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Thomas More
Henry VIII
Cardinal Wolsey
Duke of Norfolk
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For years, I have had A Man For All Seasons on DVD in my possession and have been meaning to watch it so when I looked upon it in my collection, I had this strong and rather sudden urge to watch it. There are a lot of films based on a true story with kings, queens, chancellors etc that have either been just decent or bad but I admit that A Man For All Seasons is probably the most successful of tha...
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this movie but since it won the best picture Academy award, I thought I should give it a try. It is only the 3rd movie directed by Fred Zinnemann that I had the pleasure to watch (following 'The Day of the Jackal’ and ‘The Nun's Story’) and I’m more and more impressed every time by his work. I mean, those 3 movies were completely different but they all d...
Henry VIII wants to divorce his wife, and seeks the approval of the aristocracy. Sir Thomas More is a man of principle and reason, and is thus placed in a difficult position: should he stand up for his principles, risking the wrath of a corrupt King fond of executing people for treason? Or should he bow to the seemingly unstoppable corruption of Henry VIII, who has no qualms about bending the law to suit his own needs?
Release date: 3 May 1967UPC:
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IMBD Rating : 7.9
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A Man for All Seasons
A Man for All Seasons is a play by . An early form of the play had been written for
in 1954, and a one-hour live television version starring
was produced in 1957 by the BBC, but after Bolt's success with The Flowering Cherry, he reworked it for the stage.
It was first performed in
opening at the
(now Gielgud Theatre) on July 1, 1960. It later found its way to , enjoying a critically and commercially successful run of over a year. It has had several revivals, and was subsequently made into a feature film and a television movie.
The plot is based on the true story of Sir Thomas More, the 16th-century , who refused to endorse King 's wish to divorce his ageing wife , who could not bear him a son, so that he could marry , the sister of his former mistress. The play portrays More as a man of principle, envied by rivals such as
and loved by the common people and by his family.
The title reflects 20th century
playwright ’s portrayal of More as the ultimate man of . As one who remains true to himself and his beliefs under all circumstances and at all times, despite external pressure or influence, More represents "a man for all seasons". Bolt borrowed the title from , a contemporary of More, who in 1520 wrote of him:
"More is a man of an angel's wit and singular learning. I know not his fellow. For where is the man of that gentleness, lowliness and affability? And, as time requireth, a man of marvelous mirth and pastimes, and sometime of as sad gravity. A man for all seasons."
Sir , one of the most famous early Lord Chancellors, served and was executed under King .
A Man for All Seasons struggles with ideas of identity and conscience. More argues repeatedly that a person is defined by his conscience. His own position is depicted as the
is described as a "bad" and corrupt individual, forced by the
to act according to his will. But as More says to Norfolk, "What matters is not that it's true, but that I or no, not that I believe it, but that I believe it." More fears that if he breaks with his conscience, he will be damned to hell, while his associates and friends are more concerned with holding onto their own temporal power.
At another key point of the play, More testifies before an inquiry committee and Norfolk attempts to persuade him to sign the
(pp. 78, Heinemann edition):
"Norfolk: Oh, confound all this.... I'm not a scholar, as Master Cromwell never tires of pointing out, and frankly I don't know whether the marriage was lawful or not. But damn it, Thomas, look at those names.... You know those men! Can't you do what I did, and come with us, for fellowship?
More: And when we stand before God, and you are sent to Paradise for doing according to your conscience, and I am damned for not doing according to mine, will you come with me, for fellowship?"
More's persecution is made to seem even more unjust by the inclusion of , the long-time Spanish ambassador to England, into the story. Chapuys recognizes More as a stout man of the church, and in Act II, after More's resignation from the Chancellorship, he informs More of a planned rebellion along the Scottish border, expecting More to be sympathetic. Instead, More informs Norfolk of the plot, showing him to be patriotic and loyal to the King. This, along with More's refusal to actually speak out against the King, shows him to be a loyal subject, and thus Cromwell appears to prosecute him out of personal spite and because he disagrees with the King's divorce.
Bolt also establishes an anti-authoritarian theme which recurs throughout his works. All people in positions of power — King Henry, Cromwell, Wolsey, Cranmer, Chapuys, even Norfolk — are depicted as being either corrupt, evil, or at best expedient and power-hungry. Bolt's later plays and film screenplays also delve into this theme. The theme of corruption is also illustrated, in Rich's rise to power, the Common Man being drawn into the events of the storyline, and in the (deliberately) anachronistic portrayal of Henry as a younger, athletic man (in 1530 he would have been in his forties and already putting on weight).
Although it is the law that eventually forces More's execution, the play also makes several powerful statements in support of the rule of law. At one point More's future son-in-law, Roper, urges him to arrest Richard Rich, whose perjury will eventually lead to More's execution. More answers that Rich has broken no law, "And go he should if he were the Devil himself until he broke the law!" Roper is appalled at the idea of granting the Devil the benefit of law, but More is adamant.
"What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil? ... And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you – where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's, and if you cut them down -- and you're just the man to do it -- do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!"
Some historians and critics have criticized the play's portrayal of More as a saintly character, noting that Bolt mentions none of More's more negative activities, such as his campaign against
and his persecution of Lutherans while serving as Chancellor. The depictions of Thomas Cromwell, the , and
are also historically suspect. (Also, in real life More had three paternal daughters, a son, and an adoptive daughter, but only his eldest, Margaret, appears in the play.) Bolt's decision to portray More through his relations with family and friends, and not the broader political context of the time period, has also been criticized.
The character of the Common Man serves as a narrator and framing device. A Brechtian character, he plays various small parts — More's servant, a publican, a boatman, More's jailer, jury foreman and executioner—who appear throughout the play, both taking part in and commenting on the action. Several sequences involving this character break the —most notably, a sequence where the Common Man attempts to exit the stage and is addressed by Cromwell, who identifies him as a jury foreman. (Indeed, the "jury" consists of sticks or poles with the hats of the Common Man's various characters put on top.) Bolt created the Common Man for two main reasons: to illustrate the place and influence of the average person in history, even though they are usually overlooked, and to try to prevent the audience from sympathizing with the more titled characters such as More, realizing that the audience is more closely related to him—a classic case of Brechtian alienation, designed to prevent the audience from being too engrossed in More's plight. The character's role in the story has been interpreted in many different ways by different critics, from being a positive to a negative character. Many of Bolt's subsequent works featured similar characters.
Two different endings were written by Bolt. The original ending, performed during the show's preliminary run in England, had Cromwell and Chapuys confront each other after More's execution and then exit the stage, hand in hand, chuckling with "the self-mocking, self-indulgent, rather rueful laughter of the men who know what the world is and how to be comfortable in it".
This particular ending is exemplary of Bolt's notion of "riding with the current", as is demonstrated by "men who know what the world is and how to be comfortable in it", forsaking one's conscience in exchange of a life of "convenience". For the show's London production – and most, if not all, subsequent runs of the show – the Common Man sheds his executioner's garb and addresses the audience one final time:
"... It isn't difficult to keep alive, friends – just don't make trouble – or if you must make trouble, make the sort of trouble that's expected... If we should bump into one another, recognize me."
of the play ends with More's execution, followed by a narrator reading off the fates of the various characters involved (originally, this was dialogue spoken by the Common Man prior to the Tower of London Inquiry).
, who played the leading role in the
premiere, reprised it on
in 1961, winning a . Both productions were directed by .
The original West End cast included:
The Common Man –
– John Brown
Alice More – Wynne Clark
– Geoffrey Dunn
Attendant – Brian Harrison
Will Roper –
Woman – Beryl Andrews
– William Roderick
In London, Man ran simultaneously to another of Bolt's plays, . Both plays were major hits, although Horse was the more successful of the two. British critical reaction was largely positive,
few reviews at the time regarded the play as a classic. The show ran for 320 performances.
The play was first performed on
on November 22, 1961 at the ANTA Playhouse
Original Broadway Cast
The Common Man-
- Olga Bellin
William Roper- Peter Brandon
Catherine Anger- Sarah Burton
Attendant- John Colenback
– Jack Creley
Alice More- Carol Goodner
- Lester Rawlins
- William Redfield
The Broadway production was a huge hit, running for 620 performances. While the play had drawn mixed critical reviews in London, it was almost unanimously praised by the New York critics, who showered it with plaudits and awards.
Leo McKern played the Common Man in the West End version of the show, but was shifted to the role of Cromwell for the Broadway production – a role he later reprised in the film. While playing Cromwell, he appeared with one brown and one blue eye (McKern of course had lost an eye in accident and wore a glass one) to accentuate his character's evil nature.
played More in several versions of the play off-Broadway in the '70s and '80s, eventually playing it on the West End. The play was a success and the West End production was taken to Aberdeen, Scotland, for a week where it was staged at His Majesty's Theate. Heston considered it among his favourite roles. He also produced, directed, and starred in a film version of it (see below).
Another famous graduate of the play is , whose first theatrical role was as Will Roper in a revival production in the late '60s. He would go on to play More in a later run of the show.
also made her stage debut as a replacement Margaret in the original Broadway run.
An acclaimed Canadian production starring
and directed by
was presented at the Vancouver Playhouse and the Stratford Festival in 1986. At Stratford the production was paired with a production of Shakespeare's Henry VIII, with both plays sharing many actors, and showing two perspectives on historical events.
More recently, the play has been staged in London's West End at the
and produced by . It closed on 1 April 2006.
A Broadway revival of the show, produced by the , starring
as More and directed by , played at the
through December 2008.
Main article:
, who played the leading role in the
stage premiere, played More again in the first of two film versions (1966), winning an
in the process. The film also stars
as Henry VIII,
as , a young
as , and an older
as Lady Alice, More's second wife. It was directed by . In addition to the
won by Scofield, the film won Academy Awards for screenplay, , costume design, Best Director, and .
Main article:
The 1988 version starred
(who also directed it) as More,
(who appeared briefly and mutely in the 1966 version as ) as More's wife, and Sir
as Cardinal Wolsey.
The play was produced, with the following cast, as the
on 7 October 2006, as part of its Betrayal season:
Sir Thomas More ......
...... Julian Rhind Tutt
...... Brian Cox
Master William Roper ......
Lady Alice More ......
Boatman/Steward (aka Matthew) /Jailer ...... Sam Dale
/Headsman ...... Peter Tate
Catherine of Aragon ......
InternetMovieDatabase, accessed August 23, 2011
. Catholiceducation.org. . .
Cox, Gordon (). . . .
Categories: 1960 playsBritish playsTheatre World Award winnersWorks by Robert BoltTony Award winning plays
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[ti:Cant Stop Christmas1]
[ar:彭佳慧]
[al:情歌手]
[offset:500]
[00:00.00]]Cant Stop Christmas
[00:15.66]
[00:26.06]Cant stop the rain from falling
[00:29.25]Each time sky
[00:30.54]Decides to cry
[00:32.60]Cant stop the sun from shining
[00:36.12]Til the day turns into night
[00:39.85]And all over the world
[00:43.39]They try to steal our joy
[00:46.92]But spirit cant be broken
[00:50.85]Every man&woman,girl or boy
[02:55.46][00:57.16]Cant stop the joy
[02:58.81][01:00.53]Cant stop the reason
[03:02.92][01:04.44]Christmas lives inside of us
[03:06.27][01:08.15]From season to season
[03:09.62][01:11.51]Cant stop the pain
[03:13.16][01:15.05]Of all the hatred in the world
[03:17.62][01:19.52]T no war In God well turst
[03:21.52][01:23.23]And peace on earth
[01:25.85]Cause you cant stop Christmas
[01:31.80]
[01:33.62]Theres a feeling
[01:35.83]We share
[01:36.90]Didnt know it, it always was there
[01:40.82]For uniten we will stand
[01:44.16]Brother to brother hand In hand
[01:47.89]With one song, one dream, one prayer
[01:51.79]Let your voice be heard
[01:55.14]For Mis blessings surround us
[01:58.87]All across the world
[03:23.95][02:01.84]Cant stop the joy
[03:27.85][02:05.01]Cant stop the reason
[03:32.51][02:08.91]Christmas lives inside of us from season to season
[03:38.29][02:15.80]Cant stop the pain
[03:43.13][02:19.34]Of all the hatred in the world
[03:46.48][02:23.83]T no war In God well turst
[03:50.38][02:27.54]And peace on earth
[03:52.81][02:30.15]Cause you cant stop Christmas…
[02:38.71]Reach out for those in need
[02:45.04]For the magic of Christmas Is to give and to believe!
[04:36.45][04:28.82][04:22.12][04:14.29][04:07.41][04:00.16]Cant stop Christmas
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