As we continue our look at the movies that won the "Best Picture" Oscars while we were at Father Ryan, we come to a motion picture that I remember being discussed in several of our religion classes while we were in school.
A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS, released in 1966, had a very strong Catholic theme. It concerned the ultimate test of faith and conscience for Sir (now Saint)Thomas More, who, as Chancellor of England, stood up to King Henry VIII (and forfeited his life) by refusing to endorse the King's wishes to divorce his wife and marry another, so he could produce a male heir. It all ultimately led to a complete break by the King with the Pope and the Catholic Church.
Paul Schofield, who had previously played the part on stage in London, was brillant in his portrayal of More, and he won a Best Actor Oscar for his work. He was surrounded by a wonderful cast that included Robert Shaw as the King, Orson Welles as Cardinal Wosley, John Hurt as Richard Rich, and Wendy Hiller as More's wife.
The movie swept the Oscars in 1966 winning 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Cinematography, Costume Design and Best Director.
Here's how Columbia Pictures promoted the film....
For 1965 (THE SOUND OF MUSIC) and 1966 (A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS) the Best Picture winners were largely wholesome, inspirational, historical types of movies. But as we shall see in our next couple of postings on this topic, that was going to change a bit in the coming years of 1967, 1968 and 1969.
Do you any memories of going to the movies while we were in high school? Any memories of A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS? THE SOUND OF MUSIC? What about other films did you see and enjoy during this period?
Please feel free to post your thoughts below by clicking on the comments link or send them to me by e-mail (pat.nolan@dvl.com) and I can post them here.
No comments:
Post a Comment