¨In the year 1066 William of Conqueror crossed from France with his Norman army and conquered the Saxons of Britain at the battle of Hastings , Henry II his great grandson continued to rule over the oppressed Saxons peasants . Backed by the swords of his Barons and by the power of his imported Norman clergy¨ . This historic picture is based on real events , a studio detail about Becket (1117-1170) who was chancellor of Henry II Plantagenet but then he opposed to sign the rules of Clarendon (1164) that established superiority of king over clergy , he was then banished France and when he returned succeeded the tragedy . Henry II (1133-1189) dominated nobles and clergy , he married Eleanor of Aquitaine that caused the confrontation with Louis VII (an eye-catching playing by the veteran John Gielgud) of France . Becket (flawless acting by Richard Burton) is named Archbishop of Canterbury and his religious mission is strictly taken with opposition to Henry II (a first-rate performance by Peter O'Toole and similar king role to 'Lion in Winter') of Plantagenet who governed England from 1154 to 1189 ; this leads to notorious and sparkling phrase by the king: 'Who will rid me of this turbulent archbishop' .

This is a splendid rendition of Jean Anouilh's play , as translated by Lucienne Hill , produced upon the New York stage by Merrick and good detailed artistic direction made at Shepperton studios -England- . It deals about the stormy friendship between Becket , appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury , and king Henry II . Although the film depicts Becket as a Saxon , he was actually a Norman like King Henry II . The closeness between King Henry and Becket is depicted as being a purely platonic one ; homosexuality was still illegal in the UK when the film was made in 1963, and any suggestion of that would have fallen foul of the censor . However it is still implied that Henry is in love with Becket . Magnificent studded-secondary-star cast , as Donald Wolfit as bishop , Paolo Stoppa as Pope Alexander III , Gino Cervi as the flamboyant Cardinal , Pamela Brown as Queen Eleanor , Martita Hunt as Queen Mother , Percy Herbert and Neal McGinnis as the Barons ; plus , Sean Phillips married to Peter O'Toole . Atmospheric , appropriate cinematography by the great Geoffrey Unsworth . Evocative musical score with religious chores by Laurence Rosenthal and usual musical conductor by Muir Mathieson . The picture obtained Academy Award , 1964 , to adapted screenplay and Golden Globes to dramatic actor for Peter O'Toole and the best film drama . The flick was stunningly directed by Peter Grenville who reflects correctly an exciting slice of history . Rating : Better than average . This is a superior and powerful historic drama to be liked by historical cinema buffs .

This story is about the power struggle that developed between Thomas Becket and King Henry II. Before this occurs, the film gives a bit of background, as the film begins with Becket as Henry's most trusted friend and adviser. Because they were so close (and at times, I seemed to have felt a homosexual undercurrent),it made Becket's refusal to be a yes-man all the harder for Henry to accept. But, in his new church office, Becket was not willing to consider even this dear friendship--his primary responsibility was to his church.

The film handles this very long power struggle quite well. While the film doesn't quite give you the sense of time this occurred (on and off again for almost a decade),the reasons for it are well spelled out, the dialog sparkling and the entire production fascinating. I was particularly impressed by Richard Burton's performance as Becket--he underplayed it well. While Peter O'Toole also received an Oscar nomination like Burton for his performance, his Henry seemed a bit bombastic and overly dramatic. Perhaps this was the real Henry--though it seemed that occasionally this performance bordered on the over-acted. Still, this was a very, very minor gripe. With lovely production values, a good script and attention to details, this is a film well worth seeing--and one of the best costume dramas you can find.

While there may be those who are not so taken with any historical inaccuracies Becket has, as a film is very good. While a tad overlong, it looks lavish, with fine cinematography and ravishingly beautiful costumes, scenery and sets and has a very evocative music score. The script is literate and very interesting, the story is very compelling with some great scenes, the pace while mannered is also efficient and the direction is more than competent.

The acting I have very little to criticise either. Both Richard Burton and Peter O' Toole are superb as Becket and Henry II, Burton is nicely understated and O' Toole is very flamboyant and shows a range that is equal to that of his role in Lion in Winter.

All in all, it is a very good film that is worth seeing for the leads. 8/10 Bethany Cox