reds 'v' man for all seasons
Both A Man for all Seasons and Reds were aimed at Hollywood audiences and meant to appeal; to the general public, they include elements of character that are intended to please the audience (after all they needed to make money to pay for their making - an estimated 45 million dollars in Red's case). In addition, some truths are left out of both, to make the film more concise and for the audience's enjoyment. This however, does not detract from the fact that they both offer accurate accounts of their relevant topics and do in fact both provide good representations of the past in film. In terms of characterisation, Thomas More (from A Man For All Seasons) is fairly accurate: according to Marius, More was 'witty, devout, principled, courageous and faithful unto death'; Paul Schofield (More) conveys all of these attributes successfully (even humour in places). The story of Thomas More is one of a martyr, who died for his principles and stood strong in the face of corruption and the king, this is what the audience witness as they watch A Man For All Seasons, Fred Zinnemann (the Oscar winning director) successfully portrays the tyrannical Henry VIII reluctantly forcing More into execution through acts of parliament (the doctrine, co
nfirming Mores acceptance of Henry's annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Arragon, which More refused to sign). In addition to this, minor political events, such as the clash between the Communist Labour Party and the Communist Party in America, are accurately recorded. This is a very unusual amount of depth for Beatty (as director, producer, screenplay director and lead role as Reed) to go into, highlighting the amount of research that was conducted to make this film. However, in addition to Riche, Cromwell is also made out to be a villain, when in reality he was a friend of Mores and is mentioned favourably in Mores family biographies, and even stood as godfather to Mores daughter's child after Mores death. On her first trip she witnessed communist rallies, poverty and conditions in soviet Russia, she also gained connections to a circle of select writers inside the country. Apart from this minor discrepancy, Reds does keep, unusually for a film of this nature, to the truth. However in terms of historical representation there are some truths, which are missing from Zinnemann's account, and in fact some that have been altered. A Man For All Seasons, is less accurate, and lacks a lot of the detail that Reds includes, but it does convey the main fact surrounding the trial of Thomas More (even though the trial was not before commoners as the film shows, but before noblemen, meaning that it was not a fair trial from the outset since they would have given the verdict that would please Henry in order to maintain their position and favour). Reds does a better job in terms of accuracy and depth of fact, including very minor details in the screenplay which are unnecessary in terms of commercial appeal for the film but make it a superb historical depiction. For the rest of the film the love affair between the protagonists is mostly accurate, in their separation through war and Reeds capture in Poland, however the motives for Bryant's return to Russia are distorted. However for the purposes of film it was necessary to have a villain - such as Richard Riche, and so for the most part this point can be overlooked as the fact that he gave testimony against More (which was fictitious) is included in the film, and undoubtedly this is the most important part of history to tell the audience. For example the secondary characters were actual people - even those with only a few lines to say. In conclusion, bearing in mind that both Reds and A Man For All Seasons were both aimed at a Hollywood type audience and were made with the intent of making money (an unfortunate necessity for all commercial film production), they both represent the past fairly accurately. His role in the trial and persecution of More is clouded though and so for film purposes he has been turned into a villain - although evidence suggests that this is a misrepresentation.
Common topics in this essay:
Reds Seasons,
Reed Bryant,
Reed Apart,
Richard Riche,
Seasons Reds,
Riche Cromwell,
Paul Schofield,
Henry VIII,
Catherine Arragon,
Thomas Seasons,
truths left,
historical documents,
return russia,
aimed hollywood,
richard riche,
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Acceptance Essays
