A Man for All Seasons (1966) - Rich's Perjury Scene (8/10) | Movieclips

[@jucklowe]

"Why Richard, It profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world. But for Wales?" Best line in a movie ever.

[@Anna-Jade]

Agree. That line never fails to make me laugh.......although I would imagine the Welsh don't find it so funny!

[@rh9477]

I think the 10 best lines in a movie ever all came out of this guy’s mouth in this movie tbh

[@McRocket]

Well, I doubt you have seen every movie, ever made. So the last sentence is dubious. Not sure why people insist on making art an absolute - and in matter-of-fact terms, no less. The line cannot be great, immensely enjoyable or outstanding. It must be the 'best ever'. Strange. ☮

[@jlo2816]

You need a hobby mate@@McRocket

[@peteyork2565]

Yes!

[@seaglass22]

... but for Wales... Probably my favourite film of all time. Superb acting.

[@richardjones8699]

Wonderous.

[@timothydavidcurp]

Yes. Very much so.

[@st.charlesstreet9876]

1:12 That I shall open my mind to….. And just waves him off with his hand. 😇

[@Gerard-hu6kp]

Doesn't say much for Wales does it but it's brilliant nevertheless 😂

[@Gapnasty27]

“… But for Wales?” Amazing delivery. Like a spear into the heart!

[@russellcampbell9198]

Hurt was a brilliant actor from start to finish of his career.

[@EMEL-hr4ut]

He even got through 1984 unscathed. Never is it truer to say the book was much better

[@edscissor-e9w]

I googled 'But for Wales' and it brought me straight here, top of the list, in less than a second. Amazing. In former years I would have had to hope for the bookshop to have a copy of A Man for All Seasons, or for the library to open to go through the scene again.

[@Anna-Jade]

"If what Master Rich has said is true, I pray I may never see God in the face". This film is packed with brilliant dialogue.

[@brianschmidt9919]

My favorite film

[@markpage9886]

Sir Thomas died for what he believed. He was NOT fearless or reckless. He tried everything he could think of to stay alive. He didn't want to do any of this. He was so scared... But he stood his ground. They killed him but they couldn't break him.

[@NoLegalPlunder]

Notice how well dressed Richard is here compared to all the earlier scenes. He obviously sold out a man’s life for some coin. What a wormy heel.

[@CEGP12]

Another great little detail - after More says he is sorry for Rich's perjury, Rich can hardly look him in the eye. The only eye contact is very brief, as More takes his chain of office. The moment he does, despite being within a foot of each other and More addressing him directly, Rich can't look at More's face at all, and is staring off at space behind him.

[@coolcat5714]

…and he died in his bed (cynical voice)

[@gidzmobug2323]

Alice, Margaret, and Will all thought Rich was a "bad" man. But I don't think any of them would have believed that Rich would have turned on More like that. Earlier in the movie, Rich asks Cromwell about being AF for Wales.

[@davy_K]

The wormy heel died in his sleep. More and Cromwell both went to the block.

[@stvdagger8074]

@@davy_K As did one ofthe judges, George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford

[@donallally5504]

I think that St Thomas More just hadn't realised how far King Henry the 8th was prepared to go, until it was far too late, and the same was true for St John Fisher and many others.

[@Anna-Jade]

Agree.......they didn't realise how ruthless Henry was until it was too late.

[@O_Rei]

What, are you suggesting he would have folded early on if he knew it? I doubt it would have made a difference. Maybe they would have left the country, so there’s that.

[@joefish6091]

Henry was a second son, educated for a high office in the church. not too bright according to some. To be around Henry was to walk on egg shells. esp after his never healed jousting wound and whatever narcotics he was on for the rest of his life. His whole marriage and male succession problems were a result of his religious indoctrination, any other red blooded king would have had bastards and made them heir. damn the world.

[@pattersong6637]

@@O_Rei Pretty sure Scotland, Spain, or France would've gladly taken in More if he fled. More had a lot of valuable information on England its enemies would've appreciated.

[@O_Rei]

@@pattersong6637 Of course he knew that; he just was unwilling to betray his own nation. Funny how your comment suggests you can’t even conceive that some people might be hesitant to do that…

[@catoblepag]

John Hurt was not only a great actor: he had charisma too, something that can't be learned or trained. He always projected a natural vulnerability, even in this movie, where you can feel his terrible internal struggle as a Judas figure; he was the victim of a terrible death in Alien, and another tragic figure in the Elephant Man, and he truly made you care. Maybe it's also in the eyes - he looks like a frightened, confused child.

[@dLimboStick]

Don't forget his role in Midnight Express. Brilliant.

[@opus5770]

​@@dLimboStick and as Chancellor Sutler in V for Vendetta

[@Mani-to2kv]

Leo Mckern, John Hurt & Paul Scofield. Theres an awful lot of talent in that scene

[@joefish6091]

The Day the Earth Caught FIre, The Prisoner, Rumpole of the Bailey.

[@EMEL-hr4ut]

McKern like davenport found their best film role

[@subaruairbag]

thooorin the esports historian sent me here... he's right this is unintentionally really hilarious.

[@atomzero1]

I don't think it's totally unintentional, but it is funny.

[@Kitiwake]

Is it true that this is almost a word for word account of the original transcript of the trial of Thomas More? If so, he was a brilliant man. Spontaneous and poignantly witty as an unwilling player in his own black drama of death.

[@jucklowe]

Sir Thomas Moore was a monster of a man who persecuted and burned more heretics than you've had hot dinners,,, and the movie is wildly inaccurate in other ways,, he had several children and at least two wives. Still maybe my favorite movie of all time though.

[@SheenaRea]

@@jucklowe Catholics and Protestants were at each other's throats at that time although many of the accusations against More he disputed. Still, he was a product of his time, and known for being a strong disciplinarian. Biopics leave out many details because nobody wants to sit through a 12-hour flick.

[@vincentfarrell3868]

@@jucklowepersecuting and burning heretics makes you a saint

[@Schismatic991]

@@juckloweThomas More executed no more than six men for heresy. You can call it as monstrous as you like but don’t spread misinformation in pursuit of proving a point.

[@ohmightywez]

To answer your question, yes, this is almost verbatim what St. Thomas More said. This was an event of.extreme historical magnitude, Thomas More had been the Chancellor of England, appointed at Henry's express wish. More was a mentor, an advisor, and a widely recognized lawyer, scholar and author. He was extremely well respected and known widely to be a fair judge, impervious to bribery. That is why, even though More almost immediately relinquished his position as Chancellor, returned the Great Seal and chain of office to the king and attempted to retire to a quiet life away from court, courtiers and royalty, and keep forever silent regarding Henry's claims of primacy of.the Church of England, it wasn't enough for Henry. There were whispers among the common people, and chaos among the nobility because the king's most known and beloved advisor was vexingly silent, and people wondered. They tortured him for weeks, waking him up after just a few minutes' sleep and questioning him for hours without letting him sit or have a drink of water. They refused to give him the food his wife and stepdaughter brought. They moved him to a cell where the window was too high to see the Thames. They took.his books. And they kept careful record of every word that was uttered during the entire process. Those power hungry statesmen like Cromwell, wanted his position and to command the level of trust with the king, and knew that absolutely everything said.and done would be examined closely. I've always thought it was the death of Thomas More that started the disenchantment with Anne Boleyn, and pushed Henry's ship of state away from the safe shores of sanity.

[@rhondapetrus7187]

Unfortunately Sir Richard is one of my ancestors. The funny thing is I am Catholic and was married in St. Thomas Moore Cathedral😂.

[@brianschmidt9919]

thats great - seems just somehow

[@wolverinefangowings]

Is it weird that the USA/Wales WC match brought me here?

[@srzar]

But for Wales...

[@CLASSICALFAN100]

"Save the Wales"...lol

[@jacksonneptune4083]

"Why Richard, It profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world. But for Wales?" He could have been a gangsta rapper. My God!

[@Linusrox123]

In a time when decency is no longer a qualification for leadership, watching this is so poignant

[@penultimateh766]

And then I said: "I assume Hell will be more comfortable than the Tower"...

[@motelghost477]

The Welsh nation will never recover from this BURN.

[@joefish6091]

The Tudors came from Wales. one of the Celtic nobility families.

[@sakkra93]

To be fair, More isn't saying Wales is bad, he's just saying not even the whole world would be worth perjuring your soul for, never mind one small corner of Creation.

[@acousticshadow4032]

Sir Richard Rich is my 15th GGF - for better or worse.

[@aryastargirl5593]

He's my 15th great grandfather as well.

[@acousticshadow4032]

@@aryastargirl5593 sssshhh!!! Do you want to get run out of town??? Howdy, cousin!

[@aryastargirl5593]

@Acousticshadow haha ideally no. Wow so cool to meet a cousin on KZbin comments, which child of his are you descended from? Im descended from Frances.

[@acousticshadow4032]

@@aryastargirl5593 You want me to spill details of my family tree on YT? Off with your head!!!

[@aryastargirl5593]

@acousticshadow hahaha fair enough. Did you know we're related to Carrie Fisher? She was Richard's 14th granddaughter.

[@carlosgonzalez-chavez3855]

How are you going to end a clip from Man for All Seasons with a link to the "Stripping in Space" scene from Barbarella?

[@russell-di8js]

Another in a long line of English men who know what's best for us here in Wales!! We're ever so grateful your lords!!

[@Anna-Jade]

'But for Wales'...........

[@krismurphy7711]

When you know you are a dead man.

[@robertfield5904]

Deute. 18:10-14, Mark 7:20-23,

[@PhilipShaw-p2j]

PERJURY

[@nathankruse1881]

Richard is crying when he perjures himself 🥹

[@baraxor]

In "East of Elephant Rock" God's vengeance would be delivered by Saint Clare.

[@ThePhil737]

SAVAGE

[@StavrosElias]

Make another one

[@treytrapani9813]

Thomas More: Sigma Male

[@unclejoeoakland]

That's SAINT Thomas Moore to you ;)

[@treytrapani9813]

@unclejoeoakland I'm Eastern Orthodox. He's not a Saint for us yet.

[@johnneri3646]

erm..... what the sigma

[@brianschmidt9919]

@@treytrapani9813 we should be one

[@thatfellow7556]

It is not probable.

[@motelghost477]

God doesn't allow us to lie or take false oaths, but He does allow us to run. Moore should've seen the ill wind blowing his way and left England before it was too late.

[@PhilipShaw-p2j]

False Witness

[@joshualastname9901]

Was there a ghost

[@duckbizniz663]

Every movie portrays Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell in different light. Of course, this movie portrays Thomas More in a honor light while Thomas Cromwell is portrayed in a dishonorable light. In Wolf Hall Series, where Mark Rylance plays Thomas Cromwell, Thomas Cromwell is portrayed in a more sympathetic light while Thomas More is portrayed in a less than honorable if not hypocritical light. What is truth? The truth is whatever serves your purpose. Given Henry VIII's despotic reputation why in the world would a person with integrity like Thomas More take a position such as Lord Chancellor under Henry VIII's rule? Thomas More knows what Henry VIII did to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. Why would Thomas More agree to work for Henry VIII? For prestige or for power or for wealth? The Roman Catholic Church certainly holds Thomas More in high regards. But we also know why some many Europeans sided with the Protestants in the Reformation.

[@andrewg.carvill4596]

Tudor historian Eamon Duffy makes the interesting point in one of his books that Mark Rylance in the Wolf Hall series looks much more the contemporary portraits we have of Thomas More than those we have of Cromwell. And I can't get away from the impression Cromwell's thoughtful, introspective personality as portrayed by Rylance is much more like Philip Scofield's presentation of More in the Bolt/Zinemann film than it is like Leo McKern's Cromwell. It's almost as though Wolf Hall is a kind of ironic 'deconstruction' of A Man for All Seasons.

[@rudybakin5070]

I take it you haven't read the original court records? They give a pretty clear picture of More's integrity. You also may have not read many books on Henry VIII's England. The reputation of Henry you mention didn't really exist at this point in time. It would show itself a few years later. Right now, most people thought of him as a bit of a moral and knightly paragon.

[@tomcervo]

@@andrewg.carvill4596 The problem here being that Scofield is a much better actor than Rylance. (Yes, I know Rylance always gives a great performance. Trouble is, it's always the SAME performance.) And Anton Lesser, as More, still manages to give his character enough humanity to make him seem more human than Cromwell. Then look at what actual Tudor historians have to say about Mantel's Cromwell. It's not pretty. He was Henry's hatchet man, with little more convictions than that he should stay Henry's hatchet man.

[@tomcervo]

@@andrewg.carvill4596 And the truth. Most modern Tudor historians dread the class when he comes up, and all the Wolf Hall fans have to get their fantasies crushed.

[@andrewg.carvill4596]

@duckbizniz663 "The truth is whatever serves your purpose". That's almost the opposite of what truth means, inasmuch as truthfulness necessitates being able to acknowledge realities that do not "serve your purpose".

[@VinylcoteYT]

jesus it’s crazy to think i’m related to this man

[@ohmightywez]

Richard Rich or Thomas More?

[@VinylcoteYT]

@@ohmightywez richard rich. after reading as much as i have, i can’t imagine that i’m related through consensual means 😅 still cool that i’m related to one of the most infamous figures in British history

[@johnneri3646]

4

[@perfectsplit5515]

Richard Rich Joe Biden

[@mady5436]

and to think I’m related to him..

[@zeusffyt9537]

3 :)

[@joemamajoestar8141]

2

[@mohammedhashim4225]

1

[@hiddenfromhistory100]

This is the most absurdly slanted movie ever produced, trying to make Thomas More appear saintly and humanitarian: the same man who said, "The smell of a heretic's burning flesh is sweet in God's nostrils". He not only destroyed anyone owning a Bible but ran his own interrogation and prison in the basement of his home in Chelsea. More was a murderous religious fanatic whom the Vatican-sponsored film industry depict as "christ like". Meanwhile, in this film reformers like Thomas Cromwell are made to seem piggish and nasty. A disgusting distortion of history.

[@thatonefrenchguy9109]

womp womp, I smell cope

[@Illoxendre]

Cry about it