1966--A Man For All Seasons

 

1966--A Man for All Seasons—Fred Zinnemann

Nominated: Alfie, The Russians are Coming The Russians are Coming, The Sand Pebbles, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Should have won:The Good the Bad and the Ugly

Be sure to see: Fahrenheit 451

“It is a bad sign when people are oppressed by their good fortune.”--Cromwell

    King Henry VIII wishes to divorce his wife, so that he may marry another. Thomas More, England's Roman Catholic Chancellor, opposes this and feels the church would look down on the king. King Henry is outraged at this and tries to attack More through the courts. So More resigns for a private life. Because More's resignation speaks so loudly (referred to in the line by the prosecutor “Silence can, under the circumstances, speak”) of his thoughts on the king, the king demands More's approval of the divorce. More, however, refuses to give in despite imprisonment and possible beheading.

    At least that's what I gathered. I've heard so many good things about this movie and this was the first of the best picture viewings where I felt I had my work cut out for me. Even others I didn't enjoy I could still follow. Even my notes I had taken on this one were scattered and unfocused. My favorite moments were the scenes of More before the judges, both the big court scene at the end and the one in front of the the three judges. His dialogue was sharp and focused, flustering the judges. I found it interesting More is on trial for keeping silent where, today in the United States, we have the right to remain silent.

    Typically when a story loses me I focus on other aspects of the film. The sets were great and seeing Robert Shaw playing the king was certainly different. I'd seen him as the rugged old salt in Jaws and the sneaky mob boss in The Sting (another best picture winner). I also thought it was neat the first lines are spoken over six minutes after the start of the film. Rio Bravo, There Will be Blood and The Good the Bad and the Ugly are other movies where the first lines are held off for a while. But that is not to say the movie was bad. It has a great message and technically had a lot going for it, I was just a little bored. It certainly made me glad to live in a democracy.