Anderson exhibition

Costumes worn by stars including Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson and Owen Wilson will also go on display.

Politics

9 d. ago Cannes unveils jury including Juliette Binoche, Halle Berry and Jeremy Strong

Halle Berry, Jeremy Strong and Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia will be among the jury members at this year’s Cannes Film Festival deciding the Palme d’Or winner

Politics

9 d. ago Conclave to elect Pope Francis’s successor will start on May 7

An Oscar-nominated film starring Ralph Fiennes sparked public interest in the centuries-old process

Politics

1 week ago Digested week: Magic Circle and life in the Vatican return to our psyche

Disappearances of a school and handbag of head of Homeland Security past the Secret Service remain unexplainedI did what a lot of people did on hearing news of the death of Pope Francis on Monday: I watched Conclave. The Oscar nominated movie, adapted from the Robert Harris novel, unpacks the process of electing a new pope and between Sunday and Monday, it enjoyed a 283% surge in streaming figures. I’d like to say it deepened my understanding of life in the Vatican, but the truth is it just made me wish we could have Ralph Fiennes for pope, while reminding me – I’m not alone in this – that we’ve seen quite enough of Stanley Tucci for the time being. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago How accurate is Conclave? What the film gets right (and wrong) about selecting a new Pope

The film, which stars Ralph Fiennes, has enjoyed a surge in popularity since the death of Pope Francis

Culture

2 w. ago The holy screen: a brief history of popes on film and TV, from Peter O’Toole to Robbie Coltrane

Jonathan Pryce was humorous, O’Toole capricious, Liv Ullman secretly female and Jude Law memorably Speedo-clad – onscreen pontiffs have come in all formsEverything about the papacy is cinematic – especially picking a new one, as shown in the wildly popular movie Conclave, with Ralph Fiennes as an unwilling contender for the top job. There is the mystery, the ritual, the vestments; the spectacle of a lone, fragile human being poised over an abyss of history and good and evil; the elevation of one flawed man to a position of supreme authority, an exaltation whose parallel to the crucifixion is sensed but not acknowledged.Discussing the onscreen representation of the pope in Conclave would risk the blasphemy of spoilerism but there have been many popes on screen, some cheekily fictional, many factual. Many a heavyweight British thesp has turned in a gamey cameo as some hooded-eyed Renaissance pontiff. Peter O’Toole was the lizardly and capricious Paul III in TV’s The Tudors (2007), pre...

Culture

2 w. ago Pope Francis' passing sees huge spike in Conclave streams as film explains process of new pope

Pope Francis passed away on Easter Monday aged 88, just months after the hit film Conclave, starring Ralph Fiennes was released, with the movie depicting how the Catholic Church select a new pope.

Culture

2 w. ago Conclave viewership rose 283% on day of Pope Francis’s death

Ralph Fiennes was Oscar-nominated for his role in the thriller which follows cardinals wrangling to replace a fictional pontiff after his deathThe death of Pope Francis on 21 April led to an abrupt uptick in viewership of Conclave, Edward Berger’s thriller which depicts the events following the death of a fictional pope, and the cardinals wrangling to replace him.The film, which won best picture at the Baftas earlier this year and was nominated for eight Oscars, is available on assorted streaming platforms worldwide. According to Luminate, which tracks streaming viewership, Conclave was viewed for about 1.8m minutes on 20 April, and 6.9m minutes the next day – an increase of 283%. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago How to watch Conclave film tonight on three major streaming services

Conclave (2024), starring Ralph Fiennes and directed by Edward Berger, takes viewers inside the walls of the Vatican as the College of Cardinals gathers in secrecy to choose the next pope

Politics

2 w. ago 'I wanted to look good for Juliette' — Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche reunite for The Return

They’ve been friends for 30 years — now Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes are reprising their on-screen romance in a retelling of the greatest epic of them all: the Odyssey

Politics

2 w. ago The secrets behind Ralph Fiennes' startling transformation into a buff and bronzed Greek hero at 62 years old

The personal trainer behind Ralph Fiennes remarkable and now viral physical transformation for his new film The Return has shared the common-sense secrets that unlocks potential for everyone.

Politics

3 w. ago Ralph Fiennes stuns fans by getting into ‘phenomenal’ shape for new role

Ralph Fiennes has undergone a striking physical transformation for his latest role as Odysseus

Politics

3 w. ago The Last Of Us review: Season two's return is hilariously bad with two

Human society could collapse, and zombies might roam the land, but one glimmer of civilisation will never be extinguished. You'll always be able to see a therapist.

Politics

3 w. ago Harry Potter fans left gobsmacked by Ralph Fiennes 'unreal' body transformation

Ralph Fiennes treated fans to a sneak peek at his body transformation after posting two images of his built physique on social media and the response was as expected

Politics

3 w. ago Juliette Binoche on reuniting with Ralph Fiennes: ‘I know his desires. I know his dark sides’

The Oscar-winning French star talks to Adam White about her new film ‘The Return’, why it is dangerous to be a ‘prisoner’ to directors, and how on the set of ‘The English Patient’ she was ‘trembling all the time’

Politics

3 w. ago Hacks season four review – the return of this extremely funny, hugely raw comedy is a sheer pleasure

This moving, hilarious tale of two comedy frenemies is so good it should be one of the best-loved things on TV. Jean Smart’s performance is a masterclass in how to break an audience’s heartHacks should, by rights, be one of the biggest and best-loved shows on TV. It beat The Bear for outstanding comedy series at last year’s Emmys, and is a triumph of dazzling wit and some of the most lethal backstabbing ever committed to the small screen. In the UK, at least, it hasn’t made the largest impact: probably because, until recently, new seasons hadn’t streamed here since 2022. It recently found a home on Sky (thank goodness), just in time for this fourth outing, which comes complete with a load of starry cameos that HBO have demanded that journalists keep stumm about. If you thought that the toxic frenemy vibe between The White Lotus’s blond BFFs was lacking, say, 500% more shrieking; multiple HR complaints; comedy-flavoured barbs; and a drug-fuelled night out in Vegas, this is the show f...

Politics

3 w. ago Black Mirror season 7 review: Charlie Brooker delivers a welcome return to form

A starry cast aim for San Junipero levels of doomed love in the seventh installment of the hit sci-fi anthology series

Politics

4 w. ago The Return review – Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes bring fierce class to elemental Odyssey adaptation

Uberto Pasolini’s raw and urgent drama, from a draft by Edward Bond, sees a traumatised Odysseus face the shameful aftermath of warThe film world is on tenterhooks for Christopher Nolan’s forthcoming Imax-epic treatment of Homer’s Odyssey, but Uberto Pasolini’s fierce, raw drama of the poem’s final sections, describing Odysseus’s traumatised return to Ithaca after the sack of Troy, may well give Nolan something to live up to. Pasolini collaborated on the script with screenwriter John Collee, evidently developed from a draft playwright Edward Bond wrote in the 90s; among other things, this film deserves attention as the final work from Bond (who died in 2024).The Return is an elementally violent movie about PTSD, survivor guilt, abandonment, Freudian dysfunction and ruined masculinity. Juliette Binoche is the deserted queen Penelope, enigmatically reserving her opinions and dignity, refusing to believe the absent king is dead and declining to remarry as the island descends into lawle...

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