A Man For All Seasons4 And A Half Out Of 5A Man For All Seasons is a character driven feature of a man who will not and does not take "yes" for an answer. There are very few features that bleeds excellence in every form of it and touches the long lasting perfect note that not only is brilliant but essential to cinema; this is one of it. It is rich on technical aspects like costume design, production design, background score, sound department and editing. The dialogues in here are memorable, thought-provoking and goose-fleshing, as the intensity outgrows potential for the protagonist and at his vulnerability the argumentative conversations written in here can cut through any form of energy. The writing by Robert Bolt is undeniably strong and gripping, keeping the audience on the edge of the seat and leaves them in awe of it. Fred Zinnemann; the director is in his A game communicating with the audience through his brilliant execution skills as the emotions pours out of the screen like rain and makes it almost impossible to not be effected by it; especially in its last act. The performance objective is scored majestically by the protagonist Paul Scofield and a brilliant supporting cast like Robert Shaw and Wendy Hiller. A Man For All Seasons is a feature for all generations as it is layered with multiple emotions that can be explored through the craft present in each frame of it.

My blunt response for 1966's A Man for All Seasons is that it's a great movie. The Academy voters seemed to agree with me back then because it was the Best Picture winner at the Academy Awards that year. The movie appealed to me because of a variety of reasons. I love the history background, and I learned some things about a time period I'm not too familiar with. Quite frankly, not many people know much about the events during the 15th and 16th centuries, and the topic of this movie is a major event. The film is about a man named Sir Thomas More who died because he believed in his principles on how to live a Catholic life, and unfortunately those principles clashed with the ideas of England's ruling figure, King Henry VIII. I also loved the performances in the film, especially from Paul Scofield who delivered an immense, emotional performance as More. Like all films trying to recapture the time period, I loved the look of the film. They seemed to have caught the basic grasp of what England looked like in the 1500's. Finally, the themes are worth watching this movie. It shows that a person should not be afraid to speak their beliefs, even if that results in persecution. The theme has always existed in reality and even more so in today's world with political beliefs, racial beliefs, and even sexual beliefs.To delve into the historical background of the movie is the same as describing the plot of the film so here goes. Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield) is a very popular figure in England. The chancellor has a loving family which includes his wife, Alice (Wendy Hiller) and his daughter, Margaret (Susannah York). His king, King Henry VIII (Robert Shaw) is determined to break from the Roman Catholic Church because he wants to divorce his wife and remarry a different woman. More disagrees with the king's decision, and he respectfully resigns his chancellor post in hopes to live his life out as a private citizen. But the King has other ideas, and he wants a public announcement from More saying he agrees with the King. But More refuses, and his silence may be his biggest punishment of all. But also his silence shows that it can sometimes be louder than words.Fred Zinnemann's feature has excellent performances all across the board. In researching the making of the film, I discovered that the director, Zinnemann had to fight to get Paul Scofield to play Sir Thomas More. The producers originally feared he wasn't a big enough name for the general audience. It is a good thing they changed their mind because Scofield delivered the performance of the decade, and he had previous acting experience as the chancellor. He originally played More in plays at London's West End and on Broadway, earning him the Tony Award. Scofield went on to win an Academy Award for his portrayal of More. I enjoyed Robert Shaw's colorful performance as King Henry VIII. Some people say he overacts at time by screaming. It's true that Shaw screamed often in his limited screen time, but that was how the King acted in real life. Wendy Hiller does a fine job as More's loving wife who is also suffering due to her husband's silence. This film also opened the eyes of the pubic to John Hurt, who was an unknown at the time. Hurt played Rich, an assistant of Thomas More but later on double-crossed him. Orson Welles delivers a brief, but good performance as Cardinal Wolsey, the head cardinal of England.I really enjoyed watching the film and see all these fine performances take shape. The second half of the film is emotional. Those who knows their history knows that More was executed for his beliefs. His execution doesn't take place on the screen, but the persecution More faces due to his silence is heartbreaking. Back then, people were not given the freedom of speech or expression as we are lucky to have it today. More never objected to the king's actions. He just never said a word and he paid the price. In a sense, he was seen as a martyr. He could be one of the main influences on why humans today have the right to speak their mind.A Man for All Seasons is an excellent film for all the reasons I have mentioned in the review. The movie is more of a character-driven film thanks to the snappy screenplay adaptation by Robert Bolt, so do not expect much in the way of action. The screenplay is dialogue-driven, and I loved the words or in some cases, no words at all. It delivered a fresh breath of air to More and it informed modern audiences what happened 500 years ago and why it's important to know what happen. It's full of wonderful performances, especially the much-heralded performance of Scofield. The movie looks great, sounds great, and is just overall a great movie. Remember, never be afraid to speak your beliefs. You can believe whatever you want to believe, and that is what Sir Thomas More told the world in 1530.My Grade: A

Paul Scofield is Sir Thomas More in this historical picture concerning Henry VIII's future marriage to Anne Boleyn. But he's still married to Catherine of Aragon, who can not give him an heir. So of course Henry wants the Pope to annul his marriage to Catherine, so he can marry Anne. Sir Thomas More was a Lord High Chancellor and a counselor to His Majesty, but he does not condone this action. "A Man for All Seasons" is very special movie to me, as it symbolizes not only doing the right thing, but staying true to one's self, and it's a very modest and humble film. Scofield brings these qualities and more to his character. Living simply and true. Using what God has given you to the best of your abilities. Pleasing and serving God over man. Scofield embodies sense and sensibility in portraying this statesman with firm resolve. His quiet non-statement of the King's demands is not taken well and is taken to criticize the King, because those who know him knows what he stands for and that his not saying anything speaks volumes - even though he says he's trying to stay out of it. Scofield deservedly won an Oscar for this role, and the movie also is breathtakingly beautiful with its stark and simple cinematography. Miss this film and you miss not only a film essential - but a history lesson and a lesson in living.

I am very surprised my uncle was the first source from which I heard about this film - it seems like it should be much more famous than it is. It won the academy award for Best Picture of 1966, and it co- stars famous actors Orson Welles, Robert Shaw, and John Hurt. The strongest aspects of this film are the writing and performances; combined, these two elements form a great movie.Not mentioned above, Paul Scofield, who I have never heard of prior to seeing this film, carries this film with a brilliant performance. He plays Thomas More, a man defiant to man's law if God's law says differently. This is the essence of his personality, and he is a character who is full of wisdom and a great sense of logic in order to defend himself against the accusations of the corrupt. While his wisdom and logic do not ultimately save him, these characteristics form one of the most inspirational characters I have ever seen on film. Scofield plays More as a man who calmly accepts his fate while standing by his words and beliefs, rather than pleading his allegiance to the corruption within England's government.The supporting cast - especially John Hurt - do a good job of building up More even more (pun not intended) by portraying corrupt individuals who More has tried to help. More always has the best intentions; John Hurt's character is looking for employment at the beginning of the film, and More tries to convince him to become a teacher to avoid the corruption of government, and offers him a bribe he has received in order to get the man started. At first it seems possible that Hurt's character will remain loyal to More, but instead uses the fact that he was "bribed" by More to obtain a post within the government. It is heartbreaking to listen to Hurt's character lie about More late in the film in order to just keep climbing up the ladder, a situation More was trying to prevent entirely for the best intentions.Most of the film consists of inspiring monologues through More, an aspect I love since I think monologues are difficult to pull off correctly and are extremely effective in developing character. Scofield does it with mastery. I think it makes sense that this work stems from a play because I see it more fitting to be performed on stage than I see it as a cinematic work. If the film was more cinematic I would give it a perfect rating, but to me the only really visually captivating scene in the film was the penultimate scene: the trial for More's life. As my uncle says, in a way, this film makes you "want to be a better person."