Film PSA: A Man For All Seasons

Alright, for those of you who have NOT seen the 1966 film "A Man For All Seasons", this is me telling you to see it. I'm not going to lie, the first time I attempted to watch this film I fell asleep. It's pretty dry. To get through it, you really have to concentrate on the dialogue. However, it's an important film from a political, historical, religious and artistic standpoint. If you do end up watching it I ask that you close your eyes during the beginning scenes with Cardinal Wolsey played by Orson Welles. Old Welles has very little resemblance to the man I fell in love with.

Anyway...we all know Thomas More. He was a scholar and author most known for writing "Utopia". You might not know that most of More's lines in "A Man For All Seasons" are directly from More's writings. Thomas Cromwell's interrogations of More as well as More's trial and final words are word for word of what was actually said. More's story is a sad one and is often overlooked since the Protestant Reformation, Spanish Inquisition and Henry VIII's affairs were all at the same time.

In fact, More and King Henry went to Cambridge together and remained good friends up until the whole Anne Boleyn incident. More was the King's most trusted adviser, but he found the King's request for a divorce from Catherine to be blasphemous and was labeled a traitor when he did not show up at Anne's coronation. The penalty for being a traitor in 16th century England? Beheading.

Well I think I just gave away the ending (sorry). If you don't care about More at all, it's always fun to see "old" English actors as their younger selves. First, John Hurt acts as Richard Rich. Venessa Redgrave plays Anne Boleyn, but probably more famous than her are her daughters Joely and Natasha Richardson. Robert Shaw plays Henry VIII and ya'll should know him as everyone's fun-loving, Great White Shark killer in "Jaws".

"A Man For All Seasons" is a classic example of betrayal and men (and women)like More can be found throughout history. We need to keep hearing about people like More, from this movie or anywhere really, so we can keep holding on to our convictions.