The First Silent Night: The Christmas Carol That United the World

The read

It runs a compact 50m.

Synopsis

Renowned actor Simon Callow traces the 200-year history of Silent Night, traveling to Oberndorf and Salzburg to uncover the carol’s humble beginnings. The film follows the lives of Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber, two impoverished Austrian children whose paths converged in a small church, where Gruber’s melody joined Mohr’s lyrics to create the world’s most beloved carol. Born from hardship and hope after the Napoleonic wars, Silent Night transformed a quiet night’s story into a universal message of peace.

Ratings

Key crew

• Peter BeveridgeDirector
• Mark HadleyWriter

Cast

• Simon CallowSelf - Host - Narrator
• Werner ThuswaldnerSelf - Historian and author
• Martin HochleitnerSelf - Historian and curator of the Salzburg Museum
• Renate Ebeling-WinklerSelf - Vice President of the Silent Night Society
• Max GurtnerSelf - Curator of the Stille Nacht Museum

Stills

Themes