A Man for All Seasons (1966)

In 16^th century England, Sir Thomas More’s convictions are tested when he refuses to approve King Henry VIII’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon in his obsessive desire for a son and an heir to the throne.

I was worried that this would be a generic uptight period drama, like a Tom Jones that wasn’t remotely funny. I was pleasantly surprised (but not blown away) by A Man for all Seasons, a film that at best nearly recreated the splendor of Olivier’s films and at worst resembled a bland BBC telecast. Perhaps    A Man For All Seasons was better left on stage but it had some good moments. I enjoyed Robert Shaw’s interesting turn here as Henry VIII, even if most of his dialogue was shouted at the top of his lungs while within an arm’s reach of the person he was speaking to (he must have been prepping to yell at a shark a few years down the road). I was pleased to see that this film acknowledged that Henry VIII was a man that enjoyed humor and music, which were basically the only things he had time for during the rare instances that he wasn’t eating, having sex or killing one of his wives. Many other performances were not as memorable except for an early performance from a young and goofy-looking John Hurt and a heart-wrenching Wendy Hiller as Alice More. But Paul Scofield as Thomas More is truly the star of the show and the glue that holds it together, and he carries this film into the ages (and into the somewhat abrupt “here’s-where-they-are-now” ending a la American Graffiti except everyone dies or becomes jailed). While not one of my favorite of the Best Picture winners, I’m glad I could experience it and can recommend it to most people I know. 

I don't think I enjoyed this movie as much as Tim did.  I didn't hate it.  But boy, I thought a lot of it was boring.  It was kind of vanilla to me.  Seeing an extremely young Vanessa Redgrave as the misunderstood Anne Boleyn was pretty interesting.  She couldn't be more than 17 years old in the  movie.  Not only that but Orson Welles played the obese cardinal and a young John Hurt with a scraggly beard played More's friend turned foe.  It was fun to see all these people in the film... but I didn't really take a lot from it.  There were great acting moments but their weren't a ton of memorable ones.   I personally enjoyed fellow nominee "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?" more. 

But it does make me think of this:

Orson Welles used an exact duplicate of Cardinal Wolsey's official seal, as well as authentic sheepskin parchment and a quill pen. 

Sir Thomas More: "I do none harm, I say none harm, I think none harm. And if this be not enough to keep a man alive, in good faith I long not to live."