Becket (Letterboxed Edition) [VHS]

Becket (Letterboxed Edition) [VHS]
by Peter Glenville

Becket (Letterboxed Edition) [VHS]

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Category: VHS Video
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Product details

Actor: Gino Cervi, John Gielgud, Paolo Stoppa, Peter O'Toole, Richard Burton
Director: Peter Glenville
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog; Latin (Original Language)
Format: Color, HiFi Sound, Letterboxed, NTSC
Running Time: 150 minutes
Release Date: 1994-10-17
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: Mpi Home Video
Studio: Mpi Home Video

VHS Movie Reviews of Becket (Letterboxed Edition) [VHS]

Movie Review: A Must Have
Summary: 5 Stars

This is an excellent film that helped define the careers of two of the best actors England has produced, specially for Peter O'Toole. The movie looks great on High Definition. This is a must have. The supporting cast is also great, in particular the always impressive John Gielgud. This movie has been hard to find, buy while available! It was nominated for 12 Academy Awards.

Movie Review: A great film faithfully reproduced. Great performances.
Summary: 5 Stars

I saw this in a theater many years ago when it first came out, and recall that even then it appealed to everyone from intellectuals to the guys on the street corner. It starts from great material- a play by Jean Anouilh which is wonderfully adapted for the screen by Edward Anhalt, one of the best screenwriters of the era. The film has everything- humor, pathos, tragedy, with magnificent performances by Peter O'Toole as Henry II and Richard Burton as Beckett. Both were then at the height of their powers and it shows on the screen. The details have been gone over by others so I won't repeat them. It is a must-see classic.
The blu-ray transfer is flawless and a pleasure to watch. Who can ask for more?

Movie Review: FASCINATING THAT THIS FILM WAS POPULAR THEN...
Summary: 4 Stars

I absolutely loved this film and it's pagentry and intrigue and dialogue...but how on earth with the crass competition of cleavage and Doris Day venue did ANYONE sit thru this compelling drama??? Were they just trying to impress their colleagues that they were interested in 11-12th century ENGLISH history??? This film is slow moving and you actually have to pay attention enough to appreciate the suffering of Henry II's love for Becket and hence, I continue to persue the venue of how this film succeeded in this era...I am impressed with those that were able to appreciate the path less taken and applaud anyone who comprehends the afflictions of kings and counterparts in history...

Movie Review: Very Good Movie Better on Blu-Ray
Summary: 4 Stars

I don't think this is a great movie, but it's a very good one.

With the elaborate costumes and sets, the movie really benefits from the hi-def treatment -- with only a couple exceptions, the Blu-ray looks far superior to the DVD. (The exceptions are places where enhanced clarity makes film tricks like matte paintings more obvious. I still prefer the hi-def image without reservation.)

I tend to imagine Peter O'Toole as too big a star to give his attention to DVD commentary tracks, but he does a commentary track here and is fully engaged, interesting and informative.

The Blu-ray supplements are missing two archival interviews with Richard Burton that appear on the DVD. (The interviews are interesting, but there is no mention of Becket in either of them.)

Movie Review: BECKETT
Summary: 5 Stars

I saw this movie back in the 60s when I lived in the UK. Then I thought Burton and O'Toole seemed unbeatable as actors, now I think they are even more so. For them not to BOTH share the Academy awards that year seems like a travesty, though I must admit I do not know who beat them out (whomever it was it must have been one helluva performance). Becket is a movie for all times and the performances of these two fine actors are just EVERGREEN. Reminds me of the Tudor series on Showtime....also fine performances.

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Summary of Becket (Letterboxed Edition) [VHS]

Made in 1964, but set in 12th-century England, this is the fact-based story of Henry II (Peter O'Toole) and his dear friend, the Archbishop of Canterbury (Richard Burton). When the king appoints his former drinking buddy to the high religious office, he believes he has placed an ally into power. Instead, he learns that Thomas very much takes his job to heart, prompting Henry to ask that fateful question--"Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?"

This won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay, and it is a strong example of finely tuned performances--both leading men received Academy Award nominations for their roles. There is much passion and rage on the screen, but the beauty of their performances is that we always know that love is there as well. The film, shot on location in England, is also visually appealing. Trivia buffs may be interested to know that Peter O'Toole played Henry II four years later in The Lion in Winter. --Rochelle O'Gorman

The primary bonus feature is a treat: a feature-length commentary by Peter O'Toole, accompanied by a moderator. With only occasional gaps of silence, the still sharp and well-spoken O'Toole recalls the making of the film, how he didn't research the historical King Henry ("The author has made the character; that's his job. My job is to play it."), and his memories of Richard Burton, both personal ("We found that we both enjoyed rugby, we both enjoyed songs, and we both enjoyed drinking, and got along very well.") and professional ("he had an astonishing presence on the stage"). There are also two archival interviews with Burton from 1967 and 1977 (26 minutes total), in which he doesn't discuss Becket, but he does say a lot about his life on stage, he recites some lines, and speaks candidly about his drinking problem.

Don't skip over the interviews with the film's editor Anne Coates and composer Laurence Rosenthal. Coates (7 minutes) has some good stories, and Rosenthal (12 minutes) discusses the influences on his Oscar-nominated score and how he had to teach Gregorian chant to Burton ("He was one of these people whom you really can't teach anything. He had this characteristic that you can only remind him of something he already knows. But he didn't know how to sing Gregorian chant."). In addition to a photo gallery and the four-and-a-half-minute theatrical trailer, MPI's long-delayed DVD looks better than many major-studio classics. --David Horiuchi

Beyond Becket

Other Peter O'Toole Films
Other Richard Burton Films
More King Henrys on DVD

Stills from Becket (click for larger image)

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