A Man for All Seasons (1966)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Fred Zinnemann

Writers:

Robert Bolt (play)
Robert Bolt (screenplay)

Release Date:

1967 (Japan)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

...a motion picture for all times!

Plot:

The story of Thomas More, who stood up to King Henry VIII when the King rejected the Roman Catholic Church to obtain a divorce and remarriage.

Plot Keywords:

Thomas More | Divorce | Chancellor | Catholic | King Henry VIII

Awards:

Won 6 Oscars. Another 27 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Paul Scofield	...	Thomas More
Wendy Hiller	...	Alice
Leo McKern	...	Cromwell
Robert Shaw	...	Henry VIII
Orson Welles	...	Cardinal Wolsey
Susannah York	...	Margaret
Nigel Davenport	...	Duke of Norfolk
John Hurt	...	Rich
Corin Redgrave	...	Roper
Colin Blakely	...	Matthew
Cyril Luckham	...	Archbishop Cranmer
Jack Gwillim	...	Chief Justice
Thomas Heathcote	...	Boatman
Yootha Joyce	...	Averil Machin
Anthony Nicholls	...	King's Representative

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Latin | Spanish | French

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | West Germany:12 (nf) | Brazil:Livre | Sweden:11 | Argentina:13 | Australia:G | Finland:K-12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | UK:U | USA:Approved (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1971)

Filming Locations:

Beaulieu River, Hampshire, England, UK

Company:

Highland Films

Trivia:

Norman Scace was offered a featured role but was not free because the dates clashed with a play.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Sir Thomas More enters the room to first answer charges before Secretary Cromwell, a chandelier with electric lights is visible in the background.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Sir Thomas More: [talking to the witnesses for his execution] I am commanded by the King to be brief, and since I am the King's obedient subject, brief I will be. I die his Majesty's good servant but God's first.
[to the executioner]
Sir Thomas More: I forgive you right readily.
[he gives him a coin]
Sir Thomas More: Be not afraid of your office; you send me to God.
Archbishop Cranmer: You're very sure of that, Sir Thomas?
Sir Thomas More: He will not refuse one who is so blithe to go to him.
[he kneels and puts his head on the chopping block]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "That Girl: An Uncle Herbert for All Seasons (#5.13)" (1970)

A Protest

It is a travesty that this film is not in the top 250. Something is very very wrong with rating system that says The Big Lebowski is a better film.

I can't add anything to what has already been said about A Man for All Seasons. Unquestionably one of the greatest films of all time, and stands the test of time. It will be revered as a great film 100 years from now. Will Lebowski? Doubt it. Winner of nearly every award it was nominated for. Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, etc. One of the few movies that makes my whole being vibrate when I watch it. I am moved to tears in almost every scene because the scene is executed so perfectly.

Please IMDb, this must give you pause. Any system that does not put this film in the top 100 borders on insanity or uselessness.