Becket [Blu-ray]

Director: Peter Glenville

Overview

A high-class costume drama with a substantive historical basis, Becket is the true story of the friendship between King Henry II (Peter O'Toole) and Thomas ? Becket (Richard Burton), a royal courtier and confidant whom Henry appoints as Archbishop of Canterbury. As Becket takes his duties with the Church seriously, he finds himself increasingly at odds with the King, who finally orders the death of his once-close companion when he continues to defy the throne. Burton is very good and O'Toole is even better: both men were nominated for the Best Actor Oscar, while Edward Anhalt's screenplay, based on the stageplay by Jean Anouilh, won for Best Adapted Screenplay. The basic theme of separation of church and state still reverberates today, while the top-notch production values ensure Becket's place as one of Britain's better historical epics.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/25/2008
UPC:	0030306180397
Original Release:	1964
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Mpi Home Video
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:30:00
Sales rank:	25,057

Special Features

Commentary with Peter O'Toole; Theatrical Trailer; Still Gallery; Interviews with Editor Anne V. Coates and Composer Laurence Rosenthal; TV Spot

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Peter O'Toole	King Henry II
Richard Burton	Thomas a Becket
John Gielgud	King Louis VII
Martita Hunt	Queen Matilda
Donald Wolfit	Folliot
Pamela Brown	Queen Eleanor
Paolo Stoppa	Pope Alexander III
Gino Servi	Zambelli
David Weston	Brother John
Gino Cervi	Cardinal Zambelli
Felix Aylmer	Archbishop of Canterbury
Veronique Vendell	Pretty French Girl
Gerald Lawson	English Peasant
Jennifer Hilary	His Daughter
Riggs O'Hara	Prince Henry
John Phillips	Bishop of Winchester,Gwendolen
Frank Pettingell	Bishop of York
Hamilton Dyce	Bishop of Chichester
Linda Marlowe	Farmer's Daughter
Patrick Newell	William of Corbeil
Geoffrey Bayldon	Brother Philip
Graham Stark	Pope's Secretary
Victor Spinetti	French Tailor
Magda Knopke	Girl on Balcony
Niall MacGinnis	Henry II's Baron
Percy Herbert	Henry II's Baron
Christopher Rhodes	Henry II's Baron
Peter Jeffrey	Henry II's Baron
Peter Prowse	Baron
Chris Adcock	Sergeant
Roy Beck	Young French boy
Inigo Jackson	Duke of Leicester
Edward Woodward	Clement
Laurence Rosenthal	Composer

Technical Credits

Edward Anhalt

Jean Anouilh

Hal B. Wallis	Producer
Edward Anhalt	Screenwriter
Jean Anouilh	Screenwriter
Joseph H. Hazen	Executive Producer
Alan Maley	Special Effects
Buster Ambler	Sound Effects
Winston Ryder	Sound Effects

Editorial Reviews

In 1964, Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton were the two biggest British film acting stars, and they were paired in an historical epic about the friendship between King Henry II (O'Toole) and Thomas à Becket (Burton). The film, directed flawlessly if staidly by Peter Glenville, was based on a bitterly sardonic stage play by Jean Anouilh. The movie is less edgy and features much talk and little action, even though its bloody climax was already well-known from history. Burton and O'Toole are great sparring partners, displaying tremendous acting talent. They and John Gielgud, who played French king Louis VII, were Oscar-nominated but didn't win; screenwriter Edward Anhalt won an Oscar for adapting the play. Becket emblematizes the serious, stagey historical dramas of the 1950s and 1960s. Glenville's short directing career would end a few years later.