I consider myself a discriminating viewer, and I enjoy historical epics as much as anyone-- "Laurence of Arabia", "Becket", "Anne of the Thousand Days" and other period films are among my favorites. But I have never understood the wild acclaim given to "A Man For All Seasons", a perfectly enjoyable film that makes an audience think, but is so subdued that it never moves one emotionally. To me, it has always been a scandal, and a sure sign of the Motion Picture Academy's conservatism, that this film won a Best Picture Oscar over the much better "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", and that Paul Scofield, as great as he is in this film, beat out Richard Burton in what is surely Burton's most brilliant performance onscreen.
When I first saw this film, I could not understand the acclaim for Scofield's performance. It seemed so ordinary---no fireworks to it at all. Then, years later, I saw a college production of the play, and the actor who played Thomas More in that production missed all the tiny nuances that Scofield brought to his portrayal. It was then that I understood how carefully Scofield had created his performance.
Unfortunately, his performance does not keep the film from being just a reasonably good historical drama.
The dialogue in "A Man For All Seasons" tries hard to be "interesting", pseudopoetic, and provocative, but just falls flat. (Robert Bolt often is rather disappointing for a screenwriter and playwright who is so highly esteemed. Think of Bolt's screenplay for "Lawrence of Arabia", for instance. Is the screenplay for that unforgettable film REALLY it's most memorable quality?) Just compare his dialogue with Edward Albee's savagely hilarious, barbed one-liners in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf", and you will notice the difference instantly. Nearly all of the dialogue in that film is endlessly quotable.
The other actors in "A Man For All Seasons" have been just as good in any number of films. The standouts are Robert Shaw as Henry VIII and Orson Welles as Cardinal Wolsey. Each is onscreen for only about fifteen minutes; yet they come close to stealing the film from Scofield.
This film is most certainly not the greatest film ever made, as some here claim---just compare it with the great films of Olivier, Burton, and Peter O' Toole. It is well acted, it is beautifully crafted visually, but it just does not have the impact of other great epics. And I am not saying that because there are no action scenes or explosions every five minutes. An epic can be thoughtful and quiet. But this film is very one-note, unlike other great plays brought to film, and most of the blame must be laid at the feet of Robert Bolt. "A Man For All Seasons" works too hard at being subtle without being very interesting.
When I first saw this film, I could not understand the acclaim for Scofield's performance. It seemed so ordinary---no fireworks to it at all. Then, years later, I saw a college production of the play, and the actor who played Thomas More in that production missed all the tiny nuances that Scofield brought to his portrayal. It was then that I understood how carefully Scofield had created his performance.
Unfortunately, his performance does not keep the film from being just a reasonably good historical drama.
The dialogue in "A Man For All Seasons" tries hard to be "interesting", pseudopoetic, and provocative, but just falls flat. (Robert Bolt often is rather disappointing for a screenwriter and playwright who is so highly esteemed. Think of Bolt's screenplay for "Lawrence of Arabia", for instance. Is the screenplay for that unforgettable film REALLY it's most memorable quality?) Just compare his dialogue with Edward Albee's savagely hilarious, barbed one-liners in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf", and you will notice the difference instantly. Nearly all of the dialogue in that film is endlessly quotable.
The other actors in "A Man For All Seasons" have been just as good in any number of films. The standouts are Robert Shaw as Henry VIII and Orson Welles as Cardinal Wolsey. Each is onscreen for only about fifteen minutes; yet they come close to stealing the film from Scofield.
This film is most certainly not the greatest film ever made, as some here claim---just compare it with the great films of Olivier, Burton, and Peter O' Toole. It is well acted, it is beautifully crafted visually, but it just does not have the impact of other great epics. And I am not saying that because there are no action scenes or explosions every five minutes. An epic can be thoughtful and quiet. But this film is very one-note, unlike other great plays brought to film, and most of the blame must be laid at the feet of Robert Bolt. "A Man For All Seasons" works too hard at being subtle without being very interesting.