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Plot Summary
For the first time in more than 40 years, experience two of the greatest actors of our time in one of the most honored motion pictures in history. Peter O’Toole delivers an electrifying performance as the mischievous Henry II, who surprises England by naming his fellow rogue and trusted confidant Thomas Becket (Richard Burton in a career defining role) as Chancellor. But when Henry next appoints him Archbishop Of Canterbury, Becket shocks the world by openly defying the King with his newfound faith and compassion. Will a desperate ruler now destroy a beloved friend to save his splintering kingdom? John Gielgud co-stars in this stunning epic based on the Broadway sensation and brought to the screen by Hal Wallis, the legendary producer of TRUE GRIT and CASABLANCA.
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Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews
TOMATOMETER
76%- Reviews Counted: 25
- Fresh: 19
- Rotten: 6
- Average Rating: 7.3/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Rotten: Becket shows us a conflict that has more meaning for the heart than for the head. It is not a conflict to stand as a tempest violent and unforgettable, after 800 years.
Fresh: While peripheral elements of Becket do show their age, the core of the film's appeal remains incandescent, and that is the on-screen collaboration between Burton and O'Toole.
Fresh: Ripe with homoerotic undercurrents -- which O'Toole mines with relish in his great hysterical performance, full of cunning, eloquence and mad outbursts.
Fresh: Becket may seem like a movie of yesteryear, but its timeliness brims over with rousing, meditative discourses between Henry and the church leaders on the separation of church and state.
