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Home » Music And Movies Articles » A Man For All Seasons Demonstrates What Integrity Should Be In The Middle Ages And Now

"A Man for All Seasons" Demonstrates What Integrity Should Be in the Middle Ages and Now

A Man for All Seasons ' 4 Stars (Excellent)

A Man for All Seasons poses the question: What would a man sacrifice for his principles?

When King Henry VIII (Robert Shaw) seeks approval to divorce his aging wife Catherine of Aragon who could not bear him a son, and marry his mistress Anne Boleyn, the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church stand in his way.

Henry VIII's new Chancellor of England and Cardinal--Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield)stands in his way as well. Henry VIII wants Sir Thomas More's blessing in his action but does not get it as Sir Thomas More, a good Catholic and Cardinal, will not go along with such heresy.

More resigns as chancellor, seeking to live out his life as a private citizen, but Henry VIII will settle for nothing less than More's public approval of his headstrong course. Sir Thomas refuses to either endorse or denounce the King's action, and remains a man of principle.

Great effort is made to convince More to change his stance on Henry VIII's action. One of More's rivals, Thomas Cromwell (Leo McKern); another religious, Cardinal Wolsey (Orson Welles); and The Duke of Norfolk (Nigel Davenport) all take their turns at More.

One example is when More testifies before an inquiry committee and Norfolk attempts to persuade him to sign an oath of allegiance:

Norfolk: "Look, I'm not a scholar, and frankly I don't know whether the marriage was lawful or notbut Thomas, look at these names! You know these men! Can't you do as I did and come along with us for fellowship?"

More: "And when we stand before God, and you are sent to Heaven for doing according to your conscience, and I am sent to hell for not doing according to mine, will you come along with mefor fellowship?"

There are several lines by More that merit mention but there is not enough space to do so. Here is one of the best: "I think that when statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties, they lead their country by a short route to chaos."

Sir Thomas More was a very smart and savvyas well as principledman.

Henry VIII gets every person of any consequence in England to sign his oath (the Act of Supremacy), endorsing his action, except Sir Thomas who will not sign, and remains silent as to the reason why he will not sign.

Cromwell is an English statesman and the chief minister to King Henry VIII. It is Cromwell who presides over King Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon in 1533 and Henry's subsequent break with the Roman Catholic Church.

When More proves himself to be loyal to King Henry VIII by not speaking out against him and also shows himself to be a loyal subject by not inciting rebellion, Cromwell appears to prosecute Sir Thomas out of personal spite.

In the end, Sir Thomas is the only person in England who will die for his principles, and commit himself to God for judgment. He is betrayed by an ambitious, lower level appointed attorney general, Richard (John Hurt), whose outright lie condemns Sir Thomas to be beheaded.

Sir Thomas More loses his head (no pun intended) but most importantly, not his soul. Sir Thomas is later canonized as Saint Thomas More by the Roman Catholic Church.

Henry VIII subsequently dies of syphilis, and the evil Thomas Cromwell who orchestrates Sir Thomas More's tragic demise is himself judged a traitor to England 5 years later and is also beheaded.

The riff subsequently leads to England's split from the Roman Catholic Church and the creation of the Anglican Church, the Church of England.

A Man for All Seasons does not deviate from the truth of Sir Thomas More's stance, and as such provides a role model for acting with right thinking and right motives, even at the cost of one's life.

What makes A Man for All Seasons even more impressive is that the plot for the movie is based on the true story of Sir Thomas More. Sir Thomas More was a scholar and statesman who became the leading humanist of the Renaissance Era.

A Man for All Seasons is a story about everything that is right in England and life (Sir Thomas More's integrity to his principles) and everything that is wrong in England and life (greed, avarice, lust, lying, cheating, stealing, the corruption of power, and the corruption of religious leaders).

A Man for All Seasons was writer Robert Bolt's greatest success, first as a play and then as the screenplay for its 1966 movie release following a successful Broadway run. Bolt's 16th Century period piece has exacting details of the era.

A Man for All Seasons would win 6 Oscars at the 1967 Academy Awards: Best Picture (Fred Zinnemann), Best Director (Fred Zinnemann), Best Writing (Robert Bolt), Best Actor (Paul Scofield), Best Cinematography (Ted Moore) and Best Costume Design (Elizabeth Haffenden and Joan Bridge).

The film also received Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor (Robert Shaw) and Best Supporting Actress (Wendy Hiller as Sir Thomas More's wife Alice).

In addition the movie garnered another 27 wins and 5 nominations, including Golden Globe wins for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Actor and a nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Interestingly, Charlton Heston lobbied heavily for the role of Sir Thomas More, but was not seriously considered. Richard Burton was offered the part and turned it down.

The producers originally wanted Laurence Olivier as Thomas More and Alec Guinness as Wosley, but Director Fred Zinnemann insisted on Paul Scofield and Orson Welles in the roles. The rest is history. Zinnemann obviously knew how to direct a great film and a huge box office success.

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Contractors...Double Your Income

5 Simple Ways to Double Your Income Immediately

So you think that you are just like your competition? Well, then it is time to differentiate yourself. As a contractor, you probably use the same types of materials as your competitors do...so how can you differentiate yourself? Service! Build it better and serve your clients better. You will come out on top. This may seem so simple, yet very few contractors really do things better than their competitors.

So what are 5 simple ways that can double your income? Here they are...

1. Use only high quality subcontractors. It costs you less in time and rework costs to use quality subcontractors the first time. You may think you are going to save a few dollars by hiring the cheapest one, but in the end we all know it doesn't work out that way. We pay for what we get. What's quality service and product worth to your reputation? Priceless!

2. Implement a service mentality. Everything you do is for the benefit of your homebuyers. Don't keep it to yourself...tell everyone you know about the way you build your houses and the benefits that you provide to your homebuyers.

a. Don't think there are benefits?? Think again...everything that you do in the construction of your homes can be portrayed as a benefit to your homebuyers. All it takes is a little creative communication.

3. Offer a referral program. People buy from people they know. How do you incentivize your homeowners to tell others? The first way is to build an awesome house and that will speak for itself...but add some icing to that cake by rewarding your homebuyers for their efforts to grow your business. It can be simple things like gift certificates, lawn services for a month, extended warranties, or other motivational offerings. It's cheaper to reward your customers for promoting you than advertising to the general public!

4. Market your business consistently. Everyone expects you to have a website...so don't let them down. You can have a GREAT website designed and hosted for a nominal amount that will bring great returns to you on recognition and sales within your community. Show the quality that you build into your homes and stress the benefits to your potential buyers in the most cost-effective medium available, the World Wide Web.

5. Network, Network, Network! Don't keep your great offerings to yourself. Get out there and build relationships with those who can promote your homes! You can't be everything to your business. So look at those you do business with (vendors, subcontractors, real estate professionals, etc) and see how you can build referral networks. This is the best way to cost-effectively cross-promote your businesses. Plus people trust referrals from others higher than self-promotion, so it is a win-win opportunity.

The returns that your business will get on these 5 tips will more than double your income if implemented correctly. You can't sit back and hope that your business grows. You've got to make it happen! Success happens because of a well-constructed plan...not by chance. It's a choice...you choose to make it happen, or not. What's your choice? Go out and double your income now!

Copyright 2005 Pam Newman