A Man for All Seasons (Special Edition)
by Fred Zinnemann
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Leo McKern, Orson Welles, Paul Scofield, Robert Shaw, Wendy HillerDirector: Fred Zinnemann
Brand: Sony
Cinematographer: Ted Moore
Producer: Fred Zinnemann
Editor: Ralph Kemplen
Producer: William N. Graf
Writer: Robert Bolt
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Portuguese (Subtitled); French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 120 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-02-20
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: Sony Pictures
Movie Reviews of A Man for All Seasons (Special Edition)
Movie Review: A true modern masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
I highly recommend this film not only to fans of historical drama but for a truly well-made film. This 1966 winner for Best Picture is stellar in every respect; each craft delivers its best work and the acting is first rate. Paul Scofield won the Oscar as Best Actor in his first major screen role. Sadly we don't have nearly enough Scofield film work to preserve for posterity. Paul preferred stage acting and while I can understand his preference I mourn the fact that this great actor can't be seen in more films. (See him in the Burt Lancaster film "The Train" from this same decade) But this outing shows his power and range as Sir Thomas More who became Chancellor of England for Henry VIII, and died for standing by his deeply felt moral principles. Some say the film is so good because it wasn't a high priority production for Columbia Pictures and they left director Fred Zinnemann and company alone to create. I don't know if that's the case but it has many historically correct touches. Orson Welles as Cardinal Wolsey uses genuine sheepskin parchment with a real quill pen as well as an exact duplicate of Wolsey's official seal. The ax used in the execution scene is authentic from the period. "A Man for All Seasons" won six Oscars including Best Director and Best Picture. It features an excellent period musical score by George Delerue and the backbone of any film, wonderful writing by Robert Bolt who also won an Oscar. Even the smaller roles are expertly played...look for a young John Hurt and the wonderful Leo McKern. Vanessa Redgrave shows up in an uncredited role as Anne Boleyn. The story of Sir Thomas More is taught in every high school and is well known. This production shows how movies should be made, with quality at every turn and a wonderful story to tell.
This edition has a special feature included on the life of Thomas More.
Summary of A Man for All Seasons (Special Edition)
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)
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Beyond A Man for All Seasons at Amazon.com
 More Films By Fred Zinnemann |  More Biographies on Film |  Utopia by Thomas More |
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