Superior entertainment in a powerful story of the friendship-turned-sour between Henry II (a flamboyantly eye-catching performance by Peter O'Toole) and his one-time fellow adventurer Thomas Becket. British director Peter Glenville splashes the exciting slice of history convincingly across his colour canvas. And the dialogue is studded with sparkling phrases. One particularly remembers Becket's description of the shedding of his worldly goods as `the clumsy gesture of a spiritual gatecrasher.'

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