Becket

Today, I finally saw Becket. When I saw Venus, I had said that I wanted to see more movies with Peter O'Toole. Right after that, Becket was re-released. (Ask and ye shall receive.) The only thing was that the daily showing of the movie was first at 6:30, and then changed to 4:30, which is a little early for me to be out and about -;) However, the lure of free parking in downtown San Jose on Sunday got me going.

Richard Burton, who played Becket, was really excellent in the role. (Overheard in the restroom after the movie, "He was good until Liz got her hands on him.") I'm not sure what to say about Peter O'Toole. He chewed up the scenery a lot, but it was written into the role. His Henry comes off as a spoiled brat, but maybe that's accurate. The two actors played off each other well.

I wish that the movie had explained Becket's transformation from a secular and politically adept courtier to a stiff-necked clergyman. The movie shows him giving away his clothes and praying to give honor to the role when he was made Archbishop of Canterbury, but not his motivation.

According to Wikipedia, the conflict between Church and State was different in the movie than in real life. I wonder why they changed it. In the movie, a priest raped a girl, and was hauled into civil court instead of ecclesiastical court. Then someone kills the priest, and Becket excommunicates the killer. (Another Wikipedia entry about Henry II backs up the movie version. Maybe inconsistency is a problem with Wikipedia.)

I don't get excommunication (except that's the only way that the Church could "hit back"). Given that Jesus said (roughly) that no one was beyond redemption, how did they justify kicking someone out of the Church?

Okay, I'm taking this movie a little too seriously. (Here's a review with gossip about the filming.)

I'm starting to burn out on movies a little. Maybe I should get out early one of these days and go for a nice walk along Guadalupe River Park.

Ghost cats

note_to_cat had an entry about ghost cats. After Chaos died, I had some instances where I thought I saw a shadowy cat out of the corner of my eye, but when I turned and looked, he was gone.

I hadn't seen him for a while, certainly not since I got Harlee and Nima. Maybe it got too crowded. I didn't see him in Fresno.

Then I saw him the other day, not too long after I moved back here. Maybe he's glad that I'm back. Who knows....If it is Chaos, hello little love.

And yes, I should be asleep right now. Why do you ask? -;)