A Man for All Seasons Celebrates 60 Years

The biopic of St. Thomas More is celebrating 60 years. Released in 1966, the movie follows the life of the chancellor of King Henry VIII. It is based on a play written by Robert Bolt of the same name.

The film would win six Oscars during the 39th Academy Awards. Most notable were Best Director (Fred Zinneman) and Actor (Paul Scofield).

The film’s biopic of God’s servant gives us lessons of faith to grasp now.

Conscience Over Power

St. Thomas More would say, “In matters of conscience, the loyal subject is more bounden to be loyal to his conscience than to any other thing."

More’s faith was more than just an intellectual exercise. It was his anchor. When faced with mounting pressure to swear allegiance to the Act of Succession, he chose his own conscience over being seduced by corrupted power.

Integrity of Silence

More didn’t have to scream and yell about his faith. Rather, he practiced a long-lost art of evangelization, silence. St. Francis De Sales would remind us, "Mere silence is not wisdom, for wisdom consists of knowing when and how to speak, and when and where to keep silent."

Divine Law Transcends Man’s Law

More observed the flaws of penal systems during much of his career practicing law.

He observed, "...if you suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners to be corrupted from their infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded from this but that you first make thieves and then punish them?"

It highlights his belief in objective truth and Divine Law. He knows that earthly authority must bow to God’s law and eternal principles.

A Man for All Seasons is a powerful story that depicts the life of St. Thomas More so well. He was portrayed as living and dying as “God’s faithful servant”.

Great acting, cinematography, and a motion picture that is unmatched.