by Chris Marshall:
At the risk of inserting too much Real Life into this post,
I feel compelled to mention that I’ve just finished writing a final for
hierarchical linear modeling class, so if this is of a lower quality than
usual, it’s because I’m having trouble switching over from multilevel
statistical analysis mode to let’s write about movies mode.
So yeah, A Man for All Seasons! I hadn’t seen many of the winners from the
1960s before I started the project, but I was at least familiar with all of
them, save for this and Tom Jones. I
had a vague idea that it was based on a play, but that was really about it.
Pauline Kael once wrote about how the first questions anybody asks upon hearing
of a movie are “what’s about it” and “who’s in it,” and I didn’t have the
answer to either of those.
Well, Orson Welles is in it, but
don’t get your hopes up that he hangs around for very long. After that you get
a brief appearance from Vanessa Redgrave as Anne Boleyn, and John Hurt appears in
his very first film role. Oh, and Paul Scofield won Best Actor for his
portrayal of Sir Thomas More.
