Becket

This notable improvement over the stage-bound Anouilh play recounts the story of two great friends turned unintentional foes, Becket (Richard Burton) and Henry II (Peter O'Toole). Becket is Henry's chancellor until consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury, almost in jest, by Henry. Becket takes the job seriously and defends the church from royal onslaught. The two men drift further apart as Becket goes deeper into his ecclesiastical role, and the king realizes that his former friend must be killed after the two men meet for an attempted reconciliation in a wonderful scene on horseback at a British beach.

Ostensibly a story regarding the separation of church and sta...