Becket (1964)

Who payed the critics

i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

(Flash Review)This film showcases the battle of King vs Church with King Henry II back in the 1100's. Henry is at odds with the church who refuses to contribute to his war fund and he is unsettled by their tax-free status. He has a very loyal friend, Becket, who he strategically appoints as an Archbishop to maneuver his viewpoints inside the church. He had not planned on Becket, who is a very honorable man, to take his new role and title as Archbishop extremely seriously. Thus, he and Becket are at odds as he sides with the Church, rather than his close friend the King. Much of the film are sharp linguistic interactions that are more or less soliloquies as the O'Toole and Burton orate with power. The screenplay writers must have had a great time flexing their muscles as well. Will Henry persuade or outfox Becket to drive his agenda or will his impulsive emotions get the better of him? This film has the feel that it could translate easily onto the stage as dialog, rather than action, drove the story. For those in the mood for acting and dialog, this will meet your needs.

Before "The Lion In Winter" (1968) and "A Man For All Seasons" (1966) was director Peter Glenville's "Becket" (1964). Adapted from a Jean Anouilh play, the film stars Peter O'Toole as King Henry II, the ruler of England. Richard Burton stars as Thomas Becket, the man King Henry appoints Archbishop of Canterbury.Like "A Man For All Season's", "Becket" finds a Christian man daring to oppose the Crown. Burton's Becket may be Henry's close friend and confidant, and he may have been cynically installed by Henry as a means of controlling the Church via proxy, but this ultimately all accounts for nought. Becket, upon becoming Archbishop, becomes infatuated with doing's God work and obsessed with adhering to the creeds and credos of the Church. He will not be the stooge of mere mortals. He will be a pillar of God! Henry, of course, grows furious. "Who shall rid me of this troublesome priest!?" he yells. Becket's killed days later. Pope Alexander III immediately grants him sainthood.At its best, "Becket" works well as a tragedy in which two close friends become unwitting enemies. At its worst, it neglects to explain Becket's sudden infatuation with God and glorifies a character who was essentially every bit as nuts as Henry. Like "A Man For All Seasons", "Becket" pits two controlling, hierarchal systems against one another (church vs a feudalist state), and attempts to sanctify one. And of course the real Becket, far from a saintly guy, was something more mundane; the relative of bankers and a financial adviser himself, he was but a pencil pusher. A sycophantic yes man with delusions of grandeur."Becket" ends with an amazing bit of history. King Henry begs forgiveness from the Pope and then endures one of the most humiliating acts every experienced by an English monarch; he visits Becket's tomb and allows himself to be whipped by monks, abbots and bishops, begging for forgiveness on the murdered body of a friend and saint.7.9/10 - Though the film drags severely in parts, O'Toole and Burton are marvellous. See "The Lion in Winter".

As so many other reviewers have noted, this is one of the finest films ever made. You may note the many long theatrical takes, and the limited cutting that allows you to watch the simultaneous acting of both the speaker and the auditor to the speeches. I see that some reviewers have lamented the shape of the prints that they have seen. I am delighted to report that the DVD is utterly sparkling, claimed on the disc to be better than the new screen version in 1964. Both the leads were nominated for best actor, and either could have won. I assume they split the vote to allow Rex Harrison in. A few have noted that Lawrence Olivier played Becket to Anthony Quinn's Henry. But I haven't noted any who have mentioned that Peter O'Toole was to have played it on the stage, but passed it over for Lawrence of Arabia. Nor have they mentioned that later Olivier and Quinn alternated roles. That would have been bloody marvelous to see.

BECKET is a film that seeks to explore the friendship and eventual enmity that existed between Henry II and Thomas Becket, two of the most famous characters in British history. Based on a play and filmed with an exemplary cast, it's a fine example of the kind of serious, old-fashioned, historical drama they don't make much of anymore.The film is inevitably dominated by the presence of two acting heavyweights in the form of Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton. O'Toole is very good as the fey, fun-loving king, but Burton is even better as the religious man suffering a crisis of conscience.The film is slow-moving and long-winded, but somehow it still works. The history is interesting, the scene-setting helps to add a real air of authenticity, and it's great seeing familiar faces (Gielgud, Phillips, Wolfit) fleshing out the cast.Watch for the final encounter between king and subject on the beach. Possibly the most beautifully filmed moment of cinema I've seen - check out the sky and the sea, the costumes and the hollow faces of O'Toole and Burton. Cinema really doesn't get any better than this...