A Man For All Seasons

A Man For All Seasons is a triumph of an adaptation of play. It takes just enough without adding too much nor trying to over compensate for the material. It certainly has some visual splendor in the visuals particularly in the costumes. It however is well aware of the strength of the material itself allowing the words to have their places front and center, most well realized by Paul Scofield's brilliant performance, though the rest of the cast uniformly strong particularly John Hurt as the duplicitous Richard Rich. The writing itself is terrific in realizing the complexity of the story while still following through in the technically more straight forward element of one man refusing to compromise his beliefs. It creates the right cinematic feel through the right flourishes, I particularly like when everyone can here King Henry's bluster In his private conversation with Thomas. It finds just the right blend in that all the power of the play is retained, yet properly amplified by what is offered by the medium of film.
5/5