King Henry II of England has trouble with the Church. When the Archbishop of Canterbury dies, he has a brilliant idea. Rather than appoint another pious cleric loyal to Rome and the Church, he will appoint his old drinking and wenching buddy, Thomas Becket, technically a deacon of the church, to the post. Unfortunately, Becket takes the job seriously and provides abler opposition to Henry.
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something magic defines Becket. the source is not the acting, the music, the costumes, atmosphere. but the silence. it does force to the fight for honor, to loyalty, to the friendship and to the final word of king. it is the heart of tension and the drawing of lead characters. Richard Burton does one of his memorable roles. but his role is like a coat for two. his Thomas Becket is great, convincing, touching, profound, vulnerable and profound human for the science of Peter O ' Toole to discover his Henri II as the runner to his precise destiny. it seems be the film of two great actors and that is its high virtue. but its status of memorable movie has deeper roots. because it becomes more than a remarkable play adaptation and sustain a generous message in brilliant manner. story of power and faith, it is good support of reflection about politics and its necessary limits.
I had heard of this film for years and finally got around to watching it. I can't believe this film has an 8.0 score. It drags incessantly and it wastes the talents of Burton and O'Toole. As others have stated, the pacing is horrid. This film could have been shorter by 30 minutes.Mind you, I love old films especially "A Man for All Seasons" which is my favorite of all time. The plot of "Becket" resembles that of AMFAS, but the latter does it much better. "Becket" is a drama that aspires to be an epic, whereas AMFAS is comfortable in itself.O'Toole gave his usual sublime performance as Henry II. He was as good as he was in "The Lion in Winter". Burton was good although his character took himself too seriously. Save yourself some time and watch "A Man for All Seasons" instead.
*Spoiler/plot- Beckett, 1964. Tells a fictional story of the relationship between an English king Henry II and his Chancellor/archbishop, Thomas A'Beckett.*Special Stars- Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud.*Theme- Honor can be a person's life.*Trivia/location/goofs- British, Oscar winner. Peter O'Toole played the same character, Henry II, four years later in 1968's The Lion in Winter. He received Oscar nominations for both films. The English king's crown was made of cardboard. Thomas à Becket was a Norman (Thomas Bequet), not a Saxon.*Emotion- A great character study of historic figures that still effect modern society today. Expertly acting and cast with enough drama and good writing to keep any viewer connected to the theme and story for hours.*Based On- The legends of Thomas Beckett and Henry II.
This slow-paced film explores the love-hate relationship between a young, hedonistic King Henry II (Peter O'Toole) and his brooding, philosophical friend Thomas Becket (Richard Burton). The casting seems perfect, but O'Toole is often caught chewing the scenery and there is surprisingly little chemistry between he and Burton. Both of these actors are rightly associated with challenging and multifaceted roles, usually of flawed, frustrated antiheroes who embrace but undermine traditional notions of masculinity. That is precisely what the script of "Becket" aims for, but here the dialogue is overwrought and belabored, and the characterizations are one-dimensional. O'Toole would reprise the character of Henry II to much greater effect in "The Lion in Winter" (1968), which features a more forceful script and better performances.
