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A Man for All Seasons

A Man for All Seasons

Drama · History · 1966

A depiction of the conflict between King Henry VIII of England and his Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas More, who refuses to swear the Oath of Supremacy declaring Henry Supreme Head of the Church in England.

Movie details

A Man for All Seasons

“...a motion picture for all times!”

1966 Drama · History 2h 0m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.3 / 10

Community rating

A depiction of the conflict between King Henry VIII of England and his Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas More, who refuses to swear the Oath of Supremacy declaring Henry Supreme Head of the Church in England.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over A Man for All Seasons?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Fred Zinnemann

Written by

Robert Bolt

Paul Scofield

Paul Scofield

Thomas More

Wendy Hiller

Wendy Hiller

Alice More

Leo McKern

Leo McKern

Thomas Cromwell

Robert Shaw

Robert Shaw

King Henry VIII

Orson Welles

Orson Welles

Cardinal Wolsey

Susannah York

Susannah York

Margaret More

Nigel Davenport

Nigel Davenport

The Duke of Norfolk

Court is in session

Put A Man for All Seasons on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.