A Man for All Seasons (1988 film)
Encyclopedia
A Man for All Seasons is a 1988
television movie
about Thomas More
, directed by and starring Charlton Heston
. It is based on the play of the same name
by Robert Bolt
, which was previously adapted in the Academy Award-winning 1966 film
. A Man for All Seasons was the first made-for-TV film produced on behalf of the TNT
television network.
The film stars Heston as More, Vanessa Redgrave
(who cameoed in the 1966 version) as his wife Alice, John Gielgud
as Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Martin Chamberlain as King Henry VIII
, Richard Johnson
as the Duke of Norfolk
, and Roy Kinnear
as the narrator, "The Common Man", who was cut from the previous film. (The "Common Man' functions in the manner of a Greek chorus
throughout the play, appearing at crucial moments and seeming to comment on the action.)
The 1988 film follows the original stage play more literally, runs a half-hour longer than the 1966 film, and could be considered more "stagy" than that earlier film, which not only divided the Common Man into several more realistic characters, but omitted small portions of the play itself.
Overall, this version of the play is perhaps the most religious form, where the sainthood of St. Thomas being at the centre of the play, as opposed to the more political and worldly environment of the 1966 production. Some critics have also observed the nature of St. Thomas in the 1966 version is 'priggish' and an unsympathetic character, whereas Heston's St. Thomas is a learned, affectionate scholar more in keeping with the historical chancellor, as related in Will's biography.
1988 in film
-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:* Act of Piracy* Action Jackson, starring Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone* The Adventures of Baron Munchausen* Akira* Alice...
television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
about Thomas More
Thomas More
Sir Thomas More , also known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was an important councillor to Henry VIII of England and, for three years toward the end of his life, Lord Chancellor...
, directed by and starring Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
. It is based on the play of the same name
A Man for All Seasons
A Man for All Seasons is a play by Robert Bolt. An early form of the play had been written for BBC Radio in 1954, and a one-hour live television version starring Bernard Hepton was produced in 1957 by the BBC, but after Bolt's success with The Flowering Cherry, he reworked it for the stage.It was...
by Robert Bolt
Robert Bolt
Robert Oxton Bolt, CBE was an English playwright and a two-time Oscar winning screenwriter.-Career:He was born in Sale, Cheshire. At Manchester Grammar School his affinity for Sir Thomas More first developed. He attended the University of Manchester, and, after war service, the University of...
, which was previously adapted in the Academy Award-winning 1966 film
A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)
A Man for All Seasons is a 1966 film based on Robert Bolt's play A Man for All Seasons about Sir Thomas More. It was released on December 12, 1966. Paul Scofield, who had played More in the West End stage premiere, also took the role in the film. It was directed by Fred Zinnemann, who had...
. A Man for All Seasons was the first made-for-TV film produced on behalf of the TNT
Turner Network Television
Turner Network Television is an American cable television channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner...
television network.
The film stars Heston as More, Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
(who cameoed in the 1966 version) as his wife Alice, John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
as Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Martin Chamberlain as King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, Richard Johnson
Richard Johnson (actor)
Richard Johnson is an English actor, writer and producer, who starred in several British films of the 1960s and has also had a distinguished stage career. He most recently appeared in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.-Life and career:...
as the Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal was a prominent Tudor politician. He was uncle to Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, two of the wives of King Henry VIII, and played a major role in the machinations behind these marriages...
, and Roy Kinnear
Roy Kinnear
Roy Mitchell Kinnear was an English character actor. He is best remembered for playing Veruca Salt's father, Mr. Salt, in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.-Early life:...
as the narrator, "The Common Man", who was cut from the previous film. (The "Common Man' functions in the manner of a Greek chorus
Greek chorus
A Greek chorus is a homogenous, non-individualised group of performers in the plays of classical Greece, who comment with a collective voice on the dramatic action....
throughout the play, appearing at crucial moments and seeming to comment on the action.)
The 1988 film follows the original stage play more literally, runs a half-hour longer than the 1966 film, and could be considered more "stagy" than that earlier film, which not only divided the Common Man into several more realistic characters, but omitted small portions of the play itself.
Overall, this version of the play is perhaps the most religious form, where the sainthood of St. Thomas being at the centre of the play, as opposed to the more political and worldly environment of the 1966 production. Some critics have also observed the nature of St. Thomas in the 1966 version is 'priggish' and an unsympathetic character, whereas Heston's St. Thomas is a learned, affectionate scholar more in keeping with the historical chancellor, as related in Will's biography.