A Man For all Seasons (1966) -Pick

Gandhi (1982) - Pick

Following the recent DVD release of the Criterion special edition of Vatican list film Bicycle Thieves, Sony has now released special editions of two Vatican list honorees. Both are hagiographical biopics of revered heroes who died for their beliefs — one a true saint and martyr of the faith, the other a secular martyr of human dignity and values. And both films are Oscar winners.

The first is Fred Zinneman’s classic A Man for All Seasons, an account of the last years of St. Thomas More adapted by Robert Bolt from his own stage play. Brilliant and compelling, steely with conviction, luminous with genuine wisdom and wit, the film is elevated above all by the “bold and beautiful verbal architecture” of Bolt’s dialogue, drawn wherever possible from More’s own words.

“For the rest,” Bolt wrote in his preface to the play, “my concern was to match with these as best I could so that the theft should not be too obvious.” He succeeded.

Paul Scofield originated the role of More in the stage version. The practice paid off. His film performance as the saint and martyr is rich and layered; he embodies the faithful Catholic Englishman whose determined silence spoke more forcefully than words, and who then spoke even more forcefully by breaking it.

The other notable new release is Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi, a well-made if not inspired film with Ben Kingsley giving an astonishing performance that is overshadowed by a larger, more formidable presence: that of Gandhi himself.

Although the film assiduously files the rough edges and smoothes over the contradictions and tensions in its complex subject, Attenborough captures the force of the literally revolutionary principle of nonviolent resistance that Gandhi pioneered and championed. This would later inspire such figures as Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.

Gandhi’s practice is predicated on the belief that moral authority, not superior force, ultimately prevails in the court of public opinion. All that is required is the courage and humility to be a true victim for your cause. It seems naïve — yet it conquered the British Empire.

But Gandhi’s crusade is marked by failure as well as success. Gandhi fights tooth and nail against the segregation of the subcontinent into Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan, but in the end human concupiscence overcomes his efforts to appeal to what is best in man.

Of the two special editions, the two-disc Gandhi edition is more deserving of the name, with an all-new introduction and commentary by the director and 11 new featurettes on the background and making of the film.

The new edition of A Man for All Seasons is substantially less special, with only a single disc featuring only a single extra, a featurette on the life of Thomas More. It’s a good occasion to pick up the film if you don’t already own it but, if you have an earlier DVD edition, there’s no reason to upgrade.