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For years, I have had A Man For All Seasons on DVD in my possession and have been meaning to watch it so when I looked upon it in my collection, I had this strong and rather sudden urge to watch it. There are a lot of films based on a true story with kings, queens, chancellors etc that have either been just decent or bad but I admit that A Man For All Seasons is probably the most successful of that kind seeing as it won 6 Academy Awards (Best Picture 1966, Best Leading Actor (Scofield), Best Director (Zinnemann), Best Costume Design, Best Cinematography and Best Adapted Screenplay) although I do think that Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? should have won Picture, Director, Actor and probably everything else except Cinematography and Costume Design over A Man For All Seasons.
I think where I found this quite a powerful film was that it isn't only a tale of tragedy, betrayal and love but it is also a story of strong inspiration because Sir Thomas More stood up for his beliefs against Henry VIII of all people despite there being a friendship between the two of them. Plus, More was Henry's Chancellor as well which makes it even more heartbreaking. I tell you what else makes it an even stronger film personally is that you have to read the plot and you know what happens or is a fan of history and have read a lot into it but despite we know the ending, we feel gripped to it like we don't want it to happen and it becomes a predictable sad story. Another thing I must point out, despite we know that it is a true story but in a complex and hard to explain sort of way, there are some segments where this could have possibly worked as a Biblical story with the kings, the executions and their kingdom.
The story takes place in 16th century England. But men like Sir Thomas More, who loves life yet has the moral fibre to lay down their lives for their principles, are found in every century. Concentrating on the last seven years of English chancellor's life, the struggle between More and his King, Henry VIII, hinges on Henry's determination to break with Rome so he can divorce his current wife and wed again, and good Catholic More's inability to go along with such heresy. More resigns as chancellor, hoping to be able to live out his life as a private citizen. But Henry will settle for nothing less than that the much respected More give public approval to his headstrong course.
Actor Richard Burton who starred in Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? the same year A Man For All Seasons was released was the first choice to play Sir Thomas More but rejected it presumably because he was working on Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? (I don't blame him, to be honest) but Paul Scofield was just fantastic as Sir Thomas More. I think what I liked the most about his character was that he was completely open with how he felt and stood up for himself and probably for others seeing as they might have thought the same thing. Thomas More may have perhaps acted like a bitter man towards his family but stepping that aside, he stood up for his beliefs and I respect that! I really liked Wendy Hiller as Alice More who is the wife of Sir Thomas More and mother of Margaret More. She deserved her Academy Award nomination too. I must say that Robert Shaw actually really surprised me as Henry VIII and did an absolutely brilliant job! He perhaps wasn't in it a great deal but of what we saw of him, he was still awesome as the fat ginger king. Orson Welles plays a great supporting role as Cardinal Wolsey.
Fred Zinnemann earned Oscar glory in 1953 for From Here To Eternity and lightning has struck twice with A Man For All Seasons. I have watched both of his biggest successes and yet neither of them have managed to blow me away despite they are both still very enjoyable classics. One thing I do respect greatly about Zinnemann's work on this film is that it is a film made from a play and a play made from real-life and a lot of play film adaptations have been failures but thankfully this one wasn't. Also for this very reason, the screenplay was fantastic too.
Overall, A Man For All Seasons is a very enjoyable classic that I would definitely watch again but I do still feel that Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? was robbed of the Oscars it won. This is perhaps the ultimate history film involving kings and queens of England but not quite one of the ultimate classics for me. If you're fond of history, you'll love this one!
