In 16th-century England, the corrupt King Henry VIII (Robert Shaw) betrays the Roman Catholic Church to divorce his wife and marry his latest conquest Anne Boleyn (Vanessa Redgrave). Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield) is then forced to choose between his principles and duty to his heretical king, who has begun executing the treasonous with increasing frequency. The historically profound battle of ideals also involves Cardinal Wolsey (Orson Welles), Thomas Cromwell (Leo McKern), and More's valiant wife (Wendy Hiller).
Robert Bolt's successful play was not considered a hot commercial property by Columbia Pictures--a period piece about a moral issue without a star, without even a love story. Perhaps that's why Columbia left director Fred Zinnemann alone to make A Man for All Seasons, as long as he stuck to a relatively small budget. The results took everyone by surprise, as the talky morality play became a box-office hit and collected the top Oscars for 1966. At the play's heart is the standoff between King Henry VIII (Robert Shaw, in young lion form) and Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield, in an Oscar-winning performance). Henry wants More's official approval of divorce, but More's strict ethical and religious code will not let him waffle. More's rectitude is a source of exasperation to Cardinal Wolsey (Orson Welles in a cameo), who chides, "If you could just see facts flat on without that horrible moral squint." Zinnemann's approach is all simplicity, and indeed the somewhat prosaic staging doesn't create a great deal of cinematic excitement. But the language is worth savoring, and the ethical politics are debated with all the calm and majesty of an absorbing chess game. --Robert Horton
Robert Bolt's successful play was not considered a hot commercial property by Columbia Pictures--a period piece about a moral issue without a star, without even a love story. Perhaps that's why Columbia left director Fred Zinnemann alone to make A Man for All Seasons, as long as he stuck to a relatively small budget. The results took everyone by surprise, as the talky morality play became a box-office hit and collected the top Oscars for 1966. At the play's heart is the standoff between King Henry VIII (Robert Shaw, in young lion form) and Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield, in an Oscar-winning performance). Henry wants More's official approval of divorce, but More's strict ethical and religious code will not let him waffle. More's rectitude is a source of exasperation to Cardinal Wolsey (Orson Welles in a cameo), who chides, "If you could just see facts flat on without that horrible moral squint." Zinnemann's approach is all simplicity, and indeed the somewhat prosaic staging doesn't create a great deal of cinematic excitement. But the language is worth savoring, and the ethical politics are debated with all the calm and majesty of an absorbing chess game. --Robert Horton
Stills from A Man for All Seasons (click for larger image)
Beyond A Man for All Seasons at Amazon.com
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Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
very entertaining:
This is a very well achieved movie that addresses the philosophical and politic conflict between the subsequent Anglican protestants and Catholics in Britain during the times of Henry VIII. A very entertaining lesson of history for those of us who were not very familiar with these events. By far, acting and characterization of Thomas More by Paul Scofield is just superb. While effort is put to portrait the character of Thomas Cromwell (played by Leo McKern), I missed some more on Cardenal Wolsey (played by... more info
A Man for all Seasons DVD:
I always wanted to see this film. It is getting more difficult to rent older films, and the price is reason able on Amazon to buy. I am a very happy customer. Thank you Amazon for keeping things within reach.
Sir Thomas for for Senate:
"If a statesmen foresakes with private conscience for the sake of public office, he leads his county to a short route to chaos." Thomas More to Cardinal Wolsey regarding granting an unlaw divorce to King Henry VIII from his barren wife. How great a country would America be if our Congress men and women had the courage of Thomas Moore. Man for All Seasons is one of the greatest movies of all time. You will need a pen and paper nearby to write all the provoking line from Sir Thomas.
Good movie, bad history:
The acting is supurb in this rendition of the story of Sir Thomas More. However the history is very skewed. More was vindictive and cruel. Moral values that mattered were only his own. The Library of Congress had a display about William Tyndale some years ago. The polemics between Tyndale and More and very telling and not to More's credit. He may be a saint to some, but I have no doubt where in the cosmos his soul resides now while those he tortured to death are in heaven.
