Peter Glenville's 1964 Best Picture Oscar nominated adaptation of the timeless Jean Anouilh play
Becket is an actor's showcase film, a real tour-de-force of thespian and historical intrigue featuring
Peter O'Toole, Richard Burton and
John Gielgud at the height of their careers. The intimate character piece focuses on O'Toole's King Henry II who appoints his drunken mate into the position of Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162 thinking he would make a better ally than a Roman Catholic loyalist, but when Beckett (Burton) actually takes the job seriously, he proves a more formidable adversary than anyone else he could have hired and their close friendship turns sour. It's a fascinating moment in the Church vs. The State's ever-going battle in British history and surely Becket is one of the best productions to have ever come out of this country, though for whatever reason it's rarely spoke about these days. If you have never seen the film, a pain-staking print restoration was developed a few years ago result in a stunning
Blu-ray in the U.S. that does the film great justice.
William Monahan, who turned the Asian hit Infernal Affairs into
The Departed, has the fire in his belly to re-adapt the famous 50's French play as his next film. He told
Deadline;
"It's an adaptation, or re-invigoration, of an older play, which has already been a brilliant film... ... For me, its a chance to take on one of the greatest stories in our civilization, a double tragedy with two heroes, each of them paradoxical, each of them brilliant, each of them making mistakes that lead to their undoing. The world of the Plantagenets was very rich and well open the play up into that world and go into the relationships of the Angevin court more than the 1964 film was able to do.
Monahan will write, produce and direct at Smuggler Films but financing is still being sought, before a potential spring start date. I can't imagine who could better O'Toole's Henry II or Burton's Becket - two of the greatest English-speaking actors at the top of their game but I imagine there'll be a fair few who would be interested in giving it a shot. Especially as they rarely make movies with as compelling real-life characters as this anymore. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ0LadfyF1E