Product Details

• Actors: Charlton Heston, Vanessa Redgrave, John Gielgud, Richard Johnson, Roy Kinnear
• Directors: Charlton Heston
• Writers: Robert Bolt
• Producers: Fraser Clarke Heston, Peter Snell, Ted Lloyd
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Turner Home Ent
• VHS Release Date: February 5, 2002
• Run Time: 150 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301216601
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,848 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Adaptation of Robert Bolt's play chronicling Sir Thomas More's struggles with corrupt King Henry VIII.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A different approach, April 9, 2006

By 

M. Gray (London, UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Man for All Seasons [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I love this story, as a fragment of history (such as we know of it), as a dramatic work by a fine playwright and in both extant film productions. The 1966 film directed by Zinnemann is a wonderful filmic reworking of the play with some noble acting and art direction. It retains the essence of the story whilst changing 'operatically' the angle, rather like Milos Forman has done with Peter Schaffer's "Amadeus". Heston's TV film, on the other hand, sticks rather more closely to the play, in both script and format and succeeds equally well. This isn't a 'remake'; rather, it is a new approach in its own right. Both films are valid additions to the canon. Heston was, indeed, a great actor who was more than equal to this task; all too often he has been the target of 'casting snobs'. Finally, the late Roy Kinnear's contribution as the 'Common Man' (a part not featured as such in the 1966 film, Colin Blakely as More's servant, Matthew being the closest comparable) is a little gem!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Be fair to this film!!!, July 9, 2007

By 

F. Van Doorn (Holland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Man for All Seasons [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I think most of the comments for this film are rather unfair. Unfair to the actor Charlton Heston and unfair to the film itself. Please let me explain:

It seems to me a sort of "England, England!" thing is standing in the way of a fair and objective comment on this film (as if I could give one...).
Even though Charlton Heston has sunk very much in my esteem since "Bowling for Columbine" I feel I need to set the record straight (for my own peace of mind): This film is great, and believe you me, I am a Scofield fan (I simply adored him in the 1966 version of this film as well as in the 1994 Martin Chuzzlewit television film/mini-series).

But to do away with this 1988 version of Heston as a failed attempt to improve on Fred Zinneman is not only an unfair comparison but also a foolish one.
To begin with: Heston's version is far closer and more true to Robert Bolt's play than is the Fred Zinneman version. In addition, Heston's performance, although more obviously dramatical than that of Scofield, is more passionate. The scene in which he thrashes Roper and stands for his daughter Meg is simply the greatest ("They put about too nimbly!!!"), as is his performance with the Duke of Norfolk when they discuss water spaniels.
Next to Heston, the performance of his fellow actors should not be discarded.

Roy Kinnear, bless his soul, is brilliant as the common man (a Robert Bolt invention that stayed alive in this version but was left out of the 1966 Zinneman production)

In addition, the role of the king is played simply brilliantly by Martin Chamberlain. The scene in More's garden is a scene that will never be mastered.

Vanessa Redgrave gives one of her finest performances as More's wife. The scene in the Tower where they part for the last time is always tearing me apart! (Oh God, all these plain simple men!)

And of course the roles of the "two ugly ladies" Benjamin Withrow and Jonathan Hackett are delicious and not to be found anywhere so great in the 1966 Zinneman version.

So I beg you: Please be fair, enjoy the Zinneman version, but also take the time to (learn to) appreciate Heston's version. The man has his faults, but just appreciate that what he has done right!

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Out of season..., October 23, 2005

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Man for All Seasons [VHS] (VHS Tape)

If you were expecting something similar to the Oscar-winning 'Man for All Seasons' starring Paul Scofield, Orson Welles and co., you will not find it here. Sometimes remakes can be wonderful, and sometimes they can add a fresh interpretation to time-honoured themes and stories; alas, such is not the case here.

Charleton Heston is woefully mis-cast as the principled and intelligent Thomas More; Heston is a very good actor, and has done such a range of characters that it is not that I see a Moses or Michelangelo here - it just doesn't work. I freely confess that it may be that the Scofield performance is too much locked in my consciousness, but then again, I am one who usually likes remakes...

Another element here is Sir John Gielgud, who is one of my favourite actors by far. Unfortunately, he just doesn't have enough screen-time or involvement in the overall plot to save this piece. Vanessa Redgrave as Lady Alice is also another terrific actor mis-cast; Redgrave's stunning performances in film and on stage (I've been fortunate to see her in several West End productions) have something that isn't present here.

The minor casting of important figures like Richard Rich, Henry VIII and Cranmer also pale so far from the original film casting that the less said here, the better.

I give one star for reasonable sets and production values, and a second star for having the presence of mind to recall this wonderful Bolt play and screenplay and try to revive it for a new generation of viewers. Unfortunately, it just doesn't work here.