Paramount Pictures
Not part of a collection.
Becket
An age of rampant lusts, abandon, runaway passions. An age brought bristling to life by two of the most exciting stars of our time!
Thomas Becket, Henry II's longtime advisor, finds his friendship with the debauched king corroding when he is unwillingly appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury in an attempt to gain absolute loyalty from the Church.
- Original title
- Becket
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US,GB
- Budget
- —
- Revenue
- $9,100,000
John Chard
May 24, 2020 · via TMDB
Here's my royal foot on your royal buttocks! King Henry II of England has grown tired of the interference of the Church. When the Archbishop of Canterbury dies, he senses an opportunity to gain the upper hand. Much to the church, and Thomas Becket's surprise, he appoints his great friend Thomas to the highly important position. What Henry hadn't bargained for was that Becket takes the role very serious indeed and serves God to the full, so where once there was great friendship between the two men, there is now an uneasy feud. Based on the Jean Anouilh play, Becket is as near a technically perfect film as you could wish to see, with the acting on show coming right out of the top draw. Nominated for 12 Academy Awards, it won only one for Best Adapted Screenplay (Edward Analt), but on another given year it could quite easily have cleaned up. Peter O'Toole & Richard Burton play Henry II & Thomas Becket respectively, both men feeding of each others commitment to the project to bring peerless results, witness one scene in particular as they exchange views on horseback on a British beach, wonderful stuff. The costumes, the cinematography from Geoffrey Unsworth (now booming from the screen with the DVD restoration work), the sound, and the brilliant sets all come together to make a top of the range Historical drama. But all these would not stand out if the story wasn't any good, but Becket's triumph is in the story itself, a tale about the separation of great friends, and the separation of the state from the church, it really is an intriguing and beguiling way to spend your evening. One glaring error aside (Becket was not a Saxon, but a Norman), the makers have followed history rather well, and it leaves us with what i believe to be one of the best films of its type. 10/10
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Richard Burton
Thomas Becket
Peter O'Toole
King Henry II of England
John Gielgud
King Louis VII of France
Gino Cervi
Cardinal Zambelli
Paolo Stoppa
Pope Alexander III
Donald Wolfit
Bishop Folliot
David Weston
Brother John
Martita Hunt
Empress Matilda
Pamela Brown
Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine
Percy Herbert
Baron
Siân Phillips
Gwendolen
Felix Aylmer
Archbishop of Canterbury
Niall MacGinnis
Baron
Christopher Rhodes
Baron
John Phillips
Bishop of Winchester
Frank Pettingell
Bishop of York
Véronique Vendell
French Prostitute
Jennifer Hilary
Peasant's Daughter
Hamilton Dyce
Bishop of Chichester
Peter Jeffrey
Baron
Geoffrey Bayldon
Brother Philip (uncredited)
Dave Clark
Soldier (uncredited)
Ivor Dean
Monk (uncredited)
Guy Deghy
Man (uncredited)
Paul Farrell
Farmer (uncredited)
Magda Konopka
Girl on Balcony (uncredited)
Wilfrid Lawson
Old Soldier (uncredited)
Tutte Lemkow
French Courtier (uncredited)
Linda Marlowe
Farmer's Daughter (uncredited)
John Moulder-Brown
Boy (uncredited)
Patrick Newell
William of Corbeil (uncredited)
Frederick Piper
Monk (uncredited)
Dido Plumb
Man in Crowd (uncredited)
Steve Plytas
Cardinal (uncredited)
Robert Rietti
Alexander III (voice) (uncredited)
Alex Scott
Priest (uncredited)
Victor Spinetti
French Tailor (uncredited)
Graham Stark
Pope's Secretary (uncredited)
Elizabeth Taylor
Blonde Village Woman (uncredited)
Royston Tickner
Royal Servant (uncredited)
Edward Woodward
Clement (uncredited)
John Bryan
Production Design
Geoffrey Unsworth
Director of Photography
Peter Glenville
Director
Anne V. Coates
Editor
Hal B. Wallis
Producer
Edward Anhalt
Screenplay
Jean Anouilh
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