Charlton Heston stars as Renaissance artist Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6 March 1475 -- 18 February 1564), who begrudgingly paints the Sistine Chapel for imperious Pope Julius II in this epic adaptation of Irvine Stone's book directed by Carol Reed. While the book covers Michelangelo's life from birth to death, the movie centers around the battle of wills between your perfectionist artist and also the impatient Pope who commissions (and in the course of time commands) him to paint the most famous chapel.