Charlton Heston stars like Renaissance artist Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6 March 1475 -- 18 February 1564), that begrudgingly paints the Sistine Chapel for imperious Pope Julius II in this epic adaptation of Irvine Stone's novel directed by Carol Reed. While the publication covers Michelangelo's life from birth to death, the movie focuses on the battle of wills between the perfectionist artist and the impatient Pope who commissions (and sooner or later commands) him to paint the most famed chapel.