Becket DVD > Reviews > 'Humility is hard on the knees...'

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Outstanding
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Standard
How does it compare to similar films?	Outstanding

Advantages:	Great film
Disadvantages:	Slim on DVD extras

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

One of my favourite films of all time, Becket, has come available, at long last, on DVD. This was a film whose masters were thought lost at once, and potential DVD transfers would have then been substandard – a sorry fate for such a magnificent film, one that garnered a dozen Oscar nominations. I place this film in the same league as ‘A Man for All Seasons’ and what may well be considered in some senses the sequel to Becket, ‘The Lion in Winter.’

The film begins and ends in Becket’s tomb in the Cathedral of Canterbury, not far from where Becket was murdered/martyred. Becket became a folk hero, a canonised saint, and the stuff of myth and legend, as useful in politics as in literature – Chaucer’s famous pilgrims telling their Canterbury tales were on their way to the same location as Henry II paid his penance for the death of Becket.

The idea of the separation of church and state is an admittedly modern invention, but even in Becket’s time, the intertwining of religious politics and secular politics was seen to have decided drawbacks. The church in most European settings has historically been a wealthy land-owning institution; in England (for much of its history, in fact a rather poor and beknighted land in many ways), the church rivaled the wealth of the monarch for generations. This sets up a background rivalry for Becket and Henry II while they are both on the same side (Henry II appointed Thomas Becket as his chancellor, a position not dis-similar to being his first, or prime, minister). When Henry decided to take control of the church by appointing his own man as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Becket then has what some have described as a road-to-Damascus conversion experience – the film follows this interpretation.

‘Honour is a private matter within. It is an idea, and every man has his own version of it.’

Early in the film, King Henry asks Becket how he can reconcile being a man of honour with being a collaborator with the Norman conquerors. Becket hedges on the answer, enjoy the fruits of the reflected honour and glory of the king in his life. Later, as Becket is elevated to the archbishopric as senior churchman in England, he finds the honour and glory of God, made manifest in ‘holy mother church’, to be so overwhelming as to cast a shadow over duty to the king.

Peter O’Toole gives one of his most memorable performances as Henry II, a role he would reprise in ‘The Lion in Winter’. Richard Burton plays Becket in one of his best roles – in fact, this might well have been Burton’s career-defining role. Burton’s deep Welsh accent sets him apart audibly from the more polished English accent of O’Toole, a good device for setting up the Saxon/Norman difference. John Gielgud has a minor role as the king of France, for which he even received an Oscar nomination, though given the low number of minutes on the screen and the do-nothingness of the role makes one wonder at the politics behind that particular nomination (Gielgud is certainly deserving of such honours, but this role isn’t weighty enough to warrant it). O’Toole and Becket play the friendship in a way that in lesser hands would have edged on camp; devoted to each other in many ways, one senses in O’Toole’s performance a Henry that is as upset at Becket’s betrayal as he would be at a lover’s infidelity. Special mention goes to Sian Phillips (Livia in ‘I, Claudius’), who plays Becket’s paramour, stolen from him by the king. Her role is brief but significant.

‘We both belong to a conquered race, but you’ve forgotten that people robbed of everything can still have one thing left to call their own,’ Gwendolyn pleads.

‘Yes,’ Becket replies. ‘Where honour should be, in me there is only a void.’

This exchange helps set the stage for the later transformation.

After Becket’s elevation to the archbishopric and his subsequent exile from England, both Becket and Henry make haste to the Pope in Rome, for his judgement in the matter of who was to have ultimate authority over the church in England (a question that would continue for several hundred years, until another Henry would make a final break with Rome). Lines of authority are confused in that both the position of archbishop and the position of king are seen as divinely warranted, and difficult to enforce, given the distance (and number of armies) between England and Rome.

Ultimately, Becket returns to England, but receives a welcome that makes King Henry jealous and nervous, causing him to utter perhaps the most famous line in the ordeal:

‘Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?’

Several knights, drunk from carousing with the king, take this as a royal command, and rush to the cathedral, striking Becket down in his sanctuary, both to the sadness and the relief of the king.

This film was produced by Hal Wallis (known also for ‘Casablanca’ and ‘True Grit’) at a time when the producer’s name was as significant, if not more so, than the director’s name (in this case, Peter Glenville). The look-and-feel of the film is radically different from either ‘Casablanca’ and ‘True Grit’ in almost every aspect other than the sweeping nature of the emotions and the excellent nature of the portrayals on-screen. The screenplay was adapted by Edward Anhalt (who was also nominated for the Oscar) from the play by Jean Anouilh. As such, it is markedly different from some treatments of the Becket story such as Eliot’s ‘Murder in the Cathedral’, although the idea of spiritual pride being a temptation does factor into this film’s interpretation of Becket, too.

The cinematography, costume, and set design are at a very high standard, in keeping with many of the better productions of the 1960s. The costumes are more in keeping with ‘Hollywood’ than authenticity, particularly with some of the more elaborate ecclesial and royal costumes.

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Best lines (in addition to ones already quoted
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‘French luxury is very luxurious.’

‘Why do tailors always want to strangle one’s armpits?’

‘One can always come to a sensible little arrangement with God.’

‘It’s inelegant for conquerors to be late.’

‘A good occupational force must never crush; it must corrupt.’

‘Perhaps then it is a touch of vanity. A truly saintly man I know would never do all of this [giving away all his possessions to the poor] in one day. Just call it the clumsy gesture of a spiritual gatecrasher.’

‘Humility is a little hard on the knees.’

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DVD extras
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One of the highlights of this new edition is a commentary by Peter O’Toole. One regrets that a similar commentary is not available from Burton or Wallis; there are some archival interviews included with Burton. There are also interviews with the editor, Anne Coates, and the composer, Laurence Rosenthal. A TV spot and the theatrical trailer are also included. There is also a gallery of stills from the film and production. Given the age of the film, the absence of extras is not surprising, but a bit disappointing.