Richard Burton is a force of nature
This guy is one of the best actors I've ever had to pleasure of watching on screen. Simply amazing.
My favorite weapon is the look in your eyes...You ran out of lies
I'd say the term "force of nature" is far more applicable to O'Toole in this film than it is to Burton. But they both play their respective parts brilliantly.
"...if that was off, I'd be whoopin' your ass up and down this street." ~ an irate Tarantino
No, it's suitable for Burton in Becket. If you've ever been in a tornado, you know the meaning.
My favorite weapon is the look in your eyes...You ran out of lies
Tornadoes are not subdued, contained, rigidly-controlled events; they're volatile, mind-blowing spectacles that devour and devastate everything in their paths.
If you want to liken Burton's work in this film to a natural occurrence, compare it to the rising of the sun...the cyclone belongs to O'Toole and O'Toole alone.
"...if that was off, I'd be whoopin' your ass up and down this street." ~ an irate Tarantino
Burton had a reputation for over-acting, particularly in some of the low-quality films that he did in the 1970's. Here as in 1984, he shows that he can do subdued and subtle as effectively as he can larger than life and over the top. As good as Paul Scofield was in A Man for All Seasons (which in many ways tells a similar story to Becket), I wish Burton had gotten that part too, as was apparently the director's original intent.
shareHere here! This could be Burton's best performance
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