Top 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsMost Popular Video GamesMost Popular Music VideosMost Popular Podcasts
    Release CalendarBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Becket

  • 19641964
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 2h 28m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
15K
YOUR RATING
Becket (1964)
Trailer for Becket
Play trailer4:48
1 Video
37 Photos
BiographyDramaHistory
King Henry II of England comes to terms with his affection for his close friend and confidant Thomas Becket, who finds his true honor by observing God's divine will rather than the King's.King Henry II of England comes to terms with his affection for his close friend and confidant Thomas Becket, who finds his true honor by observing God's divine will rather than the King's.King Henry II of England comes to terms with his affection for his close friend and confidant Thomas Becket, who finds his true honor by observing God's divine will rather than the King's.
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
15K
YOUR RATING
    • Peter Glenville
    • Jean Anouilh(play "Becket")
    • Lucienne Hill(play "Becket" as translated by)
    • Edward Anhalt(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Richard Burton
    • Peter O'Toole
    • John Gielgud
    • Peter Glenville
    • Jean Anouilh(play "Becket")
    • Lucienne Hill(play "Becket" as translated by)
    • Edward Anhalt(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Richard Burton
    • Peter O'Toole
    • John Gielgud
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 119User reviews
    • 55Critic reviews
    • 68Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar

    Videos1

    Becket
    Trailer 4:48
    Watch Becket

    Photos37

    Peter O'Toole in Becket (1964)
    Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole in Becket (1964)
    Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole in Becket (1964)
    Becket (1964)
    John Gielgud in Becket (1964)
    John Gielgud in Becket (1964)
    Felix Aylmer in Becket (1964)
    Richard Burton in Becket (1964)
    Peter O'Toole in Becket (1964)
    Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole in Becket (1964)
    Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole in Becket (1964)
    Richard Burton in Becket (1964)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Richard Burton
    Richard Burton
    • Becket…
    Peter O'Toole
    Peter O'Toole
    • His King…
    John Gielgud
    John Gielgud
    • King Louis of France…
    Gino Cervi
    Gino Cervi
    • the Cardinal…
    Paolo Stoppa
    Paolo Stoppa
    • the Pope…
    Donald Wolfit
    Donald Wolfit
    • Bishop Folliot
    David Weston
    David Weston
    • Brother John
    Martita Hunt
    Martita Hunt
    • Empress Matilda
    Pamela Brown
    Pamela Brown
    • Queen Eleanor [of Aquitaine]
    Percy Herbert
    Percy Herbert
    • Baron
    Siân Phillips
    Siân Phillips
    • Gwendolen
    • (as Sian Phillips)
    Inigo Jackson
    • Robert de Beaumont
    Felix Aylmer
    Felix Aylmer
    • Archbishop of Canterbury
    Niall MacGinnis
    Niall MacGinnis
    • Baron
    Christopher Rhodes
    • Baron
    John Phillips
    John Phillips
    • Bishop of Winchester
    Frank Pettingell
    Frank Pettingell
    • Bishop of York
    Véronique Vendell
    Véronique Vendell
    • French prostitute
    • (as Veronique Vendell)
      • Peter Glenville
      • Jean Anouilh(play "Becket")
      • Lucienne Hill(play "Becket" as translated by)
      • Edward Anhalt(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    The Lion in Winter
    7.9
    The Lion in Winter
    A Man for All Seasons
    7.7
    A Man for All Seasons
    Anne of the Thousand Days
    7.4
    Anne of the Thousand Days
    The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
    7.6
    The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
    The Ruling Class
    7.3
    The Ruling Class
    Goodbye, Mr. Chips
    6.8
    Goodbye, Mr. Chips
    Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
    8.0
    Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
    Richard III
    7.4
    Richard III
    Beckett
    5.7
    Beckett
    The Comedians
    6.3
    The Comedians
    Cromwell
    6.9
    Cromwell
    Under Milk Wood
    5.8
    Under Milk Wood

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Richard Burton initially turned this movie down because he felt the idea of him playing a saint would cause the press to have a field day. He also said he would be more suited to playing Henry II.
    • Goofs
      Contrary to one of the film's central plot lines, Thomas Becket was a Norman (Thomas Bequet), not a Saxon. Jean Anouilh admitted he discovered this after having finished his play, having based it on the outdated 1825 work "The History of the Conquest of England by the Normans", by Augustin Thierry; but he decided that it made a better story the way he had written it.
    • Quotes

      Thomas a Becket: Tonight you can do me the honor of christening my forks.

      King Henry II: Forks?

      Thomas a Becket: Yes, from Florence. New little invention. It's for pronging meat and carrying it to the mouth. It saves you dirtying your fingers.

      King Henry II: But then you dirty the fork.

      Thomas a Becket: Yes, but it's washable.

      King Henry II: So are your fingers. I don't see the point.

    • Alternate versions
      Two different versions of the closing "A Paramount Release" card exist - one print has these words appear inside the standard Paramount logo of the time superimposed in red, while another has these words as plain text with a small version of a completely different Paramount logo (with a full circle of stars), also in red, beneath them.
    • Connections
      Featured in Precious Images (1986)
    • Soundtracks
      Dies Irae
      (Medieval Latin Hymn)

    User reviews119

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Burton and O'Toole In The Grand Manner
    Like most dramas by Jean Anouih (1910-1987), BECKET essentially sets two larger-than-life characters against each other in a relationship fueled by widening ideological rifts. In this instance, the rift is between the holy and the secular. King Henry II of England, who--frustrated by the frequent interference of the Roman Catholic Church in his rule--manages to have friend Thomas Becket appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury. He expects Becket to act on his behalf--and is shocked when Becket undergoes a spiritual transformation and takes his office seriously.

    The 1959 play was tremendous successful throughout Europe, in England, and in the United States. In 1964 it reached the screen with Richard Burton as Becket, Peter O'Toole as Henry II, such notables as John Gielgud as Louis VII of France. The film was extremely well-received and received numerous critical accolades, particularly for Burton and O'Toole. It was not, however, widely available to the home market until this 2007 MPI DVD release.

    In a technical sense, BECKET looks better than ever; the transfer is very crisp and the picture likely looks better here than it did on the 1964 big screen. At the same time, however, it is very evident that this is a film that really is best seen on the big screen, where the larger than life characters and their ideological battles have the advantage of a scope to equal their nature. It also has a slightly stagey quality, most often in the script, which doesn't quite manage to shed the theatrical trappings of the original.

    Even so, there's a great deal to admire, and the leading actors are most certainly chief among them. Burton and O'Toole wench, brawl, argue, and explode with invective with complete conviction; it would be hard, if not impossible, to say which gives the better performance here. Gielgud is particularly memorable in his brief appearance as Louis VII--and Sian Philips, Pamela Brown, and Martita Hunt make the most of their relatively small roles as well.

    The DVD has several notable bonuses. I personally found the interviews with Richard Burton, archival footage from 1967 and 1977, slightly over rated--but the "featurettes" on editor Anne V. Coats and composer Laurence Rosenthal are excellent, and the DVD commentary by O'Toole is consistently fascinating. I personally find the film as a whole a bit dry--Coats, tellingly, makes the comment that if the producers had put just a bit more money into BECKET it would have an undeniable masterpiece--but fans of the film will find this particular package an extremely welcome one.

    GFT, Amazon Reviewer
    helpful•9
    0
    • gftbiloxi
    • Jul 5, 2007

    FAQ1

    • MIDWEST PREMIERE HAPPENED WHEN AND WHERE?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 11, 1964 (United States)
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • English
      • Latin
      • Welsh
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Alnwick Castle, Alnwick, Northumberland, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • Wallis-Hazen
      • Keep Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 2 hours 28 minutes

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Becket (1964)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Becket (1964) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.