King Henry II of England comes to terms with his affection for his close friend and confidant Thomas Becket, who finds his true honor by observing God's divine will rather than the King's.King Henry II of England comes to terms with his affection for his close friend and confidant Thomas Becket, who finds his true honor by observing God's divine will rather than the King's.King Henry II of England comes to terms with his affection for his close friend and confidant Thomas Becket, who finds his true honor by observing God's divine will rather than the King's.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 14 wins & 23 nominations total
- Gwendolen
- (as Sian Phillips)
- French prostitute
- (as Veronique Vendell)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaRichard Burton initially turned this movie down because he felt the press would have a field day over the idea of him playing a saint. He also said he would be more suited to playing Henry II.
- GoofsThomas Becket was a Norman (Thomas Bequet), not a Saxon. Jean Anouilh based the play's script on Augustin Thierry's 1825 work "The History of the Conquest of England by the Normans", which presumed that Becket was a Saxon. Anouilh admitted he'd learned the truth after completing the play, but decided to leave it as is because it made for a better story.
- Quotes
Thomas a Becket: Tonight you can do me the honor of christening my forks.
King Henry II: Forks?
Thomas a Becket: Yes, from Florence. New little invention. It's for pronging meat and carrying it to the mouth. It saves you dirtying your fingers.
King Henry II: But then you dirty the fork.
Thomas a Becket: Yes, but it's washable.
King Henry II: So are your fingers. I don't see the point.
- Alternate versionsTwo different versions of the closing "A Paramount Release" card exist - one print has these words appear inside the standard Paramount logo of the time superimposed in red, while another has these words as plain text with a small version of a completely different Paramount logo (with a full circle of stars), also in red, beneath them.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Precious Images (1986)
- SoundtracksDies Irae
(Medieval Latin Hymn)
This is a splendid rendition of Jean Anouilh's play , as translated by Lucienne Hill , produced upon the New York stage by Merrick and good detailed artistic direction made at Shepperton studios -England- . It deals about the stormy friendship between Becket , appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury , and king Henry II . Although the film depicts Becket as a Saxon , he was actually a Norman like King Henry II . The closeness between King Henry and Becket is depicted as being a purely platonic one ; homosexuality was still illegal in the UK when the film was made in 1963, and any suggestion of that would have fallen foul of the censor . However it is still implied that Henry is in love with Becket . Magnificent studded-secondary-star cast , as Donald Wolfit as bishop , Paolo Stoppa as Pope Alexander III , Gino Cervi as the flamboyant Cardinal , Pamela Brown as Queen Eleanor , Martita Hunt as Queen Mother , Percy Herbert and Neal McGinnis as the Barons ; plus , Sean Phillips married to Peter O'Toole . Atmospheric , appropriate cinematography by the great Geoffrey Unsworth . Evocative musical score with religious chores by Laurence Rosenthal and usual musical conductor by Muir Mathieson . The picture obtained Academy Award , 1964 , to adapted screenplay and Golden Globes to dramatic actor for Peter O'Toole and the best film drama . The flick was stunningly directed by Peter Grenville who reflects correctly an exciting slice of history . Rating : Better than average . This is a superior and powerful historic drama to be liked by historical cinema buffs .
- ma-cortes
- Mar 20, 2009
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $3,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $149,327
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $7,912
- Jan 28, 2007
- Gross worldwide
- $149,327
- Runtime2 hours 28 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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