Becket (1964)

Director:

Peter Glenville

Writers:

Jean Anouilh (play)
Lucienne Hill (play)

Release Date:

11 March 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History

Tagline:

An age of rampant lusts, abandon, runaway passions. An age brought bristling to life by two of the most exciting stars of our time!

Plot:

An English king comes to terms with his affection for his close friend and confidant, who finds his true honor by observing God's divine will rather than the king's.

Plot Keywords:

King Henry II | Thomas Becket | England | Monk | Archbishop

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 12 wins & 22 nominations

Cast

Richard Burton	...	Thomas à Becket
Peter O'Toole	...	King Henry II
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]
Siân Phillips	...	Gwendolen (as Sian Phillips)
Felix Aylmer	...	Archbishop of Canterbury
Percy Herbert	...	Baron
Inigo Jackson	...	Robert de Beaumont
Niall MacGinnis	...	Baron
Christopher Rhodes	...	Baron

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content and violence.

Runtime:

148 min | Argentina:150 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Latin

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Hungary:14 | USA:Not Rated | USA:PG-13 | UK:PG | Finland:K-16 | Portugal:17 | Sweden:15 | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Alnwick Castle, Alnwick, Northumberland, England, UK

Company:

Paramount Film Service

Trivia:

King Henry actually was very close with his son Henry, choosing to have him raised in his close friend Becket's home - a common practice for royalty in that era. The prince's resentment over his father's possible causation of Becket's death (intentional or not) was a major reason he became distanced from his father in later years, although the prince eventually died three years before his father.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the Henry II's men come to Canterbury to assassinate Becket, Becket is facing the altar. The long shot shows Becket walking toward them in the distance. The next shot shows Becket still facing the altar.

Quotes:

King Henry II: Let us drink, gentlemen. Let us drink, till we roll under the table in vomit and oblivion.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)

Towering performances by 2 actors at the zenith of their powers.

My comments here tend to be Misremembrances of things past. I know I saw "Becket" decades ago while I must have been suffering from a periodic bout of reviling Richard Burton. Having recently seen "Cleopatra" again, I will forgive myself. Still, there are movies that I've enjoyed - "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" and "The Night of the Iguana", to name 2 - so I thought I'd give "Becket" another try.

Historical movies are among my favorites, although the IMDB parameter of not spoiling restricts me from discussing plot. But this is a movie that made me click on here to see who directed it...since directing Burton and O'Toole must have been like being a meterologist tracking a tornado and a hurricane. Their synergy is astounding...but whereas O'Toole launches himself on occassion into a thespian stratosphere it is Burton's performance that is incandescent. There are scenes..."inner monologues" - queries to God, where the ribald Burton is transformed into a man illuminated by a spiritual puzzle - he cannot believe that he is becoming who he is becoming - and it is Burton's challenge to share that bewilderment with us.

Well, I'm comforted that I can now stretch the glory days of historical film-making at least to "Becket." Any film in which John Gielgud, Martita Hunt, Felix Aylmer and Pamela Brown are "supporting" - how do I put it, "supporting" performances such as these are most other actors' triumphs. The costumes and sets are sumptous. Finis.