HERE we have a lost masterpiece which has re-emerged in a restored version after 20 years. It is one of the cinema s historical epics. It came, too, at a time when Richard Burton and Peter O Toole were at the height of their acting careers. There is certa

HERE we have a lost masterpiece which has re-emerged in a restored version after 20 years.

It is one of the cinema's historical epics.

It came, too, at a time when Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole were at the height of their acting careers.

There is certainly depth, understanding and, not the least, chrisma about the performances as Henry II appointed his trusted companion to become Archbishop of Canterbury: a position which he believed would give him control over the church.

The outcome, as history tells us, was that Becket's duties and devotion to the church created a battle of wits between church and State.