A Man for All Seasons (1988 film)

A Man for All Seasons
Genre	Period piece
Directed by	Charlton Heston
Written by	Robert Bolt
Starring	Charlton Heston John Gielgud Vanessa Redgrave
Country	United States
Language	English
Release date	December 21 1988
Running time	120 minutes

A Man for All Seasons is a 1988 television movie about Thomas More, directed by and starring Charlton Heston. It is based on the play of the same name by Robert Bolt, which was previously adapted in the Academy Award-winning 1966 film. A Man for All Seasons was the first made-for-TV film produced on behalf of the TNT (Turner Network Television) television network.

The film stars Heston as More, Vanessa Redgrave (who had a small cameo in the 1966 version) as his wife Alice, Sir John Gielgud as Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Martin Chamberlain as King Henry VIII, Richard Johnson as the Duke of Norfolk (historically, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk), and Roy Kinnear as the narrator, "The Common Man", who was cut from the previous film. (The "Common Man' functions in the manner of a Greek chorus throughout the play, appearing at crucial moments and seeming to comment on the action.)

The 1988 film follows the original stage play more literally, runs a half-hour longer than the 1966 film, and could be considered more "stagy" than that earlier film, which not only divided the Common Man into several more realistic characters, but omitted small portions of the play itself.

Overall, this version of the play is perhaps the most religious form, with the sainthood of (St.) Thomas More being at the centre of the play, as opposed to the more political and worldly environment of the 1966 production. Some critics have also observed the nature of St. Thomas in the 1966 version as 'priggish' and an unsympathetic character, whereas Heston's St. Thomas is a learned, affectionate scholar more in keeping with the historical chancellor, as related in Will's (William Roper's) biography.

External links

• A Man for All Seasons at the Internet Movie Database
• A Man for All Seasons at AllRovi