A Man for All Seasons is a 1966 British historical drama film directed and produced by Fred Zinnemann, adapted by Robert Bolt from his play of the same name.

Paul Scofield, who had played More in the West End stage premiere, also took the role in the film, starring alongside Wendy Hiller, Robert Shaw, Susannah York, and Orson Welles.

The title reflects playwright Bolt's portrayal of More as the ultimate man of conscience, remaining true to his principles and religion under all circumstances and at all times.

Bolt borrowed the title from Robert Whittington, a contemporary of More, who in 1520 wrote of him: More is a man of an angel's wit and singular learning.

During a private late-night meeting at Hampton Court, Cardinal Wolsey, Lord Chancellor of England, chastises More for being the only member of the privy council to oppose Wolsey's attempts to obtain from the Pope an annulment of Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, as their marriage has not produced a male heir.

With the annulment, Henry would be able to marry Anne Boleyn, with whom he hopes to father such an heir and avoid a repeat of the Wars of the Roses.

More finds his daughter Meg chatting with a brilliant young lawyer, William Roper, who announces his desire to marry her.

The King makes an "impromptu" visit to the More estate and again requests More's support for an annulment, but More remains unmoved as Henry alternates between threats, tantrums, and promises of unbounded royal favour.

As More finally arrives, his daughter Meg informs him that a new oath is being circulated and that all must take it or face charges of high treason.

Upon learning that it names the king as head of the Church, legitimizes his Lutheran heirs, and allows no legal or moral loopholes, More refuses to take it and is imprisoned in the Tower of London.

At his trial, More refuses to express an opinion about the king's second marriage or why he will not take the Oath, based upon the legal principle that silence is to be interpreted as consent.

Furthermore, he declares that the Church's freedom from state control and interference is guaranteed both in the Magna Carta and in the king's own coronation oath.

A narrator intones an epilogue, listing the subsequent untimely deaths of the major characters, apart from Rich, who "became Chancellor of England, and died in his bed."

The running commentary of The Common Man was deleted and the character was divided into the roles of the Thames boatman, More's steward, an innkeeper, the jailer from the Tower, the jury foreman, and the executioner.

A few minor scenes were added, including Wolsey's death, More's investiture as Chancellor, and Henry's wedding to Anne Boleyn, to cover narrative gaps left by the exclusion of the Common Man.

The Brechtian staging of the final courtroom scene (which depicted the Jury as consisting of the Common Man and several sticks bearing the hats of the various characters he has played) is changed to a more naturalistic setting.

Also, while the Duke of Norfolk was the judge both historically and in the play's depiction of the trial, the character of the Chief Justice (Jack Gwillim) was created for the film.

Zinneman cast actor John Hurt in his first major film role, on the basis of a strong performance in David Halliwell's Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs.

"[6] On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 72 out of 100 based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

[7] A. D. Murphy of Variety wrote: "Producer-director Fred Zinnemann has blended all filmmaking elements into an excellent, handsome and stirring film version of A Man for All Seasons.

Kate Cameron of the New York Daily News wrote, "over all these fine performances, including Robert Shaw's opulent, bluff and forceful representation of the king, it is Scofield who dominates the screen with his genteel voice and steadfast refusal to kowtow to the king, even at the expense of his head.

But he could not "excuse Bolt's idolatry of More's character" and outlined the serious misrepresentations in "the saccharine picture that both play and film present of More's religion and his furious and cascading hatred of Protestants".