A Man For All Seasons

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... A Man For All Seasons!

Original image located here. Accessed 31st May 2024

Best Picture Oscar winner no.: 39 (1966)

It could be said that this is the forgotten Best Picture winner of the 1960s. After all, it does share room with some heavy hitters (ie Sound of Music, Lawrence of Arabia) so maybe it got lost in the crush?

Looking at it now, one could make the case that this is an early slice of Oscar bait: it is a biopic (tick), it has some big names in the cast (tick), it is a costume drama (tick) and it is about someone who sticks by their convictions even they lose everything and, eventually, their life (tick).
Cynicism aside though, there is a lot going for this movie: The direction is superb, it's beautifully shot and works with it's origins as a stage play. But the real meat is the acting: Orson Welles makes the most of his one scene, Robert Shaw is both compelling and frightening as Henry VIII (How come he never got more scenes?) and Paul Schofield carries the movie, giving it his all.

Unfairly forgotten? One would think so.

The Professionals

And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Professionals!

Original image located here. Accessed 30th April 2021

I have previously expressed a keen interest in the western genre and that interest has never dulled over the years. So here's a look at a western from the 1960s.
I know my film history and I can say that the sixties were an interesting time for the western. The decade was one where the genre going well out of fashion - which in turn offered a sense of reinvention accepted by the likes of Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah (in the form of The Good the Bad & the Ugly and The Wild Bunch respectively).

And it is in this period of reinvention that The Professionals sits comfortably. Compared to it's earlier brethren this film does indeed have a sense of grittiness and realism that is rarely found in the genre. There are indeed some great action sequences, more explosions than one would expect in a western and some characters with depth. But, as with many westerns, the real star is cinematography, which makes the scenery never dull and is always handled to it's best.
It may be overlooked when compared to other westerns of this era but that doesn't mean the Professionals is an worthy entrant to this genre.