Stars: Robert Shaw, Paul Scofield, Orson Welles, Susannah York, Wendy Hiller, Leo McKern, John Hurt

Director: Fred Zinnemann

Summary: The story of Sir Thomas Moore who was beheaded because he would not recognize King Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn.

A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS, based on Robert Bolt's stage play, is an excellent biographical drama about the conflicts faced by Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield) when King Henry VIII (Robert Shaw) asks him to break with Rome and grant him a divorce. The film is a powerful, cerebral story, supported by an excellent cast that includes Orson Welles, Susannah York, John Hurt, and others. (Vanessa Redgrave, sister of star Corin Redgrave, would later participate in a well-received made-for-television remake in 1988.) The movie, directed by Fred Zinneman, was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Scofield), and Best (Adapted) Screenplay.

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Robert Bolt's successful play, A Man for All Seasons, was not considered a hot commercial property by Columbia Pictures--a period piece about a moral issue without a star, without even a love story. Perhaps that's why Columbia left director Fred Zinnemann alone to make the film as long as he stuck to a relatively small budget. The results took everyone by surprise, as the talky morality play became a box-office hit and collected the top Oscars for 1966. At the play's heart is the standoff between King Henry VIII (Robert Shaw, in young lion form) and Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield, in an Oscar-winning performance). Henry wants More's official approval of divorce, but More's strict ethical and religious code will not let him waffle. More's rectitude is a source of exasperation to Cardinal Wolsey (Orson Welles in a cameo), who chides, "If you could just see facts flat on without that horrible moral squint". Zinnemann's approach is all simplicity, and indeed the somewhat prosaic staging doesn't create a great deal of cinematic excitement. But the language is worthsavouring, and the ethical politics are debated with all the calm and majesty of an absorbing chess game. --Robert Horton, Amazon.com

Aspect Ratio:	1.85 Wide Screen, 16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Original Theatrical Trailer
Subtitles:	Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
Year:	1966
Release Date:	November 26, 2001
Runtime:	116 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	C D R 10013
Keywords:	Man, Seasons, General, Wide, Screen, All, Drama
Genre:	Drama