Becket
(DVD) 

Based upon the play "Becket" by Jean Anouilh, as translated by Lucienne Hill and produced on the New York stage by David Merrick.

Special features: Stills gallery [slide show]; Trailer (5 min.); Interview with composer Laurence Rosenthal [featurette] (13 min.); Interview with editor Anne Coates [featurette] (8 min.); TV spot (30 sec.); Richard Burton interviewed by Ludovic Kennedy (1977) [featurette] (13 min.); Richard Burton interviewed by Kenneth Tynan (1967) [b&w featurette] (14 min.); Commentary with Peter O'Toole [audio feature].

Director of photography, Geoffrey Unsworth ; editor, Anne V. Coates ; music, Laurence Rosenthal ; production designer, John Bryan ; art director, Maurice Carter ; costume designer, Margaret Furse.

Richard Burton (Becket), Peter O'Toole (the King), John Gielgud (King Louis of France), Gino Cervi (the Cardinal), Paolo Stoppa (the Pope), Donald Wolfit (Bishop Folliot), David Weston, Martita Hunt, Pamela Brown, Percy Herbert, Sian Phillips, Inigo Jackson, Felix Aylmer, Niall MacGinnis, Christopher Rhodes, John Phillips, Frank Pettingell, Veronique Vendell, Jennifer Hilary, David Davenport, Hamilton Dyce, Peter Jeffrey, Michael Miller, Peter Prowse, Jack Taylor.

Originally produced as a motion picture in 1964.

Despite differences in rank and background, King Henry II and Thomas Becket are lifelong friends. The King is in constant conflict with the Church, which refuses to contribute financing to his wars in France, and jealously guards the tax-free status granted it by previous monarchs. When the Archbishop of Canterbury dies, Henry has a brilliant idea: rather than another pious cleric loyal to Rome, he will appoint his old friend, Thomas Becket--technically a deacon--to the post. Unfortunately, Becket takes the job seriously, holding devotion to God and the Church above his loyalty to the throne, or the person of its inhabitant. In opposition to Henry, he proves abler than his predecessors do, and the clash of two powerful personalities leads to destruction.

MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for some sexual content and violence.

DVD; Region 1, NTSC; Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo; anamorphic widescreen presentation, aspect ratio 2.35:1.

In English, dubbed Spanish or French with optional subtitles in English; SDH subtitles.

Winner, 1964 Academy Awards for Best Writing: Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium--Edward Anhalt; Winner, 1965 Golden Globe Awards for Best Motion Picture, Drama--Hal B. Wallis; Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama--Peter O'Toole; Winner, 1965 BAFTA Film Awards for Best British Costume, Colour--Margaret Furse; Best British Art Direction, Colour--John Bryan; Best British Cinematography, Colour--Geoffrey Unsworth.