Backdrop image for movie The First Silent Night: The Christmas Carol That United the World

The First Silent Night: The Christmas Carol That United the World (2014)

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.

  • Documentary

Top billed cast

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

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