A Man for All Seasons gives us Paul Scofield’s finest hour. As he sinks his teeth into Bolt’s delicious dialogue, I defy anyone to remain unmoved.
I recommend we prepare for Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of Shusaku Endo’s Silence by revisiting this classic. Directed by Fred Zinnemann from a script by Robert Bolt (adapting his own stage play), A Man for All Seasons puts its Christian hero to a test that recalls the climax of Endo’s narrative.
More — a man as famous for his moral integrity as for his intellect — is ordered by King Henry VIII to sign an oath granting the king authority over the church. In this way, the king hopes to escape a heirless marriage to Queen Catherine and marry Anne Boleyn, maid of honour to Queen Catherine and sister of Henry’s former mistress. More’s refusal turns the world against him. England wants an heir.
But More is a man immune to the Devil’s seduction. His blessing won’t be bought. He won’t kiss up to a womanizing politician for his own advantage, and then feebly justify it by saying, “Hey, King David was a sinner too.”
Here’s my review — a long with a 10-question post-viewing discussion guide — at Christianity Today.