A 1964 film, now a classic, directed by Peter Glenville, with Richard Burton as Thomas Becket and Peter O'Toole playing Henry II as he does in The Lion In Winter, only here Henry is several years younger: the grown-up sons of Lion In Winter are still teenage boys – mother's boys, all of them, boys that he hates and publicly humiliates. Henry has only one friend, one person he loves and admires, and that is Becket.
The film is based on Jean Anouilh's play of the same name and, predictably, a certain amount of anachronistic nationalism comes to the fore. Henry II is King of England, Louis III King of France, for instance, whereas in fact Henry of Anjou was French, born in France, grew up in France, ruled Anjou and Maine, Poitou and Touraine and, after his marriage to Eleanor, Aquitaine. He presided over the largest empire in Europe since the collapse of Rome; it stretched from Ireland to the Pyrenees, and it happened to include England. Eleanor was of course also French, they lived in France, neither they nor their sons (King Richard the Lionheart and Bad King John) spoke English. He made his friend Becket (who did speak English – as well of course as French and Latin) Chancellor of England – in effect Viceroy, for Henry was rarely there – and Becket wore on his finger the royal ring with the three lions on it; but Becket had no authority in other parts of Henry's vast empire. There is an inconsistency inherent in the way French historians and writers view this whole period. On the one hand, they maintain that following the Norman Conquest England was part of the French Empire, and remained so throughout the time of the Angevin and Plantagenet kings – from 1066 till 1485. On the other hand, they speak of English aggression in France, of English kings seizing and holding French territory, not just during the Hundred Years War (mid-14th to mid-15th centuries) but as early as this, when Louis VII of France (here portrayed unforgettably by John Gielgud) was trying to seize land that belonged to Henry.
We see Becket brokering a peace between the two rival kings, clearly though still young a diplomat – unlike his king – and potentially a great statesman. But then the old Archbishop dies and Henry makes Becket also Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of England. He thought in this way England would be well governed and the would be no clash between Church and State (over issues like taxation – the Church didn't like paying taxes – and criminal justice – anyone who could mumble the Our Father in Latin could escape the King's Justice).
In Anouilh's play, which the film closely follows, Becket begs Henry not to make him Archbishop – but in vain. And he soon comes to take his new role very seriously indeed. Now Henry not only has an Archbishop who is against him, his enemy, but one who used to be his dearest and closest friend. This makes it personal – love turned to hatred (though the love is clearly still there).
The only real weakness in this excellent film is the portrayal of Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, at least when compared with Catherine Hepburn's portrayal of her in The Lion in Winter. You can read all about the dynamic Eleanor in Kate Burns' excellent article on this site; suffice it to say, here, that it is not in the least the fault of the actress, Pamela Brown. It is how the part is written in the script – presumably in order to focus on the clash between Henry and Becket, whereas in The Lion in Winter the clash is between Henry and Eleanor. But I am quite sure she played a much larger part in the Becket story than she is credited with here, and I am equally sure she could not stand either the young Becket, Henry's bosom pal and wenching companion, of whom she would obviously have been jealous, or, and even more so, the new and sanctimonious Becket whom even Henry could not stand.
