Becket

1 more product image	Directed by Peter Glenville Starring: Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud, Gino Cervi, Paolo Stoppa MPI Home Video, 1964, DVD Customer Rating: 181 reviews   Recommend List Price: $24.98 Our Price: $12.71 (Price details) You Save: $12.27 (49%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days. Ships from and sold by inetvideo. Click to see all 10 offers available

SPLENDID PRODUCTION OF FAMOUS PLAY ABOUT TURBULENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THOMAS BECKET AND HIS KING, HENRY II OF ENGLAND.

Made in 1964, but set in 12th-century England, this is the fact-based story of Henry II (Peter O'Toole) and his dear friend, the Archbishop of Canterbury (Richard Burton). When the king appoints his former drinking buddy to the high religious office, he believes he has placed an ally into power. Instead, he learns that Thomas very much takes his job to heart, prompting Henry to ask that fateful question — "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?"

This won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay, and it is a strong example of finely tuned performances — both leading men received Academy Award nominations for their roles. There is much passion and rage on the screen, but the beauty of their performances is that we always know that love is there as well. The film, shot on location in England, is also visually appealing. Trivia buffs may be interested to know that Peter O'Toole played Henry II four years later in The Lion in Winter. — Rochelle O'Gorman

The primary bonus feature is a treat: a feature-length commentary by Peter O'Toole, accompanied by a moderator. With only occasional gaps of silence, the still sharp and well-spoken O'Toole recalls the making of the film, how he didn't research the historical King Henry ("The author has made the character; that's his job. My job is to play it."), and his memories of Richard Burton, both personal ("We found that we both enjoyed rugby, we both enjoyed songs, and we both enjoyed drinking, and got along very well.") and professional ("he had an astonishing presence on the stage"). There are also two archival interviews with Burton from 1967 and 1977 (26 minutes total), in which he doesn't discuss Becket, but he does say a lot about his life on stage, he recites some lines, and speaks candidly about his drinking problem.

Don't skip over the interviews with the film's editor Anne Coates and composer Laurence Rosenthal. Coates (7 minutes) has some good stories, and Rosenthal (12 minutes) discusses the influences on his Oscar-nominated score and how he had to teach Gregorian chant to Burton ("He was one of these people whom you really can't teach anything. He had this characteristic that you can only remind him of something he already knows. But he didn't know how to sing Gregorian chant."). In addition to a photo gallery and the four-and-a-half-minute theatrical trailer, MPI's long-delayed DVD looks better than many major-studio classics. — David Horiuchi

Beyond Becket

Other Peter O'Toole Films

Other Richard Burton Films

More King Henrys on DVD

Title: Becket
Sales Rank: 5821 in DVD
Actor: Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud, Gino Cervi, Paolo Stoppa
Director: Peter Glenville
Studio: MPI Home Video, 2007-05-15, Theatrical Release: 1964-03-11
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen, Acpect Ratio 2.35:1
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Published), French (Published)
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region Code: 1
Running Time: 150 minutes
Item Dimensions: 0.28 pounds
Package Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches, 0.35 pounds

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