I was so impressed by the high marks this film received on IMDb that I decided to chance it. I don't normally care for films from the '60s, but the combination of O'Toole, Burton, Gielgud, and the IMDb recommendations gave me hope that this would be an exception along the lines of "The Lion in Winter" (in which O'Toole gives a different, brilliant, more historically accurate portrayal of Henry II).
The acting in this film cannot be faulted, except perhaps for the minor roles which quickly fade from memory. What kills this picture is its time period. It is the quintessential 1960s Historic Epic -- bombastic overkill!
Minute after mind-numbing minute of people entering, exiting, lining up, drawing back -- at least it looks a little like Busby Berkeley when put on fast-forward. All to the backdrop of that 1960s staple, blatting trumpets and bombastic tympanies.
The sets and costumes are meant to overwhelm us but, sadly, pale in comparison to contemporary Epics like "Lord of the Rings."
The pacing is horrendous. Watch "The Lion in Winter" to see how the same 1960s bombast combined with phenomenal talent could be put to brilliant use. There the pacing, twists, dialogue, and character development overcome the occasional too-long/too-over-the-top histrionics and create compelling, unforgettable cinema.
"Becket" takes one of the most complex, conflict-ridden, dramatic episodes in English history, adds in some of the finest actors of all time, and wastes it all on a sloppy (historically inaccurate) script, watered-down characters (Becket & Henry II were far more complex in real life than in this film), and unforgivably self-indulgent direction that seems to find a courier's entrance as dramatically compelling as the final unraveling of a friendship two men don't want to end.
Completely disappointing. Such a waste.
The acting in this film cannot be faulted, except perhaps for the minor roles which quickly fade from memory. What kills this picture is its time period. It is the quintessential 1960s Historic Epic -- bombastic overkill!
Minute after mind-numbing minute of people entering, exiting, lining up, drawing back -- at least it looks a little like Busby Berkeley when put on fast-forward. All to the backdrop of that 1960s staple, blatting trumpets and bombastic tympanies.
The sets and costumes are meant to overwhelm us but, sadly, pale in comparison to contemporary Epics like "Lord of the Rings."
The pacing is horrendous. Watch "The Lion in Winter" to see how the same 1960s bombast combined with phenomenal talent could be put to brilliant use. There the pacing, twists, dialogue, and character development overcome the occasional too-long/too-over-the-top histrionics and create compelling, unforgettable cinema.
"Becket" takes one of the most complex, conflict-ridden, dramatic episodes in English history, adds in some of the finest actors of all time, and wastes it all on a sloppy (historically inaccurate) script, watered-down characters (Becket & Henry II were far more complex in real life than in this film), and unforgivably self-indulgent direction that seems to find a courier's entrance as dramatically compelling as the final unraveling of a friendship two men don't want to end.
Completely disappointing. Such a waste.