A Man for All Seasons - An Inquiry

A scene from the 1966 movie "A Man for All Seasons". Thomas More has been imprisoned for refusing to sign the Act of Succession recognizing Anny Boleyn's offspring as the legal heirs to the throne of England. Here he has been called before Secretary Cromwell, the Duke of Norfolk, and a bishop from the new Church of England. They try to get him to sign the Act, whether by threat or reason (Cromwell and the bishop) or by plea to friendship (Norfolk). More refuses to sign.

[@bigbob1699]

When talking is elevated to a high art form .

[@publiushamilton4030]

Imagine that. Not an f-bomb or n-word in sight / earshot. Some current Hollywood scribes (including one highly overrated one in particular--I'm thinking of you, Q.T.) could learn a thing or two from watching this film.

[@jnagarya519]

It is first in the WRITING, by Robert Bolt. Also did "Lawrence of Arabia". Paul Scofield knew how to make language live.

[@gemmeliusgrammaticus2509]

It’s called rhetoric.

[@johnbryant6572]

Brilliant isent it using a voice has an amazing power.

[@aegontargaryen9322]

Paul Schofield gave one of the best performances of all time in this production

[@gardenvape4021]

here, here…

[@bigbob1699]

This is what owning the stage looks like .

[@alexeton]

The screenplay and acting in this movie is breathtaking,in my humble opinion the best in the history of cinema.

[@robmaddison8645]

'Then I am not threatened'. Wow, the calm conviction which he spoke that line with brought a lump to my throat. The real hero's are moral men with true hearts.

[@rickymaroo253]

Thomas More had torture devices brought to his own home so that he could personally rack people whom he suspected of being protestant. Not particularly moral behaviour..

[@stravinsky1300]

Sir Thomas More knows being calm is to his advantage. Having been a judge himself, he knows fully well what Cromwell is doing: trying to control the pace of the interrogation and fire pointed questions at him rapidly, to get him to make a slip that can be used against him. More knows his best defense against that is to be calm and collected. He also knows that while Cromwell may speak quickly, he can't control when (or if) More will answer, so More takes deliberate pauses to reduce the tension and choose his words with care.

[@LordGreystoke]

What does it matter?? More lost his head anyway, Yippee, he stayed true to his conscience and it cost him his life. Did the rest of Henry's staff ultimately give a damn?

[@michaelbayer5094]

@@LordGreystoke Of course, it mattered. It is why we in the English-speaking world have a right to a jury trial, the right against self-incrimination, the right to remain silent, and why a conviction requires proof of our state of mind to be found guilty. As this scene shows, some men (Cromwell and Rich) will do anything to serve the King's interest, even it means violating the conscience of the accused (the Archbishop), while others will seek to placate the king in order to maintain their position (the Duke). Either way the result is depotism and tyranny. More's principled stand preserved the rule of law and constitutional government for later generations. Without More losing his head in this unjust manner, England could have reverted to absolute monarchy. It would take nearly a century but the English Civil War would establish Parliamentary supremacy when the English king would lose his head. Maybe what you fail to grasp is that sometimes preserving liberty requires self-sacrifice even martyrdom.

[@andrerosa6470]

​Thomas More também executou imensos inocentes.

[@misha17]

michaelbayer5094: 1. "As this scene shows, some men (Cromwell and Rich) will do anything to serve the King's interest, ..." - and as is mentioned in the movie's epilogue, despite his actions, Cromwell eventually met the same date as Moore when ~he~ fell out favor with the King. 2. "It would take nearly a century but the English Civil War would establish Parliamentary supremacy when the English king would lose his head. " - and the monarch at the time, Charles I, was beheaded when he and his forces were defeated by the army led by Oliver Cromwell, Thomas Cromwell's nephew.

[@misha17]

* ... met the same fate ...

[@TheRjb2010]

“Some men think the Earth is round, others think it flat; it is a matter capable of question. But if it is flat, will the King's command make it round? And if it is round, will the King's command flatten it? No, I will not sign.”

[@kevinhockersmith8149]

Tell the President that!

[@55Quirll]

Tell Mark Sargent that as well 👍

[@jessiejames7492]

seems like we are going through this now with pondering on whether the covid vaccine is safe or not. those in charge arent giving us answers as much as we need to know except take it and you will be protected. false promise . we are still getting it and spreadingit. but like sir thomas more we still have no choice not to take it . do or die

[@gardenvape4021]

…this is powerful stuff, for sure 👌

[@misha17]

And on the flip side, the Catholic Church was on the side of the "baddies" when its clerics forced Galileo to recant his statement that the Earth revolved around the Sun. Galileo was said to mutter after signing the recantation, "And yet, it (the Earth) moves."

[@kaylarose1081]

"And when you are sent to heaven for doing your conscience and I am sent to hell for not doing mine, would you come with me -- for fellowship?"

[@PeterT-i1w]

he was sent to hell for burning people alive, not because of his conscience

[@johnfisher247]

A conscience can be malformed and so a following conscience is not enough. One has a duty to form and inform a moral conscience. So many today have malformed consciences.

[@frank2453]

​@@johnfisher247 Well that's not entirely it. Had you followed your conscience your entire life, but still preformed abominable acts you would be in danger. Not for following your conscience, but for not fulfilling your duty of study to inform your conscience. We have a specific duty to learn and absorb the teachings of God in order to form a good conscience.

[@rnhmbover63]

@@PeterT-i1wHow gracious of God to give St Peter a break at the gates and replace him with a keyboard warrior

[@PeterT-i1w]

@@rnhmbover63 I see you are not a "facts and logic" kinda guy

[@martinbamba8681]

The silence of Thomas More speaks more

[@jessiejames7492]

the silence was deafening

[@fporretto]

The Robert Bolt play of *_A Man for All Seasons_* is one of the greatest works of its kind -- and it was the basis for this production. It's been my favorite movie ever since I first saw it.

[@55Quirll]

The remake with Charlton Heston was more of a comedy than a drama as I remember it.

[@kenoliver8913]

Yes, and of course Paul Scofield reprised his stage performance for this film, which rightly won him an Oscar.

[@AllenbysEyes]

This is my favorite scene of the movie. I performed it for several Forensics speech competitions (though I had to reduce my role to More, Cromwell and Norfolk). Some of the best dialogue ever written for any movie/play ever, and needless to say, great acting all around.

[@55Quirll]

My favorite is 'Give the Devil Benefit of Law for my own safety'

[@frankg3rd1]

I wish the this movie were celebrated by the cable networks and scheduled to be aired often. " A Man for All Seasons" and the movie " Shane " to me are both visually and verbally my favorite of all time. Both were shown to me in the 3rd grade in 1976.....just amazing films.

[@ohmightywez]

Catholic school? Once a month our nuns would walk us all to the church and we would watch a movie. Of course there were the saint movies, like this, and Becket and Song of Bernadette. But we also saw 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Pollyanna, The Voyages of Sinbad and dozens of others that I love to this day.

[@frankg3rd1]

@@ohmightywez Lol ! Yes...Catholic School ! Amazing that they were confident that these films would be enjoyed by 3rd graders lol !

[@thibaud1832]

3:53 love this moment when the movie predicts the Internet: More makes an argument and the Archbishop immediately replies by interpreting what More said as the exact opposite of what More just said.

[@dseanmat]

Thank you for posting this scene, which is a flawless example of great writing, directing, and acting!

[@integral]

Jesus. The incredible talent in that room, working with such a brilliant script. Beyond words.

[@jackbuckley7816]

Not being allowed books while imprisoned, wow. I certainly feel his pain!

[@rsr789]

No internet either, proof that there is no god! 🤪

[@graytonw5238]

Every time I watch this scene I think, "Don't ask about the books! Don't ask about the books!" It was one of the things that helped him keep his strength and fortitude, but even that was taken away from him.

[@55Quirll]

I would have asked the Secretary - Even the word of God? You would deprive me of the word of God for guidance and comfort?

[@JaimeGirl]

A master class in eloquence both on page and spoken word- just brilliant

[@Growthpursuit-nn6ht]

A man of principles though passes away but his/her soul remains alive forever.

[@barriolimbas]

All souls are forever. But the soul of the man of principles, is rewarded with everlasting glory and happiness.

[@OscarDeltaSierra]

A.K.A: What happens when you vainly try to trick a trained attorney and highly-experienced judge into accidentally incriminating himself.

[@AllenbysEyes]

I performed this scene for a Forensics Speech Competition senior year of high school. Did pretty well too. Thanks for uploading this, it's complete brilliance in writing/acting and brings back a lot of great memories.

[@servicekid7453]

These are terrors for children Master Secretary, not for me. What a badass Sir Thomas Moore was.... 😮

[@peterrollinson-lorimer]

Brilliant screenplay by Robert Bolt, CBE. When words such as these are given to actors such as those, it is no wonder at the Masterpiece that this is.

[@milosbez]

"Thank you thomas, ive been trying to make that clear to his grace for quite some time"- hilarious!

[@pbrazor50]

I love the look on Cromwell's face when Norfolk says, "I don't know whether the marriage was lawful or not, . . ."

[@jimstanga6390]

That was almost a ‘Monty Python’ moment…”Oh, yes, I suppose you’re right!”

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@pbrazor50 Norfolk's statement is bordering on treasonable - expressing doubt about the marriage.

[@TruthLivesNow]

@@stevekaczynski3793 ...come for fellowship sake...

[@Gunleaver]

I love how Rich is in the background just so they have someone in the room whose name is not "Thomas."

[@patty1094]

HAHA... excellent observation. Too funny. 😄

[@Milordvega]

BRILLIANT. BRILLIANT DIALOGUE.

[@GeraldWilson-pe7dn]

The story of St. Thomas More is truly astounding because it about a man who understood that one's immortal soul has an eternal destiny based upon what he must choose in this life, that is for good or evil. Thomas More refused to sign the Oath of Supremacy of his King because to do so would be to give his approval to King Henry as head of the Anglican Church of England after the break with the Pope in Rome. Thomas More was threatened, imprisoned, and even his own family pleaded with him to change his mind but Thomas More knew that to do what was morally right is all that mattered. If only in this day our modern leaders and politicians would follow the same way that St. Thomas More did!! Pray for us St. Thomas More you truly are a man for all seasons!! 🙏

[@Charles-ij1ow]

Dam this is fire, surprised it's not more popular.

[@bradfordmiller4287]

Consider mankind.

[@andrewg.carvill4596]

It's disturbingly challenging: In what evils might I be acquiescing, because 'everyone accepts it' ?

[@jimstanga6390]

It’s interesting to note that the actors are of such stature that John Hurt is a background character…of course, this was early in his career…

[@brontewcat]

Thank you, I was trying to think who the actor playing Rich was.

[@daveybalmer]

If only we could have this precision of language from all of our governmental officials instead of the often empty rhetoric now relentlessly and mercilessly inflicted....

[@55Quirll]

It takes good education to be able to think this well. The US Education has gone down hill since the Government took it over

[@Mourtzouphlos240]

@@55Quirll I take it you both do not remember George W Bush and do not know that until he ran for public office, had never set foot in a public school.

[@Mourtzouphlos240]

Liberal Democracies have always existed upon empty rhetoric. A slave owning rapist who did not see Native Americans as people and wasn't elected by any modern definition of "the people" said "all men are created equal."

[@55Quirll]

@@Mourtzouphlos240 I remember that idiot, surprised he was elected twice and could put two sentences together 👍

[@mortalclown3812]

I'm not sure I'd have his guts. Not sure at all. It's one thing to admire him, quite another to step into his brave shoes.

[@PangurBan-l1s]

I am not unsure , I would sign it in a heartbeat.

[@mattb9310]

They should have asked More about modifying / rewriting the Act, in order to find out which part he was opposed to. Or at least focus on this aspect for a while longer. I doubt it would have worked though

[@RobertClolery]

This never gets old!!

[@transonicbuoy1]

The voice is a wonder, because it isn`t public school. It isn`t sloane ranger, it isn`t BBC, it isn`t posh, it`s not even what folk would call classical. Unique and much missed.

[@teamrecon2685]

Great acting Mr Scofield. For more examples, watch The Train with Burt Lancaster and Paul Scofield in the lead roles.

[@TheSnowballEarth]

Thumbs up if this film is in your personal Top Ten!

[@bradfordmiller4287]

As far as I'm concerned, it's the greatest movie ever made. Great story, so witty, great acting on the part of everyone in it, great costumes - just a magnificent work of art.

[@yvonneplant9434]

​@@bradfordmiller4287Without Scofield it would be so so...

[@bradfordmiller4287]

@@yvonneplant9434 - Can't disagree with you there. Much as I admire Charton Heston, I won't waste my time on his remake. But then, I was specifically commenting on this movie. Ian Tyson has written some great songs, but for me, the arrangement of "Four Strong Winds" by Neil Young is the best, as is Gordon Lightfoot's cover of "Red Velvet".

[@tomservo5347]

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

[@sparkyrunner4283]

Or a bunch of opotunistic judges and government officials that would sell their mothers into prostitution for some recognition !!!!

[@prospero4183]

Rich is a slimey, I love an actor who can play the cowardly worm.

[@baraxor]

The historic Richard Rich, sharing a name with a comic book character, is really a true life comic book villain. He betrayed practically everyone who ever placed confidence in him, one after the other.

[@erpollock]

He played Caligula in I, Claudius.

[@spasjt]

OH JUSTICE IS WHAT YOU'RE THREATENED WITH!!!!!!! Then I'm not threatened....... LOL!!!!! Brilliant!!!!!

[@slappy8941]

Your and you're are different words with different meanings.

[@spasjt]

@@slappy8941 It sure is. 👍

[@Pa-tk1dx]

Justice is what you are threatened with. Then I am not threatened. What a line!!!!

[@larryparis925]

Elites typically suffer at the hands of other elites.

[@akosigundam]

Wow, all three Thomases together!!!

[@Mpshfromlowell64]

Four, actually.... Cranmer, Cromwell, More, and Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk. More often addresses his friend the Duke as “Howard”.....

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Exceptionally common name at the time, mainly because of Thomas Becket. Resenting his defiance of an earlier king, Henry VIII later ordered Becket's tomb in Canterbury to be demolished and Becket's remains destroyed.

[@everettamador9885]

Cromwell just wanted to make Moore's life a living hell....Cause he was wielding power...

[@newperve]

It's more than that, Crime may be powerful but he's vulnerable. Of the previous 2 chancellors one was about to be sent to the tower when he died and the other is in the tower. If things endded badly he could face the axe (spoilers he did). The King was getting impatient.

[@patty1094]

"More"....not Moore

[@eugeneclasby518]

Cromwell was himself executed just 5 years after More. Ironic, no?

[@stevekaczynski3793]

The tension between Cromwell and Norfolk is apparent.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

The courtier standing in the doorway to the chamber with a dance going on had tried earlier in the film to interest More in supporting him in a case, and was rebuffed.

[@emameyer]

"some men think the earth is round, some other think it's flat" sadly, this is still true today...

[@michaelmckay3179]

This man, Thomas more, sought every legal avenue to avoid his execution, but in the end, man's law is not.long enough for us to keep.within Gods. Thus at the end of all our lives we must choose God's law over mans

[@55Quirll]

Unfortunately, like he said, if we break God's law than God should arrest us, but with man's law it is left to man and his faculities for his protection 👍

[@LivingWatersUtube]

Confer Thomas More's conversation with Roper about the necessity of human laws, "England is planted thick with them", in this world.

[@bradfordmiller4287]

I look at it as a classical tragedy. More's downfall was that he believed that the law would save him. I'd have whispered in his ear: "If the powers that be want to get you, they will - damn Magna Carta and the King's Coronation Oath." I would have advised him simply to attend the wedding, not giving it his blessing, but simply attending it as the King's friend. As he said at his trial: "The world must construe according to it's wits." If people wanted to believe that by attending the wedding he was giving iy his blessing, so be it, but it wouldn't be true.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@bradfordmiller4287 I don't know that he believed the law would save him - after all, swearing to the act was the law. At the same time I don't think he was courting martyrdom. People tried to stay within the law while following their religious beliefs - for example, in the 17th century Catholics in London often queued up to attend mass in foreign embassies of Catholic states. As foreign territory mass could be celebrated in them, while illegal in England itself. It was all a very narrow tightrope.

[@bradfordmiller4287]

@@stevekaczynski3793 - On the contrary, not only in this scene but throughout the movie More states his case that he has done nothing for which he can be harmed. His legal stance is impeccable, right up until the end. The only grounds for them condemning him is the perjury of Richard Rich and the sham of a trial. As a brilliant attorney, he believed that the law would protect hin, and it was his downfall.

[@PInk77W1]

St Thomas More, pray for us

[@LordTalax]

Are you incapable of praying to the invisible sky man?

[@DMCK2000]

@@LordTalax pls leave athcuck

[@dwightschrute900]

Saint Thomas more, pray for us!

[@davidpnewton]

Whilst More was murdered and indeed martyred, that sort of language is the kind of thing that prompted the reformation and shows the very real problems with the church of the period and its doctrinal descendent. In Christian theology Jesus is the intermediary and no other is needed. Thomas More is dead. No one who is dead can "pray for us" any more than anyone who has not yet been born can "pray for us". If you want someone to pray for you then ask a living person to do so. Otherwise pray yourself. The dead cannot pray for you. You cannot pray for the dead and have it be anything but empty, useless words. Once you're dead your fate is determined. There is no such thing as purgatory in correct Christian theology. That is simply a heretical invention of Medieval individuals who forgot sola scriptura. Purgatory, indulgences, worship of idols in reliquaries and worship of idols as statues carried around in parades were the biggest things that triggered the reformation.

[@PInk77W1]

@@davidpnewton Jesus literally picked 12 men to be intermediaries

[@plharn]

@richo61 Well this is a movie based on a play. It is, of course, going to have a protagonist and be told from a character's perspective--hardly propaganda. It is also misleading to say he executed people for reading the bible in English. His issues were with what he saw as inaccurate translations with the Tyndale Bible. As Lord Chancellor there were six heretics put to death, but this was hardly an uncommon practice for heresy at the time for Protestants or Catholics. Think Calvin.

[@nickmedley4749]

It’s strange how some still think that St. Thomas More was a bad man. He was truly a saintly man.

[@kevinyin2663]

His enthusiasm for the murder of English Protestants does not strike me as saintly

[@nickmedley4749]

@@kevinyin2663 He did interrogate multiple Protestants in his home, but he never tortured them or was enthusiastic about the murder of Protestants. It was an unfounded claim against him that there is no evidence for. If he had, the Anglican Church would have never declared him a saint in the 1980s.

[@eoinMB3949]

It doesn't surprise me that there's a campaign to muddy his name. The devil hates the saints and of course those who belong to him will do whatever they can to discredit st. Thomas

[@santijauregui459]

@@kevinyin2663the Protestants killed Catholics with glee as well wheresoever they had the power to do so. Such were the times.

[@DanBeech-ht7sw]

Who had Christians killed for reading their Bibles

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

3:40 Although it's a great response, I'm surprised More would admit that it's his conscience that's preventing him from signing the Act of Succession. And I'm equally surprised that Cromwell didn't make anything of it.

[@Turinos92]

I think the fact that he placed Norfolk in heaven and he not, threw Cromwell off. Also, he doesn't explicitly say that it is his conscience that is prohibiting him, but more a retort at Norfolk's suggestion to go along with an act, regardless of the moral implications, for the sake of fellowship in the act; using a bit of an extreme example to prove the point.

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

@@Turinos92 More *specifically* says that if he swore to the Act he would not be following his conscience.

[@Turinos92]

@@ppuh6tfrz646 No, he implies that. The film informs us that its an important legal distinction, exemplified when Cromwell catches that More has an objection (through More's use of the word objection, similar to the use of the word conscience in this situation), Norfolk correctly assumes that More does, and More replies that they need more than assumption for why he won't sign; he needs to say it clearly and directly so that there cannot be any doubt that he has an objection. This is especially important given the seriousness of the penalty for objecting, and More's position as Chancellor. You are indeed correct that he views it as an issue of conscience, but Cromwell cannot assume anything, no matter how closely More's language flirts with outright objection.

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

@@Turinos92 No. More says in response to a request that he swear to the Act that he will not be doing his conscience. He specifically says that. You don't know what you're talking about. I'm not wasting any more time discussing this as you're denying something that is clearly there onscreen.

[@Bersztipflag]

@@ppuh6tfrz646 No, More never says that if he swears to the Act he would go against his consciensce. What he says is that if he does not follow his conscience he will go to hell, unlike Norfolk who in following his conscience will go to heaven. As is clearly explained by Turinos92. I perfectly follow what you are talking about, and will not waste any more time arguing with someone going against clear evidence.

[@Eshayzbra96]

The acting and dialogue is suburb

[@ianmangham4570]

Awesome film 🎥

[@francisconsole3892]

All the sycophants surrounding a monstrous excuse for a king. Nothing new under the sun.

[@bigbob1699]

Oh don't you just hate it when the great ones make it look so easy .

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

Well, that was edifying - now, back to TikTok and ‘’The Kardashians”marathon...

[@rupertcordeux6479]

I wonder if that short dance tune has a name. I would love to hear it properly.

[@danielgorrell4299]

I love Thomas so much!

[@СофияЛем]

Me too

[@joehopper7373]

And here, gentlemen, we see the patron saint of politicians doing good service to his position.

[@Smokeslikeachimney]

Beauty and grace

[@jessiejames7492]

this particular scene brings mind sir humphrey on YES MINISTER. hIS long monologues. so funny

[@narmale]

Sir Humphrey: Prime Minister, I must express in the strongest possible terms my profound opposition to the newly instituted practice which imposes severe and intolerable restrictions on the ingress and egress of senior members of the hierarchy and will, in all probability, should the current deplorable innovation be perpetuated, precipitate a progressive constriction of the channels of communication, culminating in a condition of organisational atrophy and administrative paralysis, which will render effectively impossible the coherent and co-ordinated discharge of the function of government within Her Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland! Hacker: You mean you've lost your key? such a great series

[@jacquidempsey4928]

God Bless you St Thomas Moore 🙏

[@ijunkie]

Can't be outwitted. Don't even try

[@williamdowney8600]

Why is the text not as is being spoken? It is an insult to the conversation taking place….

[@erpollock]

Sign in the name of fellowship! Smarmy.

[@renevalice3056]

“ I have not a window into a man’s conscience to condemn..” little snippy way to get back at the Church and the clergy at hotheaded times 😆

[@geertdecoster5301]

Norfolk should have said, yes, I'll keep you company there too

[@cronoros]

The 3 council members are all called Thomas and 3 of the 4 judges in his real life trial were also called Thomas

[@mercian7]

Any Person that wishes to vote should watch this Film

[@michaellazzeri2069]

A CLASSIC FILM--------AND THOUGH IT IS BRITISH, THE STORY & MEANING ARE UNIVERSAL. -----------MJL, 78 Y/O

[@JDimitrius433]

2:38 the LAW requires that you COOPERATE with the investigation! they want to understand, help them, all else is detrimental to the state

[@NearVSMello]

@richo61 No one from this time was cuddly. When judging the character of a historical figure it is unfair not to consider the times he was brought up in - whether or not brutality and murder was socially commonplace.

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

Cardinal Wolsey was fat and cuddly.

[@patty1094]

@@ppuh6tfrz646 Orson Welles was fat, but not cuddly

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

@@patty1094 I was being kind.

[@patty1094]

@@ppuh6tfrz646 😆

[@rsinclair6560]

The individual vs the State. You have the RIGHT to remain silent.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Not in that era. You also had no right to a defence lawyer although More was a lawyer and so could defend himself. You could refuse to plead, but that could result in having weights placed on your chest until you pled or were crushed to death.

[@avemaria7147]

Es una bellísima película solo que m gustaría la traducirán en español felicidades x compartirla gracias

[@richardwhitehouse2514]

What's the background music for?

[@Gorboduc]

Rumpole is so much nicer when he's representing the defense.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

The actor played an obnoxious medical officer who is a prosecution witness in "King And Country", a film made a few years earlier.

[@PopeLando]

Pity Richard Rich was there to spoil the party. Otherwise everybody in the room was named Thomas. More, Norfolk, Cromwell and Cranmer.

[@ijunkie]

At the end "the king's conscience" is a euphemism for the Lord Chancellor, i.e. Sir Thomas More.

[@freyasslain2203]

Thomas More was executed in 1535 . And now , it is 2024 , Thomas More is more beloved today , than ever before That screams volumes.

[@Narrowgaugefilms]

We keep hearing about "Freedom of Speech": -here is "Freedom of Silence"!

[@richardwhitehouse2514]

We could do without the background music

[@josephmcquillen6840]

Will you come with me for fellowship?

[@josepsolemir3365]

Saint Thomas more, pray for us!

[@akosigundam]

@kristina919: Good lord, no! What's with these 16th century Englishmen and their fixation for the name "Thomas"?

[@stevekaczynski3793]

It was a popular name in England because of Thomas Becket. However Henry VIII disliked the fact that Becket had defied the king of his day and arranged for Becket's bones to be dug up and shot from a cannon.

[@Grace-hc6dn]

Saint Thomas More 🙏for us.

[@avemaria7147]

Hola México estraudinaria película pero en México no todos sabemos inglés nos gustaría doblada al español ya que es una vida ejemplar para padecer x nuestra patria mexicana y como hijos de Dios gracias x subir el vídeo

[@LordTalax]

Burrito

[@tomdumb6937]

The Priest in red was the white guardian in Dr Who...

[@deezmemes126]

Nice!

[@dwightschrute900]

It’s the archbishop

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Cranmer had Lutheran tendencies but Henry never went full Protestant and Cranmer had to navigate around that. After Henry's death Cranmer was able to be among the leaders of the Protestant Reformation in England because the young Edward VI and more important, his advisers were inclined that way, but when Mary came to the throne an attempt was made to return to Catholicism and Cranmer was executed.

[@bartsanders1553]

And Cromwell lived happily ever after, serving the King to a very old age and being held in high esteem by Henry till the day he died.

[@khalidcabrero6204]

Cromwell was executed only five years later. It was Richard Rich who lived to a ripe old age.

[@bartsanders1553]

@@khalidcabrero6204 Dude! Spoilers!😂

[@HowardJohnstone]

Rumpole is irritated by Caligula. Franz von Waldheim retires.

[@ewancummins4975]

No educated person in Christendom thought the Earth was flat. But we can forgive anachronisms in such fine writing.

[@ewancummins4975]

@Doc Adam Does the OT refer to the Earth as a sphere? I can't recall anything like that, but I hardly look to the OT for such information, so I could easily have missed it. I was referring instead to Hellenistic science. Knowledge of the Earth's basic shape was never lost once it became the standard model.

[@5quepasa]

Then its a good thing he didn't say "educated," huh? I don't see this as an anachronism.

[@franceleeparis37]

First mistake Thomas made... by stating he had books...

[@55Quirll]

I don't think it was a mistake, he was trying to see what Cromwell would do, when he denied him to see his family he got his answer. He would do anything to convict Thomas.

[@franceleeparis37]

@@55Quirll I doubt it… Cromwell was being outclassed at every turn because Thomas had a mind like a razor.. this could only be attributed to him keeping himself updated.. we do not know what books Thomas was reading, but I am pretty sure it would have been law books.. Cromwell wanted to destroy Thomas will to live.. that’s my take anyway… 😏

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@franceleeparis37 More wrote a book in the Tower. He seems to have had at least some access to pen and paper.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Cromwell is frustrated by his resistance, and it is an opportunity to make More's prison conditions harsher, even if inflicting torture is impossible.

[@marcuscorey5968]

More was a sanctimonious prig.

[@ngqabuthomafu6517]

"so weigh a doubt against a certainty and sign"? What does that mean what is he saying?

[@pbrazor50]

He is comparing Moore's supposed doubts causing him not to sign the oath, with his definite and certain loyalty Moore owes to his King, and arguing that the certain duty of loyalty outweighs Moore's doubts. Therefore he argues that Moore should decide the matter based on the one certainty -- that Moore has a duty to be loyal to the KIng and sign the oath. It is actually a very subtle argument.

[@NYCZ31]

Imagine a scale where one's doubt is on one plate while certainty is on the other plate. "Certainty would certainly outweigh doubt," is what the bishop is suggesting.

[@ngqabuthomafu6517]

@@pbrazor50 tHank you

[@ngqabuthomafu6517]

@@NYCZ31 Thank you

[@ngqabuthomafu6517]

@@NYCZ31 thank you

[@zacharycat603]

More at one point uses an outdated analogy - surely no educated person in his day still thought the earth could be flat (if educated people ever believed that).

[@5quepasa]

Umm... tons of educated people believed that. The heliocentric system and the nature of our world as a globe did not always have wide acceptance, though it was a theory that many scientists had long before Galileo (he just popularized it, and had the tools to better demonstrate it); however, astronomy is not the only branch of science, and there were and possibly are countless people whose educations, perhaps focused on philosophy or biology, never showed them the roundness of the earth. And if we went back to the 15th and 16th century, when Thomas lived (pre-Galileo, mind you), some would say that the earth is flat and some would say it's round.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@5quepasa I don't think educated people did, but they were less than 10% of the population.

[@AllenbysEyes]

@AllenbysEyes Didn't realize I'd already commented on this. LOL

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

LOL...

[@PInk77W1]

@rrdab1 u r completely mistaken. as usual. Notice how u didnt mention any law he broke. ST Thomas More, patron of politicians, pray for us. FYI i have his picture on my wall at home. peace

[@LordTalax]

What was that awkwardness at 1:21?

[@jamespowell5259]

Because the Duke of Norfolk and More were not only fellow courtiers, they had been close friends. Calling the prisoner by his first name wouldn't have sat well with Cromwell and the prosecution, who show him no favour whatever and are determined for him to confess. You'll hear how everyone else addresses him by his courtesy title "Sir Thomas", but only Howard drops the "Sir".

[@onastick2411]

The Tyrant Tudor.

[@larky368]

Acting? Plot?? Dialogue??? What kind of a movie is this anyways?

[@dannyhmmcup]

Its no Transformers, that much I do know.

[@stgildas1]

Basic Law. Is all.