BECKET is a film that seeks to explore the friendship and eventual enmity that existed between Henry II and Thomas Becket, two of the most famous characters in British history. Based on a play and filmed with an exemplary cast, it's a fine example of the kind of serious, old-fashioned, historical drama they don't make much of anymore.
The film is inevitably dominated by the presence of two acting heavyweights in the form of Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton. O'Toole is very good as the fey, fun-loving king, but Burton is even better as the religious man suffering a crisis of conscience.
The film is slow-moving and long-winded, but somehow it still works. The history is interesting, the scene-setting helps to add a real air of authenticity, and it's great seeing familiar faces (Gielgud, Phillips, Wolfit) fleshing out the cast.
Watch for the final encounter between king and subject on the beach. Possibly the most beautifully filmed moment of cinema I've seen - check out the sky and the sea, the costumes and the hollow faces of O'Toole and Burton. Cinema really doesn't get any better than this...
The film is inevitably dominated by the presence of two acting heavyweights in the form of Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton. O'Toole is very good as the fey, fun-loving king, but Burton is even better as the religious man suffering a crisis of conscience.
The film is slow-moving and long-winded, but somehow it still works. The history is interesting, the scene-setting helps to add a real air of authenticity, and it's great seeing familiar faces (Gielgud, Phillips, Wolfit) fleshing out the cast.
Watch for the final encounter between king and subject on the beach. Possibly the most beautifully filmed moment of cinema I've seen - check out the sky and the sea, the costumes and the hollow faces of O'Toole and Burton. Cinema really doesn't get any better than this...