A Man for All Seasons movie

The story of Thomas More, who stood up to King Henry VIII when the King rejected the Roman Catholic Church to obtain a divorce and remarriage.

A Man for All Seasons is a play by Robert Bolt. An early form of the play had been written for BBC Radio in 1954, but after Bolts success with The Flowering Cherry, he reworked it for the stage.It was first performed in London opening at the Globe Theatre (now called the Gielgud Theatre) on July 1 1960. It later found its way to Broadway, enjoying a hugely successful run of over a year. It has had several revivals, and has subsequently been made into a feature film and a television movie.

It is by far Bolts most successful stage play.The plot is based on the true story of Sir Thomas More, the 16th-century Chancellor of England, who refuses to endorse or denounce King Henry VIIIs wish to divorce his aging wife Catherine of Aragon, who could not bear him a son, so that he could marry his mistress, Anne Boleyn.The play portrays More as a man of principle, envied by rivals such as Thomas Cromwell and loved by the common people and by his family. Themes Bolt himself was an agnostic and a socialist, and thus he presumably admired More not because he identified with Mores religious beliefs, but rather with his refusal to bend to the will of the king.A Man for All Seasons struggles with ideas of identity and conscience. More argues repeatedly that a person is defined by his conscience. His own position is depicted as almost indefensible; the Pope is described as a "bad" and corrupt individual, forced by the Emperor to act according to his will. But as More says to Norfolk, "What matters is not that its true, but that I believe it; or no, not that I believe it, but that I believe it." More fears that if he breaks with his conscience, he will be damned to hell, while his associates and friends are more concerned with holding onto their own temporal power.At another key point of the play, More testifies before an inquiry committee and Norfolk attempts to persuade him to sign the Act of Succession::"Norfolk: Look, Im not a scholar, and frankly I dont know whether the marriage was lawful or not ? but Thomas, look at these names! You know these men! Cant you do as I did and come along with us for fellowship?:More: And when we stand before God, and you are sent to Heaven for doing according to your conscience, and I am sent to hell for not doing according to mine, will you come along with me ? for fellowship?"Mores persecution is made to seem even more unjust by the inclusion of Eustace Chapuys, the long-time Spanish ambassador to England, into the story. Chapuys recognizes More as a stout man of the church, and in Act II, after Mores resignation from the Chancellorship, he informs More of a planned rebellion along the Scottish border, expecting More to be sympathetic.

All A Man for All Seasons trailers available on youtube

A Man for All Seasons Cast

• Anthony Nicholls
• Colin Blakely
• Corin Redgrave
• Cyril Luckham
• Jack Gwillim
• John Hurt
• Leo McKern
• Nigel Davenport
• Orson Welles
• Robert Shaw
• Susannah York
• Thomas Heathcote
• Wendy Hiller
• Yootha Joyce