A Man For All Seasons: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 18:46, 4 July 2022

Play by Robert Bolt. Film directed by Fred Zinnemann.

A Man for All Seasons presents us with the last period in Thomas More’s life. Portrayed as a man strictly loyal to Catholicism, he goes against the notion that the King is the head of the Church throughout the movie. However, there is something else which is crucially important for More: honesty. In the scene where More was talking to his daughter, “When a man takes an oath, he’s holding his own self in his hands. Like water.” After cupping his hands he goes on, “And if he opens his fingers then, he needn’t hope to find himself again. Some men aren’t capable of this, but I’d be loath to think your father one of them”. That reveals that he doesn’t swear and accept the King’s title and new marriage.

Throughout the movie, it can be observed that the King, his family and others around More try to convince him but fail.

Sources

“A Man for All Seasons (1966).” SDG Reviews Film Appreciation and Criticism Informed by Christian Faith, http://decentfilms.com/reviews/manforallseasons. Accessed 01.07.2022.

Crowther, Bosley. “Screen: A Sturdy Conscience, a Steadfast Heart: A Man for All Seasons Opens at Fine Arts Paul Scofield Excels in Film by Zinnemann.” NY Times, 1966. https://www.nytimes.com/1966/12/13/archives/screen-a-sturdy-conscience-a-steadfast-hearta-man-for-all-seasons.html. Accessed 01.07.2022.

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-Robert Bolt’s play “''A Man for All Seasons''”  about Sir Thomas More was filmed by Fred Zinnemann who presents us a character with an awesome view of a sturdy conscience and a steadfast heart.” (Crowther) “With his 95 Theses putting forward that Bible is the central religious authority and humans may reach salvation by faith, Martin Luther King sparked the Protestant Reformation.” (Martin Luther and the 95 Theses) England lacking such reformists followed a different path in this respect and monarchy became a focal point in the context of reformist movement. Monarchic touches and private life of Henry VIII had serious repercussions on England's relations with the Vatican in the following years.
+Play by Robert Bolt. Film directed by Fred Zinnemann.
-“Secretly getting married to Anne Boleyn and divorcing Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII was excommunicated from the Catholic Church.” (Pope Clement VII forbids King Henry VIII from remarrying) "In 1534, Henry enacted the Act of Supremacy which enabled him to be the Supreme Head of the Church of England."(Hanson) That is what Thomas More was mainly against.
-A Man for All Seasons presents us with the latest periods in Thomas More’s life. Portrayed as a man strictly loyal to Catholicism, he goes against the notion that the King is the head of the Church throughout the movie. However, there is something else which is crucially important for More: honesty. In the scene where More was talking to his daughter, “When a man takes an oath, he’s holding his own self in his hands. Like water.” After cupping his hands he goes on, “And if he opens his fingers then, he needn’t hope to find himself again. Some men aren’t capable of this, but I’d be loath to think your father one of them.” (A Man for All Seasons 1966)  That reveals that he doesn’t swear and accept the King’s title and new marriage.
-Throughout the movie, it can be observed that the King, his family and others around More try to convince him but fail. After being executed in 1535, he was canonized by Pope Pius XI. As the writer of "''Utopia''", he was a great thinker. In terms of religion, he was very strict and loyal to his beliefs, but at the end, this, in a way, cost his life.
+''A Man for All Seasons'' presents us with the last period in Thomas More’s life. Portrayed as a man strictly loyal to Catholicism, he goes against the notion that the King is the head of the Church throughout the movie. However, there is something else which is crucially important for More: honesty. In the scene where More was talking to his daughter, “When a man takes an oath, he’s holding his own self in his hands. Like water.” After cupping his hands he goes on, “And if he opens his fingers then, he needn’t hope to find himself again. Some men aren’t capable of this, but I’d be loath to think your father one of them”.  That reveals that he doesn’t swear and accept the King’s title and new marriage.
+Throughout the movie, it can be observed that the King, his family and others around More try to convince him but fail.
 '''Sources'''
-“A Man for All Seasons(1966).” SDG Reviews Film Appreciation and Criticism Informed by Christian Faith, http://decentfilms.com/reviews/manforallseasons. Accessed 01.07.2022.
+“''A Man for All Seasons'' (1966).” SDG Reviews Film Appreciation and Criticism Informed by Christian Faith, http://decentfilms.com/reviews/manforallseasons. Accessed 01.07.2022.
-Crowther, Bosley. “Screen: A Sturdy Conscience, a Steadfast Heart: ‘A Man for All Seasons’ Opens at Fine Arts Paul Scofield Excels in Film by Zinnemann.” NY Times, 1966. https://www.nytimes.com/1966/12/13/archives/screen-a-sturdy-conscience-a-steadfast-hearta-man-for-all-seasons.html. Accessed 01.07.2022.
-Marilee, Hanson. "Act of Supremacy.", 2017, https://englishhistory.net/tudor/act-of-supremacy/. Accessed 01.07.2022.
-“Martin Luther and the 95 Theses.” ''History.com'', October 2009 issue, https://www.history.com/topics/reformation/martin-luther-and-the-95-theses. Accessed 01.07.2022.
-“Pope Clement VII forbids King Henry VIII from remarrying.” ''History.com'', September 2019 issue, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pope-clement-vii-forbids-king-henry-viii-from-remarrying. Accessed 01.07.2022.
+Crowther, Bosley. “Screen: A Sturdy Conscience, a Steadfast Heart: ''A Man for All Seasons'' Opens at Fine Arts Paul Scofield Excels in Film by Zinnemann.” ''NY Times'', 1966. https://www.nytimes.com/1966/12/13/archives/screen-a-sturdy-conscience-a-steadfast-hearta-man-for-all-seasons.html. Accessed 01.07.2022.