Becket

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
Product Description

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

Amazon.com essential video

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

On the DVD

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

Stills from Becket (click for larger image)




Product Details

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

Customer Reviews
Two of England's Best
O'Toole and Burton light up the screen and provide a truly entertaining view of English nobility.   More reviews
AN ACTING LESSON BY TWO OF THE GREATS
Edward Anhalt's academy award winning screenplay adatation of Jen Anauilh's play is, as many have mentioned, exceptional, the cinematography, and costume design superb, the direction nearly flawless, but it is the exquisitely realized performances of Burton ( as Becket ), and O'Toole ( as Henry II ) that command attention in this sumptuous tale of a doomed friendship ( and, of course, an epic battle of church and state…   More reviews
A Must Have
This is an excellent film that helped define the careers of two of the best actors England has produced, specially for Peter O'Toole. The movie looks great on High Definition. This is a must have. The supporting cast is also great, in particular the always impressive John Gielgud. This movie has been hard to find, buy while available! It was nominated…   More reviews
A great film faithfully reproduced. Great performances.
I saw this in a theater many years ago when it first came out, and recall that even then it appealed to everyone from intellectuals to the guys on the street corner. It starts from great material- a play by Jean Anouilh which is wonderfully adapted for the screen by Edward Anhalt, one of the best screenwriters of the era. The film has everything- humor,…   More reviews
FASCINATING THAT THIS FILM WAS POPULAR THEN...
I absolutely loved this film and it's pagentry and intrigue and dialogue...but how on earth with the crass competition of cleavage and Doris Day venue did ANYONE sit thru this compelling drama??? Were they just trying to impress their colleagues that they were interested in 11-12th century ENGLISH history??? This film is slow moving and you…   More reviews
Similar Products
Explore products similar to Becket:
Becket. Information has been updated 3/15/2010 6:26:35 PM. Since we are not updating manually we cannot guarantee 100% accuracy of the pictures, description and other related information.