A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)  

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A Man for All Seasons is a 1966 British historical drama film directed and produced by Fred Zinnemann, adapted by Robert Bolt from his play of the same name. It depicts the final years of Sir Thomas More, the 16th-century Lord Chancellor of England who refused both to sign a letter asking Pope Clement VII to annul Henry VIII of England's marriage to Catherine of Aragon and to take an Oath of Supremacy declaring Henry Supreme Head of the Church of England.

Paul Scofield, who had played More in the West End stage premiere, also took the role in the film, starring alongside Wendy Hiller, Robert Shaw, Susannah York, and Orson Welles. Also appearing are Nigel Davenport, Leo McKern, Corin Redgrave, Vanessa Redgrave and, in one of his earliest screen roles, John Hurt. The film was released by Columbia Pictures on 12 December 1966.

A Man for All Seasons was a critical and box-office success. It won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 39th Academy Awards, while the cast and crew won another five, including Best Director for Zinnemann and Best Actor for Scofield. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama and the BAFTA Awards for Best Film and Best British Film. In 1999, the British Film Institute named it the 43rd greatest British film of all time.

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Plot

The film covers the years 1529 to 1535, during the reign of Henry VIII.

During a private late-night meeting at Hampton Court, Cardinal Wolsey, Lord Chancellor of England, chastises More for being the only member of the Privy Council to oppose Wolsey's attempts to obtain from the Pope an annulment of Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, as their marriage has not produced a male heir. With the annulment, Henry would be able to marry Anne Boleyn, with whom he hopes to father such an heir and avoid a repeat of the Wars of the Roses. More says that he cannot agree to Wolsey's suggestion that they apply "pressure" on Church property and revenue in England. Unknown to More, the conversation is being overheard by Wolsey's aide, Thomas Cromwell.

Returning to his home at Chelsea at dawn, More finds his young acquaintance Richard Rich waiting for his return so as to lobby for a position at Court. More instead offers Rich a job as a teacher. Rich declines More's offer, saying that teaching would offer him little chance to become well known. More finds his daughter Meg chatting with a brilliant young lawyer, William Roper, who announces his desire to marry her. The devoutly Catholic More says he cannot give his blessing as long as Roper remains a Lutheran.

Some time later, Wolsey dies in a rural monastery in disgrace after banishment from court for failing to obtain the papal annulment Henry wanted. Henry appoints More Lord Chancellor of England. The King makes an "impromptu" visit to the More estate and again requests More's support for an annulment, but More remains unmoved as Henry alternates between threats, tantrums, and promises of unbounded royal favour. As the King leaves, Cromwell promises Rich a position at Court in return for damaging information about More.

Roper, learning of More's quarrel with the king, says that his religious views have altered considerably and declares that by attacking the Church, the king has become "the Devil's minister." More is admonishing Roper to be more guarded when Rich arrives, pleading again for a position at Court. When More again refuses, Rich denounces More's steward as a spy for Thomas Cromwell. An unmoved More responds, "Of course, that's one of my servants."

Humiliated, Rich joins Cromwell in attempting to bring More down. Meanwhile, the king orders Parliament and the bishops to declare him "Supreme Head of the Church of England". Embracing Caesaropapism, the bishops and Parliament accede to the king's demands and renounce all allegiance to the Pope. More quietly resigns as Lord Chancellor rather than accept the new order. His close friend, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, attempts to draw out his opinions in a friendly private chat, but More knows that the time for speaking openly of such matters is over.

In a meeting with Norfolk, Cromwell implies that More's troubles will be over if he will attend the king's "wedding" to Boleyn. After More does not, he is summoned again to the royal palace of Hampton Court, where Cromwell interrogates More inside Wolsey's former office. More refuses to answer and an infuriated Cromwell reveals that the king views More as a traitor, but allows him to leave. The Thames boatmen are aware of the King's hostility to More and refuse to ferry him, so More returns home on foot.

As More finally arrives, his daughter Meg informs him that a new oath is being circulated and that all must take it or face charges of high treason. Initially, More says he might be willing to take the oath, depending on its wording. Upon learning that it names the king as Supreme Head of the Church and allows no legal or moral loopholes, More refuses to take it and is imprisoned in the Tower of London.

More remains steadfast in his refusal to take the Oath and refuses to explain, knowing that he cannot be convicted if he has not explicitly denied the king's supremacy. A request for new books to read backfires, resulting in the confiscation of the books he has, and Rich removes them from More's cell, providing an opportunity for Rich to further debate More.

More says goodbye to his wife Alice, Meg and Roper, urging them not to try to defend him, but to leave the country.

Soon after, More is brought to trial, with Cromwell appearing as counsel for the prosecution. More refuses to express an opinion about the king's second marriage or why he will not take the Oath. As an experienced lawyer and judge, he cites his silence as part of his defence, based upon the legal principle that silence is to be interpreted as consent. Cromwell calls Rich to testify. Rich alleges that, when he went to confiscate More's books, More told him that while Parliament has the power to dethrone the king, it does not have the authority to make the king the Head of the Church.

A horrified More offers to take any oath required by the court that he never said any such thing to Rich. More adds that he would never be so suicidal as to entrust so dangerous an opinion "to such a man as that." As Rich leaves the witness box, it emerges that Rich has been made Attorney General for Wales as a reward from Cromwell for committing perjury, much to More's chagrin.

Under a direct order from Cromwell, the jury convicts More without leaving the courtroom to deliberate. But as the judges begin to pronounce the death penalty, More interrupts and reminds them that prisoners are to be asked before sentencing if they have anything to say.

Upon being so asked by the judges, More declares, "I do." More calls Parliament's Act of Supremacy repugnant to every legal precedent and institution in all the history of Christendom. He cites the Biblical foundation for the Petrine Primacy and the authority of the Papacy, rather than national governments, over the Church. More further declares that the Church's freedom from state control and interference is guaranteed both in Magna Carta and in the king's coronation oath. As uproar ensues, the judges pronounce sentence according to the standard form: More is to be remitted to the Tower to await execution by beheading.

The scene switches from the court to Tower Hill, where More observes custom by pardoning and tipping the executioner. More declares, "I die his Majesty's good servant, but God's first." He kneels at the block and, off-screen, the executioner cuts off More's head.

A narrator intones an epilogue, listing the subsequent untimely deaths of the major characters, apart from Rich, who "became Chancellor of England, and died in his bed."

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Cast


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