Becket
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Movie Reviews of Becket
Movie Review: Prime movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Becket is finally out on DVD after all these years, my copy of the VHS tape was running down. Excellent historical movie about Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury who defied Henry II, King of England and got murdered for it. The film starred Richard Burton as Becket and Peter O'Toole as "his King", both at their prime. Two superb actors going at it make this movie utterly interesting to watch.
The DVD proves to be well presented. The colors are sharp and vivid, images are clean and clear and sound proves to be just perfect. I am not sure about the comments made by one previous reviewer but I had no problem with the sound on my sound system. The extra features were pretty nice but the crown jewel of this DVD would have to be the running commentary provided by Peter O'Toole as he talked about the film. His words proves to be highly interesting and entertaining with few breaks in between.
For the historical minded, I thought the movie captured the spirit and conflict between these two men pretty well. In the film, Becket was portaryed as a "Saxon" but history tell us that he was Norman by birth. History also tell us that he was recommended as Chancellor by the Archbishop of Canterbury Theobald to Henry II as well. So the movie played loose with real history but the characters of the both personalities I thought, was well captured. And this is a movie about character study more then history study.
The movie come well recommended, there isn't much bloodshed here, very little action scenes but the dialogues are sharp, script superbly written and acting is some of the best ever seen. Geared more toward the mature and intellicual minded viewers, its a pretty involving costume drama that tells more then history but morality and ethics of individuals.
Movie Review: A splendid telling of the legendary Archbishop of Cantebury
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't know if Thomas Becket ever existed in real life, but this is still a good telling of his life, and that God is the only one who doesn't fail. The story begins when Becket and King Henry the second are young men, and the best of friends, and how Becket is portrayed as the servant friend, and anchor that Henry so needs. However, this friendship is tested as Henry makes Becket the new Archbishop of Cantebury figuring that Henry could use Becket as a puppet Archbishop, and he could get whatever he wanted from anyone he wanted. This would backfire though as Becket proves to be more of an Archbishop than Henry wants him to be, and it's not done for show Becket really means this that he's making the commitment that he's going to commit to God this service, and a young man who almost tore Becket apart earlier in the movie now sees this, and becomes his servant, and companion. Henry seething with anger that Becket is going to do his job for real still hopes he can make Becket fall back into doing his will, but when it doesn't look like it will happen Becket pays the ultimate price with his life as Henry arranges for Becket's death. In the end however, Henry is filled with anger and rage that it had to come to Becket's death, but at the same time there's reverence in Henry, and he declares that Becket be worshipped as a saint. I don't know if Henry would go further, or not as it was left in Henry's hands to be repentant, or to just go about his business. This was done up very well, and both Peter O Toole as King Henry and Richard Burton as Becket both turned in fabulous performances. This is a underrated movie that needs to have more attention instead of the Oscar-Nominated sequel "The Lion In Winter". While that was a decent movie this was the better of the two.Movie Review: Two Magnificent Actors at Their Peak
Summary: 5 Stars
While watching this DVD presentation of Becket, I became nostalgic for that mid 60s-early 70s period when so many fine movies of this type were made (A Man for All Seasons, Becket, Anne of the Thousand Days, Cromwell, etc.). It was a magical period because there were so many great adapted screenplays available and so many talented, serious British stage actors capable of bringing them to life. Sir Alec Guiness, Sir John Gielgud, Richard Harris, Paul Scofield, Anthony Quayle, Robert Shaw, and other fine actors appeared in these movies, but none were more formidable than Sir Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole starring together. Both were at the pinnacle of their acting careers in 1964. Burton was only a year removed from his controversial turn as Marc Antony in the blockbuster Cleopatra and O'Toole had completed the epic Lawrence of Arabia a couple of years earlier. The movie depicts the familiar story of a worldly and once-debauched Archbishop Thomas Becket, played by Burton, and his late, painful discovery that self-interest and hedonism couldn't compare to love and loyalty in the service of a higher cause. Becket comes into dangerous conflict with his King, patron and former best friend, Henry II, played by O'Toole, when King Henry realizes too late that Becket is taking his job as Archbishop seriously. The King, having cynically given the powerful position to his trusted friend, counts on him to be a willing accomplice to Henry's consolidation of royal power over the Church. It is not to be, and both Henry and Becket are forced to make painful choices. The movie is beautifully filmed in English castles, cathedrals and Shepperton Studios movie sets. Becket is both a great piece of history and a wonderful lesson in character and devotion.Movie Review: A masterpiece!
Summary: 5 Stars
One of my favorite movies of all time!
There is so much to enjoy in this movie, but for me, two bits of dialog stand out. In the first, King Henry finally realizes that Becket is no longer "his Chancellor" or "his man." The brooding Henry's words cannot help but touch us:
Becket: forgive me (as he hands over chancellor's ring back to Henry)
Henry: You give the Lions of England back to me; like a little boy who doesn't want to play any more. I would have gone to war with all England's might being me -- and even against England's interest -- to defend you, Thomas. I would have given away my life, laughingly, for you. Only, I loved you, and you didn't love me... that's the difference.
Next is the near comic discussion between Henry and his wife:
Queen Matilda: I gave you my youth... gave you your children.
Henry: I don't LIKE my children. And as for your youth... THAT withered flower, pressed between the pages of a hymnbook since you were 12 years old, with its watery blood and stale, incipid scent, you can bid farewell to that without a tear. Your body was an empty desert, madam, which duty forced me to wander in alone... And Becket was my friend... red-blooded, generous and full of strength, oh my Thomas...
There's so much more!
One day, I'm going to wash my face by breaking the ice covering the water. As Thomas Becket always told his friend Henry to do.
John Cathcart
Author Delta 7
Movie Review: "The Honor of God and The King"
Summary: 5 Stars
What a treat for moviegoers to see this magnificent film on the big screen again after 43 years. Originally released in 1964, directed by Peter Glenville and starring Richard Burton as Thomas Becket and Peter O'Toole as Henry ll, BECKET holds up well with time. Based on the play by the same name by Jean Anouilh, the movie is based-- with cinematic license here and there; for example he is a dirty Saxon here-- on the life and martyrdom of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. (Both Tennyson and Eliot produced major works on the same subject matter.) Although many period pieces like this one are visually stunning to watch, as this one is, they often leave the viewer cold, as this one does but in this instance because of superb acting. Henry complains often that he is always cold and that Becket is not warm in his affection to him. This coldness is so real as to be palpable in the theatre.
It is a pleasure to watch Burton and O'Toole in their verbal fencing as both actors give as good as they get. Neither actor ever looked or acted better. The scene where Becket and Henry meet on horseback at the sea and Becket tells Henry that he will never see him again is worth whatever you paid to see the movie. Other actors besides O'Toole and Burton give outstanding performances as well, particularly John Gielgud as King Louis VII and David Weston as the young Brother John, Becket's disciple and attendant.
BECKET is about big themes-- honor (Becket: "I am waiting for the honor of the God and the king to be one, my lord"), friendship and love-- and a film for all seasons.