BECKET: The Best Scene

The most compelling and gripping scene of the movie.
it shows the authority of truth and spirituality over others.
it stirs yet calms your soul.
and its the best performance of Burton as an actor,greatly catalysed by Peter O'Toole.
just watch the movie Becket(1964, Paramount Pictures).

[@nxs0152]

"Becket, is the only intelligent man in my kingdom, and he's against me! It's too funny."

[@kylesafford9219]

Great performances and a great film. Both men deserved oscars in their lifetime

[@silviageorge7600]

ABSOLUTELY !

[@mikefitzpatrick1213]

Then move into the 20th century and you get Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, among others. Two of the greatest for sure.

[@donquixotedelamancha58]

This whole movie was like a face-off between two of the greatest actors ever

[@mnkalyaan50]

You can say that again David, Iy indeed was,,,

[@davidevans3227]

..i think there's a bit when the two meet on a beach.. classic stuff..

[@tamarachitarians113]

I saw Richard Burton outside Royal Albert Hall, actually stood next to him waiting for a friend. I saw Peter O'Toole at the Covent Garden in London. Two great British actors.

[@pillardelaney4726]

@@tamarachitarians113 I had the privilege of meeting Peter O'toole in Dublin many years ago.RIP.

[@harryc1971]

I once read that Burton would have gotten an Oscar for this, except for his dalliances with numerous studio executives wives and girlfriends when he first went to Hollywood - not that the award counts that much today but they should do retroactive awards for overlooked and outstanding acting.

[@clevelandbrown5709]

Something about silence in older films that is so comforting. No eerie score in the background, or some needless panning shot to keep dimwits paying attention.

[@timirish2563]

We had actors then.

[@mikep9913]

So true. I’ve wondered what makes modern films so dull and the “noise” is certainly part of it.

[@marcfleischmann9911]

We’ll played indeed! What acting- the entire film is a clinic in how to perform.

[@catherinelw9365]

@@mikep9913 Very true. I can't stand the constant noise, action and chaos of modern films.

[@oceanofoil]

They were more realistic. Long pauses in dialogue and minutes without noise are truer reflections of reality than modern cinema.

[@Paul_Om]

This is indeed the best scene in the whole movie. "Well played, Thomas!"

[@lilliedoubleyou3865]

To go from playing an innocent man maligned by a king (BECKET) to - one year later - playing a king who maligns many innocent people (ANNE OF THE THOUSAND DAYS) - really shows Burton's range. Great performance.

[@emmaa245]

I love this movie. My best part is when the king is begging for someone to rid him of that man...I believe that Peter O' Toole should have got Oscar that year ❤❤❤❤

[@oOArtistgirlOo]

Awe, it didn't show the part where he says, "The only other intelligent man in England and he's AGAINST me!" I love these two. XD

[@LastlyMore]

What a voice. Amazing.

[@82easyrider]

Burton owned every second of that scene. Truly one of the best scenes in the film. I never expected what were to come next. It literally stopped me from breathing until he was done. Brilliant indeed!

[@SSArcher11]

"sheath thy sword lest you impale your soul upon it" (not the exact words)

[@moviemonk1000]

There are many compelling scenes in this great Epic. Now that O' Toole is gone we can relish great screen acting The Scene where they meet on the beach is my favorite ending in the King saying " I,m cold" and then says to Becket " You never loved me Thomas" Becket says " As far as I could love .. I did " A Great Peter Glenville film is never dated but just works and works and is eternal

[@lawrencebittke8478]

I was in Canterbury Cathedral in 1986 and saw the site where Thomas a Beckett was slain by four knights (sent by King Henry II or a tragic accident?). I thought of this movie while I was at the altar.

[@robertwilliamson6121]

Where there any dark blood stains on the stones?

[@lancedukel3436]

@@robertwilliamson6121 yawn.

[@ThisNameWasTaken0]

henry was a mad man, but he wasnt cruel. if you think about it, who in nobility has the most to lose when one of their own gets thrown out of society? the richest nobles, the strongest nobles, and the wickedest nobles. his barons sought to take out the archbishop whose became absolutely irrational and unpredictable to their eyes. I wish kings wrote journals cause I'd really want to know how a person in that situation might've felt

[@pierremsquared]

It also shows what a great actor Richard Burton was! From Thomas Beckett in "Beckett" to O'Brien in "1984". What a range!!!!

[@tedthesailor172]

Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton - what a team...!

[@mikefitzpatrick1213]

Some of the best.

[@angloaust1575]

Both great boozers!

[@MariaPerez-gb6tf]

Wonderful móvie about a great Saint. And we can watch a talent duel among Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole. It's a pity that the magnificent actors' age is finished.

[@janel342]

And Daniel Day Lewis? There’s greatness for You .

[@edwardlecore141]

Now that is how you pull rank.

[@saxon954]

Becket, The Lion in Winter, A Man For All Seasons, Cromwell. Some of the finest acting ever to come to the cinema screen. Why do we have to put up with the computer generated dross that is foisted upon us by the studios now. It is very insulting.

[@rsramaswamy5292]

True. Again and again, the Kings' authority was flouted by the barons and the clergy. Apparently, the Clergy should have the final say, for they were the voice of God. But were they so really? Their power simply rested on the religious faith of the poor people and not always because of their character and scholarship. That is not to say that all the clergy were corrupt, There is no ideal system. We had noble rulers and criminals in kings' robes. We had brave and kind barons and mere hooligans and tyrants. We had enterprising commoners, the bourgeois . They had little power but the best among them, could amass much wealth, though always at the mercy of kings, clergy and nobles!.

[@solentbum]

CGI is one of the main reason that I no longer bother with cinema.

[@odysseusrex5908]

Because, sadly, that is what puts the most butts in the seats and the most money in the box offices.

[@adadumitrescu412]

Exeptional actors and expectational script. Wonderful movies will probably never see.

[@tedthesailor172]

You don;t have to. Nobody forces you to watch it.

[@Fubarfighter]

We rue the banality that Hollywood has become enamored of in these days of ascendant "special effects." This was true cinematic greatness.

[@adelECDW]

You whinny assholes bitch about "movies these days" when you are the ones who mostly watch these movies and support them. Instead go watch some actually good cinema being made today. Just because you dont know about them doesnt mean they dont exist. Start with the A24 films and go from there.

[@paulaguenon9298]

I am afraid a generation has grown up without the arts, storytelling, acting-etc. Everything is "special effects" and technology.

[@IveGotToast]

@@adelECDW Exactly. Boomers spend so much time criticizing modern culture without ever familiarizing themselves with it.

[@Dragblacker]

@@adelECDW A24 is your idea of good filmaking?

[@johnjackson7045]

@@Dragblacker well you havent seen b movies.i a 60 ear old man and i like both old a new movies.i stick with the new ones because some of the old ones are dated.B films from back then were terrible.

[@notamused3715]

The modern West needs saints like Thomas A Beckett! St Thomas A Beckett,pray for us!

[@JF-bc2lw]

Ora pro nobis!

[@subasurf]

Imagine believing in prayer 😆

[@ulutiu]

yes, more traitors who usurp secular power

[@notamused3715]

@@subasurf Various studies commissioned by police forces in England have suggested that intense community prayer actually has the effect of lowering crime rates. Look it up for yourself and open your mind! There's no one so foolish as one who thinks he knows it all and sure, you don't think you know it all, sure you don't ?

[@bavariancarenthusiast2722]

@@notamused3715 really ? do you have sources for it?

[@mbluetraining]

Simply the greatest scene in British Cinema History! I have watched it countless times! Hopefully, I will watch it again and again!

[@pikiwiki]

"well played Thomas!" hahaha. Quite interesting

[@mbluetraining]

What an absolutely fantastic film! So underrated! A true 'Classic'! That they could ever make such films in the current paradigm!

[@gochem3013]

After that... "I'm surrounded by fools! Becket is the only intelligent man in my Kingdom and he's against me!"

[@juanmonge8]

I wish that someone had recorded the Broadway production with Laurence Olivier and Anthony Quinn. That must have been something.

[@thomasthomas2418]

At 2:19; "Sheath your sword..before you impale your soul upon it!" I wish I had that kind of courage.

[@junesilvermanb2979]

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courage

[@albertgrant1017]

Beckett had it coming

[@Samuel-lf4ul]

@@albertgrant1017 Becket had coming an ‘enduring crown of glory’. Henry II was the progenitor of his own disaster.

[@ConstantineJoseph]

Thing about Becket was that he assumed his role as Arch Bishop and he became a very good one. Perhaps, historians do not know his inner most thoughts and his devotion to his religion. Although the HRE, Holy Roman Empire had an Emperor, the Emperor was beneath the Pope in ecclesiastical matters. The King of England, Henry II, overstepped that boundary, a boundary that England cannot really accept at that time, where the sovereign would supercede the church. This was Henry's folly.

[@porcospino289]

Innermost. Could not accept. Supersede - super, on top of, and sedeo sedere , to sit. Learn English.

[@emurray]

@Mark Gable 365 years after Becket?

[@stevenwiederholt7000]

@Mark Gable Far from it my friend. Martin Luther had 2 advantages. 1. The (political/cultural) Timing was right. 2.He had the printing press.

[@birdsaloud7590]

Henry had no quarrel with the Church but he disliked ambiguity and so strove to clarify the power boundary ‘twixt Church and State. He needed a strong Archbishop to work with him on this and was devastated when the highly capable previous Archbishop Theobald, whom he worked well with, died. Henry did not rush to replace him but ultimately thought Becket was the man most likely to continue and expand Theobald’s policy.

[@Demetri450]

Not beneath!

[@Dabhach1]

Burton and O'Toole, two of the best. Absolute legends. Thought, am I the only one who thinks that, good as this movie was, it might have been even better had they exchanged roles?

[@frereM]

I'm not sure that O'Toole could give Becket's role the kind of dark brooding that Burton supplied. Just an off-the-cuff opinion.

[@nikolabronzic7386]

They could give anything!

[@McMoidart]

"well played Thomas"

[@carolynellis387]

One of my favourite Burton films because he really acts here

[@josephonwhidbey]

Burton was also a great Shakespearean actor as well and played Hamlet on Broadway.

[@IamZardoz]

Great in this, greatest in Night of the Iguana. I could listen to him read the phone book.

[@Mazalinda]

My mum was in love with Peter O’Toole so I got to see all these wonderful films and there is nothing produced these days that would inspire any would be writer the way these films inspired me.

[@kevincooper4912]

Aaron Sorkin comes close

[@James-pq7nf]

ONE OF THE GREATEST MOVIES BURTON EVER DID

[@cynthiadeewilson9438]

History will forever debate whether Henry II intended for Beckett to be murdered or whether his knights murdered Beckett for their own reasons, using the king's outburst as an excuse.

[@OnePost909]

A very fine scene indeed. IMO the following are just as good or better: the beach scene when it's just the two of them on horses; the excommunication scene; the assassination; a drunken Henry sending his lads out to to do the deed; Henry appearing on the steps of the cathedral after his penance, announcing Becket's sainthood to the crowd, and returning to the bier for a last word with his late friend.

[@mickywanderer8276]

The movie gets one thing wrong when Becket is called a 'Saxon'. He wasn't, he was a Norman.

[@gordonbartlett1921]

True, but see my comment above

[@YorkistWhiteRose]

Richard Burton, if I recall correctly, was himself an atheist. It's a touch ironic that he's so well-remembered for playing saints... shows his skills as an actor.

[@godsgrace1137]

YorkistWhiteRose sad to know that he was a atheist. Especially since he had talent on loan from God. How foolish to think that our gifts are of our own doing...just amazing.

[@insanityrulestheday]

As Shakespeare aptly says, "All the World's a stage, and all the men and women merely players......And one man in his time plays many parts..."?

[@Linda-iw7bk]

His wife Sally spoke of Burton going to church in Swizerland at the end of his life, that people in the church were astonished at how gentle he was and she said it was the voice that made people in awe but that by nature he was gentle. During the filming of Beckett in an interview Burton spoke of his and Taylor's adopted daughter who had problems walking and finding a doctor or surgeon who was able to help her and he seemed to credit his work in Beckett or was moving in the direction of faith, I don't remember the exact words clearly but this statement and the meaning stayed in my mind these many years

[@godsgrace1137]

Linda I sure hope he found faith before he died....

[@pamappleton5535]

@@Linda-iw7bk You're right; I read in Burton's published diaries that he really didn't know how to pray in a big scene that was coming up soon in Becket, so he thought of his sick daughter Maria at that time. During the filmed scene, he said he simply prayed for Maria's surgery to be a success, and this made his role in Becket easier since he was not a believer then.

[@Tabish29]

Hahaha. Peter's face when the trumpets are sounding Beckets arrival. He was so maniacal in this role. I loved it.

[@victorjohnson7512]

Back when movies had dialog.

[@gordonbartlett1921]

True. Dialogue requires a literate, patient audience, not the kind that likes quick cuts and few words. Too many of today's films are directed towards 11 year - olds --- of all ages.

[@helenitahurtado]

It is very interesting the way this saint has atracted the attention of famous writers and playwriters: Elliot, Follett and now Anouilh. Thomas Beckett, help us mantain the honour of the Church!

[@naaveenmahadeshwar7889]

Just phenomenal! Wow! 😍

[@SmokeDog1871]

Saw this movie in a high school theology class and it has just stuck in my subconscious all of these years. Gonna have to watch it again one of these days, cast is simply amazing.

[@ixtoc999]

Love the scene of the excommunication.

[@moviemonk1000]

Hmm yes but even getting into this conversation means this great film has made an impression. ..and I too am cold...............

[@chaschk2]

Love this movie.

[@sakkra93]

This happened in Northampton Castle in 1164. In the real event Becket was charged with malfeasance (failure to properly dispense his duties as Lord Chancellor), upon hearing the charge he angrily rejected the sentence, stormed from the castle, fled to the Continent, and was exiled there in absentia.

[@martinirvine9314]

Always thought the roles should have been reversed. O'Toole as Beckett and Burton as Henry.

[@MAMRetro]

That's how they did it on stage - they reversed the roles.

[@andrewg.carvill4596]

O'Toole, strangely, had those facial features typical of so many Plantagenet kings.

[@alyu1129]

Four centuries later, the king made the church his footstool.

[@YouzTube99]

@AumAkhilAum: Thank you for presenting this with the original/correct aspect ratio! I saw this in a proper theater as Glenville and Unsworth intended and the effect was extraordinary. It was like being there and really enhanced the impact of the overall experience.

[@calvingrondahl1011]

Two of my favorite actors in a powerful film about church and state.

[@minanes6549]

For those eulogising this scene - which is great, of course, it's worth remembering, this is Hollywood! The realities were a little more subtle than even the cleverest screenwriter's attempts at summarizing history. Becket accepted his religious post at the instigation of the king knowing that his loyalty to the king would be expected in return. When he decided to put the church's authority first, he was, in effect, reneging on that understanding; as well as saying that the law of the land did not apply to churchmen like himself. Historically one admires Becket's bravery, but not many people today believe that Church institutions should be allowed to operate outside of the legal arm of the state.

[@leonardoporfiromazzoco1775]

And that explain the reasons for too much immorality in the laws of today. Long Live to the Church, Long Live to our Lord Christ!

[@Melanie-rx7fc]

Viva Christi Rey!

[@adrian7856]

Well, the state controlled Church of England is not doing very well even under state support and authority. That's because a state can not hold the mystical Body of Christ, which is the God of Christian nations, so thinking the state is above the Church, which is part of Christ Himself, is declaring the state above God. Pay taxes to the Ceasar but keep to God what belongs to Him, if a state goes against God, there is no reason not to go with the Church's side to obey and do what is of God.

[@prodprod]

There was a time in which a person accused of a crime -- and I mean literally any crime -- could walk free simply by demonstrating that he could read -- because at that time, being able to read was a skill possessed only by members of the clergy -- and if you were a member of the clergy, you weren't bound by secular law -- so no matter what you did -- theft, murder, rape -- the local magistrates had no authority to hold you. And very often there simply weren't anything like "church authorities" that you could be handed over to. So you just went on your merry way. Of course, since the people who were testing your ability to read couldn't read either, they simply had a scrap of paper with writing on it (in Latin, of course) and they'd memorized what it said. So clever enough bad guys sometimes already knew what was on that little piece of paper and when they were presented with it they simply recited whatever that Latin gibberish was -- the local magistrates were satisfied -- and off they went. What a great system.

[@sandrothenecromancer6810]

@@prodprod Yes whata great system!It is not like you are taking it out of thin air, you proably think that monks ate peasants so that is why they were fat...

[@LordZontar]

"Well played, Thomas. Well played."

[@LordZontar]

"He's made mincemeat of them. It's funny. It's too funny. Becket is the only intelligent man in my kingdom and he's against me!"

[@catfrost6631]

Agreed...the best scene in the film.

[@sirvolkerstein]

Back when Catholic bishops had some balls.

[@neilchetwood4625]

Karl Ritzenthaler yes and they could approve of sexual abuse even more?

[@travisjohnson6676]

the clergy was always populated by a large percentage of sexual deviants

[@thomasadl]

As opposed to touching them.....

[@neilfrank1726]

SirVolkerStein They still have balls just someone else’s 🤣

[@TheDreamer_Awakens]

You should listen to Archbishop Vigano who outed the pope Francis as a freemason (luciferian) and NWO globalist

[@voxtemporis4503]

Note the similarity of attitudes of Burton here with Burton as O'Brien in George Orwell's "1984". Not just good acting but attitude of the characters.

[@jimgordon6629]

Are we capable these days of making this great a historical film? Impossible!

[@jamesj9614]

"BECKET IS THE ONLY INTELLIGENT MAN IN MY KINGDOM AND HE'S AGAINST ME" (Hysterical laughter)

[@tobit100]

We need another St. Thomas Beckett. A Saint that shows our true honor: Lord Jesus Christ.

[@lunarmodule9915]

tobit100 ...I always think the same when I watch this scene. I wish the Church showed that much courage now.

[@tobit100]

Yes, I agree. However, another great example of a courageous Saint who followed Jesus was canonized this past October 16. His name: Saint Jose Sanchez Del Rio. He was a fourteen year old Mexican martyr who was tortured and killed for standing by the Church. If you have a chance Google him. Like St. Thomas Becket, St Jose stood up to evil.

[@lunarmodule9915]

tobit100 ...thank you for this information. Happy New Year andGod Bless!

[@tobit100]

Happy New Year to you also!

[@betinivinicius]

Don't be fooled: the saints only have the courage and strength that God Himself allows them to have, and none more. All these acts are acts of grace, and as the Church was defended before, we shall defend it today. A bad bishop can only have the power that the people entrust him, for he is devoid of the grace necessary to be under the will of God; he is a man of politics, and politics are nothing compared to the power of Our Lord. We as laymen must withhold the catholic truth and resist all the enemies of Holy Mother Church, as any faithful catholic must do, trusting that the glory won't be found during our lives but at the end of them. The absence of saints in our times is a sign that we must be those that are lacking, and must storm the heavens with prayers asking for the grace to fight sin victoriously. The gifts of the Holy Spirit conceded in the Confirmation will guide us, and the defense of the faith won't be done by ourselves, but by the Spirit of God speaking through us, as was promised by Our Lord; and no lie can withhold it's own when facing the truth of God, so no enemie can prosper when facing resistance from the army of God.

[@theheartland1861]

it would have been great to have seen these 2 great actors while acting on stage

[@bertilliozephyrsgate6196]

Henry acts like he's watching his favorite sports team make the big play.

[@Lundahlium]

How the hell is he so good?

[@ChanSyco]

'Da BISHOP !!'

[@TIBKProductions]

St Thomas Becket truly loved God and cared for the souls of England.

[@diogeneslamp8004]

Continuity problem around 2:37. When the knight approaches him on the stairs and draws his sword, Becket admonishes him over his left shoulder. When the camera changes to a wide shot Becket turns to continue his ascent turning as if he has been speaking over his _right_ shoulder.

[@chaosfive55]

Powerful!!

[@michaelsix9684]

incredible film, such great acting, this film would not be made today, the actors worked for scale so that it would get made

[@theresapratt5213]

Richard Burton was an Acting God!

[@johnbrauker449]

A fellow name Thomas was close friends with king Henry, and the angered the king because of being too devout, and ends up dead. It’s no wonder that the story of Thomas Becket and Henry the second gets confused the story of Thomas Moore and Henry the eighth.

[@timmcd566]

When gods walked among us.

[@charlesoshea4803]

This magnificent Oscar nominated Best Film, was adapted from the 1960 Tony Award winning Best Play that starred Lawrence Olivier as Beckett and Anthony Quinn as King Henry II. Wish I was old enough then to have seen that play !

[@michaelverbakel7632]

1964 was a very crowded years for great films; Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady, Zorba the Greek, Dr. Strangelove. The only Oscar won by Becket was for its script. Best screenplay for its classical, almost Shakespearean language.

[@meissnerflux]

Powerful scene!

[@stevenwiederholt7000]

This is what is called Acting.

[@jongaulthero]

SUPERB!!!!

[@steelers6titles]

Two powerful men, one sacred, one secular, who also happened to be best friends who respected each other. Conflict ensues.

[@charlesmartel7502]

Wonderful acting of a magnificent script adapted from the play by Frenchman Jean Anouilh.

[@callumthesnake6573]

Two of the Greatest exponents of the English language, one from Wales, another by way of County Kerry on the Emerald Isle.

[@Ciara1594]

Funny thing, Richard Burton wanted to play Henry II. The deal about Henry and Thomas Becket is that, Henry thought if he made his best friend the Archbishop of Canterbury; that he would help keep the Pope off his back. But it didn't work out that way. He never imagined that Thomas Becket would take his job and new responsibility so damn seriously. 🤷

[@ettoredipugnar6990]

@toni Raymond. On the contrary . 50 yrs ago no one could imagine that parishes , parishes that were over 100 yrs old would close. Not old guard. It's called memory.

[@cestrian5294]

Two great actors in Burton and O’Toole. O’Toole said that they both were off the booze whilst making this film and when it finished, they went in a bender. They didn’t know that the director wanted to re-shoot a scene where O’Toole places a ring on Burton’s finger. When they eventually found the , by then smashed pair, it took many takes to get it right.

[@lisastallingskeelor3328]

1:57 “well damn we didn’t consider that”. 😂 lol 😂

[@joseangelanguloromero4061]

Very good film, if you don't have seen I recommend it 👍

[@Erick-uf6gi]

Boy was spooked lol

[@luciusaquila4326]

Becket's exit should have been accompanied by a Gregorian chant of "Broadsword calling Danny Boy, Broadsword calling Danny Boy."

[@christiane.g.4142]

It's performances like this that make it easy to beliece that Richard Burton went to acting school with his classmate Anthony Hopkins and HOPKINS was the junior pupil

[@user-wb6ye1xi2u]

“To believe in God is to know that all the rules will be fair, and that there will be wonderful surprises.” - Ugo Betti

[@juansanchezrovira7816]

Sensacional duelo interpretativo O, Toole - Burton. Remarcable Gielgud como Rey de Francia

[@cliffdariff74]

Totally agree, no dumb music score at every turn like present.

[@karendimas7518]

Love Peter o toole

[@oceanofoil]

Crazy to think how much power the church truly had back then. To be excommunicated in those times was no laughing matter.

[@eddy6892]

For me, O toole’s repudiation of his wife and mother were the essence of the English language without uttering a single vulgarity

[@serradamorenadeanadia3055]

No cinema mundial, nos dias atuais, há falta de atores do nível de Richard Burton e Peter O`tolle.

[@suwaidajalal]

Ironically, it was this exact custom of letting the pope judge and give soft punishments to churchmen that Henry wanted eliminated and one of the major reasons he made Becket archbishop

[@user-hl3so1ok7n]

When the risk of damnation was enough for one to stop and consider the consequences

[@davidevans3227]

..i think this film is available here on YT.. amazing..

[@Erick-uf6gi]

You don’t get movies with long dialogue like this anymore

[@noturbeeswax6684]

A Matt Taibbi article, of all things, brought me here.

[@ernestleong476]

"Well played, Thomas."

[@jimslancio]

This movie pits King Henry II against his former friend Thomas Becket. Six Henry’s later, King Henry VIII is pitted against his former friend Thomas More. Maybe in the future, King Henry XIV will be pitted against another former friend named Thomas.

[@geoffshaw8053]

NORTHAMPTON CASTLE - WHAT A PLACE OF HISTORICAL EVENTS !

[@frederiquecouture3924]

Indeed. ⌚