HiT A Man for all Seasons

High drama, a man dying for his beliefs, a roll call of brilliant actors – and presented with best picture at the Oscars by Aud herself. Who ask for more (ha ha)? Well, as it happens…

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Thomas More – a life

If you would like to know more about Thomas More, there is an excellent(ly short) article available. By me.

Thomas More: A very brief history

On the other hand, it’s possible that Peter Cook’s sketch on the Judge at Jeremy Thorpe’s case might be a reasonable view of the summing up at thomas More’s trial. I could not possibly comment.

 

 

The Scores

A Man for all Seasons didn’t quite reach the heights of Amadeus, but critics and viewers alike were still very enthusiastic.

HoE FB Aug 26

Your Scores

Amadeus turned out to be something of a favourite – 65% of you put it in the I love it category. Unbeatable?

Scores Aug 26

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6 thoughts on “HiT A Man for all Seasons

  1. I too love AMFAS, but I think it’s really a film about modern totalitarianism and the individual conscience, and not much at all about Tudor England. Henry’s Court is the politburo of some Eastern Bloc state, and More is an apparatchik who becomes, as much to his own surprise as anyone, a principled dissident. He’s an idealized modern liberal, and the real Thomas More was very, very far from being that.

    1. It’s a very interesting theory; and I will go so far as to agree with you that in the film at least, More is indeed represented as a modern liberal. Whether or not Zimmerman’s target was the Eastern Bloc (could have been, given the timing) I agree that he turned to story into a modern one of individual conscience against a tyrannical state, rather than what it was – a struggle over the religion and the indivisibility of the church

      1. Well, the specificity of the Eastern Bloc is speculation, although I don’t think it’s too far fetched given what was going on at the time (the heightened suppression of writers like Solzhenitsyn, etc.) I would agree that the story has a “it could happen here” vibe too – hence Cromwell’s ironic insistence that “this isn’t Spain! This is England!”

        1. That’s quite interesting too; Cromwell’s comment feel anachronistic in retrospect doesn’t it? Redolent of the later years of the century rather than 1534.

  2. Have either of you gents seen the 1988 re-make? I gather from the Wikipedia that it’s more directly based on the stage production, and is therefore stagier, than the 1966 one. It might be interesting to see how its self-conscious staginess (on one hand) and it’s being 20+ years later (on another hand) balance out, in respect to cinematographic conventions etc.

    1. I have not – just looked it up; Bolt taking back control? Charlton Heston vanity project maybe? Thanks for mentioning it – I will give it a go if I can.

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