In the midst of chasing after young maidens King Henry VIII (Robert Show) wants to divorce his wife because she won't bear him a son to ensure the crown's succession. Having already received a papal dispensation for one previous divorce, however, he's at odds with the Pope. To solve his problem he rallies his subordinate aristocrats to break with Rome and secure a new marriage to his mistress, Anne Boleyn (Vanessa Redgrave).

When Henry reveals his intention to install himself as head of state as the King and as head of the newly formed Church of England, the conflict within his staunch Catholic subordinate Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield) is put to its most extreme test. In becoming head of church and state, Henry proposes to break with the Pope and marry his mistress. Of course his plan requires the acceptance of all his people so under force of treason he requires a loyalty oath formally separating any connection to the church in Rome.

Having to choose between the leadership of his sovereign lord and his fundamental devotion to Catholic faith, Sir Thomas observes the King's laws literally to avoid committing treason by keeping quiet. In so doing he is reduced to poverty and confined to a prisoner's lot, separated from his family and ritualistically attacked for his beliefs.

Set against this personal struggle is the political machinations of 16th century England when various lower-level officials were vying with one another for greater power and expanded wealth in the King's name. Chief among them is Thomas Cromwell (Leo McKern) who uses every means at his disposal to prove More's treason, including the manipulation of an amoral and ambitious young pawn name Richard Rich (John Hurt).

Throughout the film Sir Thomas, as developed by the controlled and impressive Paul Scofield, is a benign presence of moral certainty standing head and shoulders above the rabble longing for crumbs at the King's feat. That Henry respects these character traits in his one-time friend and adversary heartens his interest in seeking Thomas's approval, although his disappointment at securing it creates a murderous tension between them.

In the simultaneously tragic and triumphant conclusion, More is convicted of treason but addresses his persecutors with the full dignity of a champion. He explains the fundamental crisis of individual conscience and expresses support for the King along with a higher responsibility to observe his sense of faith that is unyielding to the needs of any human authority.

As the ax falls in executing the man for all seasons a script crawls across the screen revealing Cromwell's eventual destruction for treason, Henry's death due to complications of syphilis and Rich's final achievement of a royal appointment. It reads as a sobering statement of the times of King Henry VIII but also as a memorial to moral superiority in that the lives of Cromwell and Rich, if not the King himself, are best remembered through the illustrative life of Sir Thomas More.

Nominated for Best Picture as a British film in a year with such other important foreign films as Blow-Up and Masculine-Feminine, let along its co-nominated competition in Alfie, The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming, The Sand Pebbles and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, A Man for All Seasons is a pleasure to watch. It is also a movie so closely devoted to the politics of its playwright-turned-screenwriter Robert Bolt that it chooses a well-worn path for representing historical subjects. That is, instead of developing the complexities of an heroic personality, in this case the "king maker" Sir Thomas More, it chooses to emphasize strengths, in this case his religious devotion, while ignoring weakness, in this case his Catholic devotion that tended toward zealotry and murderous repression.

Presented as a '60s polemic about the rights of the dissenting individual flying in the face of dominance and power the film held an obvious resonance with contemporary audiences. It precisely and intelligently argues for the rights of conscience, individual responsibility and the importance of faith as presented through a rich historical pageant.

Added to these qualities that date the film while giving rise to negative critical reactions since its exaltation as the year's best film, is the excellent supporting cast including Orson Welles, Leo McKern and a young John Hurt. As always director Fred Zinnemann's work is strong just as the production design of John Box and the cinematography of Ted More deserve particular merit for giving the film a rich world of color and texture. In the final analysis, however, A Man for All Seasons is best remembered for Robert Bolt's script and the central performance of Paul Scofield.

Were it not for the scene-stealing and charismatic explosion that is Robert Shaw's Henry VIII, and were it not for the absolute moral superiority of how Bolt writes Sir Thomas More, it would still be a clinic in subdued screen acting just to enjoy Scofield's performance. With a haggard face, tired eyes and commanding voice of considerable gentleness, he is filled with an inner life of true conflict about his duties to King and country and his fundamental belief in Catholic doctrine. At heart it is a conflict between the spiritual and secular man but it is also the story of a man's choice to live according to conscience or live with a compromised soul. That the conflict is resolved in his destruction testifies to absolute commitment to higher ideals as well as to Scofield's performance as so powerful a character in movie history as Sir Thomas More.