A Man for All Seasons (1966)

Director:

Fred Zinnemann

Writers:

Robert Bolt (from the play by)
Robert Bolt (screenplay)

Release Date:

1967 (Japan)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History

Tagline:

...a motion picture for all times!

Plot:

The story of Thomas More, who stood up to King Henry VIII when the King rejected the Roman Catholic Church to obtain a divorce and remarriage.

Plot Keywords:

Divorce | Catholic | King Henry VIII | Chancellor | Thomas More

Awards:

Won 6 Oscars. Another 28 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Paul Scofield	...	Thomas More
Wendy Hiller	...	Alice More
Leo McKern	...	Cromwell
Robert Shaw	...	Henry VIII
Orson Welles	...	Cardinal Wolsey
Susannah York	...	Margaret
Nigel Davenport	...	Duke of Norfolk
John Hurt	...	Rich
Corin Redgrave	...	Roper
Colin Blakely	...	Matthew
Cyril Luckham	...	Archbishop Cranmer
Jack Gwillim	...	Chief Justice
Thomas Heathcote	...	Boatman
Yootha Joyce	...	Averil Machin
Anthony Nicholls	...	King's Representative
John Nettleton	...	Jailer
Eira Heath	...	Matthew's Wife
Molly Urquhart	...	Maid
Paul Hardwick	...	Courtier
Michael Latimer	...	Norfolk's Aide
Philip Brack	...	Captain of Guard
Martin Boddey	...	Governor of Tower
Eric Mason	...	Executioner
Matt Zimmerman	...	Messenger
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Anne Boleyn
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Raymond Adamson	...	(uncredited)
Trevor Baxter	...	1st Man (uncredited)
Sylvia Bidmead	...	Young Woman (uncredited)
Jack Bligh	...	Old Man in Scene 33 (uncredited)
Bridget Brice	...	Young Woman (uncredited)
Jan Carey	...	2nd Girl (uncredited)
Gladys Dawson	...	Old Woman (uncredited)
Edwin Finn	...	1st Scholar (uncredited)
Laura Graham	...	4th Girl (uncredited)
Raymond Graham	...	Academic (uncredited)
Gay Hamilton	...	2nd Handmaiden / 3rd Girl (uncredited)
Fiona Hartford	...	1st Girl / 1st Handmaiden (uncredited)
Drewe Henley	...	(uncredited)
Walter Horsbrugh	...	2nd High Court Judge (uncredited)
Ross Hutchinson	...	4th Courier (uncredited)
Donald Layne-Smith	...	2nd Scholar (uncredited)
Graham Leaman	...	1st Monk (uncredited)
Patrick Marley	...	2nd Monk (uncredited)
Julie Martin	...	2th Maid (uncredited)
Robert Mill	...	Servant (uncredited)
Robert Morris	...	Gentleman Usher (uncredited)
Arnold Peters	...	6th Courier (uncredited)
Christine Pollon	...	1st Woman (uncredited)
Arnold Ridley	...	Innkeeper (uncredited)
Iain Sinclair	...	3rd Man (uncredited)
Nick Tate	...	Master At Arms (uncredited)
Michael Wade	...	2nd servant / 2nd Young Man (uncredited)
Gina Warwick	...	3rd Handmaiden (uncredited)

Directed by
Fred Zinnemann

Writing credits
Robert Bolt		(from the play by)
Robert Bolt		(screenplay)

Produced by
William N. Graf	....	executive producer
Fred Zinnemann	....	producer

Original Music by
Georges Delerue

Cinematography by
Ted Moore		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Ralph Kemplen

Casting by
Robert Lennard

Production Design by
John Box

Art Direction by
Terence Marsh

Makeup Department
Eric Allwright	....	makeup artist
Helene Bevan	....	hairdresser (as Helen Bevan)
Gordon Bond	....	hairdresser
George Frost	....	makeup artist

Production Management
William Kirby	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Peter Bolton	....	assistant director
Patrick Carey	....	second unit director
Al Burgess	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Bill Graf	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Peter Dukelow	....	construction manager
Josie MacAvin	....	set dresser
Roy Walker	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Buster Ambler	....	sound
Marcel Durham	....	assistant editor
Bob Jones	....	sound
Harry Miller	....	dubbing editor

Stunts
Nosher Powell	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Bob Kindred	....	camera operator (as Robert Kindred)
Maurice Gillett	....	supervising electrician (uncredited)
Mike Roberts	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Robert Willoughby	....	special still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joan Bridge	....	colour costume design
Jackie Cummins	....	wardrobe
Elizabeth Haffenden	....	colour costume design

Music Department
Georges Delerue	....	conductor

Other crew
Patrick McLoughlin	....	technical adviser
Constance Willis	....	continuity
Catherine O'Brien	....	unit publicist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Highland Films

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (1966) (UK) (theatrical) (presents)
• Columbia Pictures (1966) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia-Bavaria Filmgesellschaft m.b.H. (1967) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1973) (USA) (TV)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Video Ltd. (1986) (UK) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1992) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1996) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Video Collection International (1998) (UK) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2000) (UK) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia (1967) (France) (theatrical) (as Columbia Films S.A.)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Video (1987) (Japan) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Latin | Spanish | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR (DVD Release) | Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:G | Finland:K-12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | UK:U | USA:Approved (original rating) | USA:G | Iceland:L | West Germany:12 (nf) | Brazil:Livre | Sweden:11 | UK:U (video rating) (1986) (1998) (2000) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Beaulieu River, Hampshire, England, UK

Company:

Highland Films

Trivia:

Vanessa Redgrave was originally lined up to play Margaret but she had theater commitments. Instead, she agreed to do an unpaid cameo as Anne Boleyn on the condition that it remain unbilled.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Henry leaves More's estate, he twice indicates that it is eight o'clock. The shadows of most characters between his announcement and actual leaving are very short making it appear to be much closer to noon.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[first spoken lines are over 6 minutes into the film]
Man:...there's the country every second bastard born is fathered by a priest.
Matthew:[clears throat to get More's attention]
Man:Why, in Utopia, that couldn't be.
Man:But why?
Man:Well, there the priests are very holy.
Man:Therefore, very few.
Sir Thomas More:Is it anything interesting, Matthew?
Matthew:Bless you, sir, I don't know.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Behind the Tunes: Bugs - A Rabbit for All Seasonings (2003) (V)

The Ultimate Lead Performance

Paul Scofield's rendition of Sir Thomas More as written by Robert Bolt and directed by Fred Zinneman is the greatest lead dramatic performance EVER in cinematic history. He is that magnificent. He IS Sir Thomas More. We feel his hope, weariness, fire, virtue, protectiveness, morality, and bemusement as richly as he conveys each one frequently, one right after another. He was made for Bolt's dialogue, and Bolt's dialogue is drilled forever into our conscious by Scofield's flawless performance.

Everything else is also here. Leo McKern is brilliant as politically motivated prosecutor, Lord Cromwell. A bit subtler, but no less brilliant is Nigel Davenport as a man of some conscience, but not quite enough. John Hurt is unforgettable as ambitious young Rich led into temptation by Lord Cromwell. The incomparable Dame Wendy Hiller -- who passed just last year -- adds several more dimensions than her rather sparsely written role as Scofield's wife should have allowed for. Every minute she is on the screen is magnificent. Susannah York walks a tightrope between being scholarly reason and her passion for what is right. Robert Shaw as Henry VIII and Orson Wells as Cardinal Woolsey are larger than life and completely compelling during their all-too-brief virtuoso solos. The cinematography is lush. The soundtrack is historically accurate and perfectly positioned. Key sounds punctuate three pregnant pauses with explosive impact. The movie is technically as perfect as an historical epic can be. The film is simply exquisite.

All that being said, as I reflect momentarily in my head on closing this, it is Scofield's incomparable and breathtaking performance which still leaves me in complete awe.