Becket

Becket (1964)

Timing: 2:28 (148 min)

7.2/10
172

7.61/10
2259

7.7/10
17000

All about film

Video 1

Photo 4

Actors and characters

Release date

1964-03-11

Country

United Kingdom, United States

Production

Paramount, Keep Films

Genre

Drama, History

Budget

$3 000 000

Revenue

$9 164 370

Website

Director

Peter Glenville

Actors

Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud, Gino Cervi, Paolo Stoppa, Donald Wolfit, David Weston, Martita Hunt, Pamela Brown, Percy Herbert
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Hal B. Wallis, Joseph H. Hazen

Operator

Geoffrey Unsworth

Composer

Laurence Rosenthal

Artist

Audition

Editing

Anne V. Coates
All team (11)

• Richard Burton (1925-1984) initially refused to star in this film, believing he would instantly become a laughingstock in all the newspapers if he played the role of a saint. Burton stated that he would have been more suited to the role of Henry II (1133-1189) Plantagenet, which was played by Peter O'Toole (1932-2013).
• John Gielgud (1904-2000) was nominated for an Oscar, despite appearing on screen in only two brief scenes.
• A 1964 adaptation of Jean Anouilh's (1910-1987) play. Contrary to what the film claims, the play provides a historically more accurate explanation of the conflict between Thomas Becket and the monarch.
• The closeness between King Henry II and Thomas Becket is portrayed as purely platonic. The film was made in 1963, when homosexuality was still illegal in the United Kingdom, and any hint of such a relationship between the characters would have immediately attracted the attention of the censors. Nevertheless, the film contains hints that Henry II loved Becket.
• The artist of the film, John Bryan (1911-1969), was responsible for the construction of the Canterbury Cathedral set, which at the time were the largest interior sets of any building in the history of European cinema.
• The murder of Thomas Becket was far more brutal and bloody than depicted in the film.