I want to offer a couple of quick comments rather than a long-winded essay. I recommend this film heartily to anyone who loves history, loves the medieval period, enjoy Burton and O'Toole at their brio-filled best, loves castles with burning torches mounted on the walls. I first saw the movie in the '60s, saw it again in the '70s, lost track of it, and came upon the new DVD recently. For my money, the film has aged very well. It's essentially timeless. Historical accuracy be damned - this movie captures the romance of history, the myth of history, the wonderful pleasure of history, and isn't unduly worried about strictly hewing to actual events. Several of the scenes rank among the finest ever filmed - I think especially of Becket and Henry on the beach, and the death scene. At times the picture is a bit talky; these times are brief. John Geilgud is very fine - I remembered his sequence as boring, but seen now, it works beautifully. Burton is perfect. O'Toole is riveting - a spectacular combination of gorgeous majesty and odd subterranean faultlines. I hesitate to call the movie a masterpiece - it's not quite that - but it's certainly worthy of four stars.
I want to offer a couple of quick comments rather than a long-winded essay. I recommend this film heartily to anyone who loves history, loves the medieval period, enjoy Burton and O'Toole at their brio-filled best, loves castles with burning torches mounted on the walls. I first saw the movie in the '60s, saw it again in the '70s, lost track of it, and came upon the new DVD recently. For my money, the film has aged very well. It's essentially timeless. Historical accuracy be damned - this movie captures the romance of history, the myth of history, the wonderful pleasure of history, and isn't unduly worried about strictly hewing to actual events. Several of the scenes rank among the finest ever filmed - I think especially of Becket and Henry on the beach, and the death scene. At times the picture is a bit talky; these times are brief. John Geilgud is very fine - I remembered his sequence as boring, but seen now, it works beautifully. Burton is perfect. O'Toole is riveting - a spectacular combination of gorgeous majesty and odd subterranean faultlines. I hesitate to call the movie a masterpiece - it's not quite that - but it's certainly worthy of four stars.