Original subtitles

[♪♪♪]

MAN: Have you checked the courts or the king's chapel?

CROMWELL: Majesty, His Grace, Archbishop Cranmer, is here.

Your Grace.

Your Majesty.

We have had a great success throughout the whole country

in the swearing of allegiance to Your Majesty as head of the Church.

Also in favour of your marriage to Queen Anne.

But we cannot persuade either Fisher or Thomas More to swear the oath.

However, they may swear to part of it.

Sir Thomas has already told us he has no argument

with the Act of Succession, and-- No.

There can be no compromise.

For if we allow them, of all men, to swear to what they like

and not anything else, then they set a precedent for others to follow.

In this matter, Your Grace, it is all or nothing.

Majesty.

Mr. Secretary. Majesty.

Dame Alice, the wife of Sir Thomas More, has written.

She asked to remind you that her husband

has given long and true service

and he does nothing out of malice,

but only the imperative of his conscience.

I know all about his conscience.

He's been wearing it on his sleeve for years.

When he resigned as chancellor, he made me a promise

that he would retire from the world and live privately and attend his soul.

But this was not true.

He continued to write and publish pamphlets about my matter

and my conscience.

He visited Catherine.

He cajoled others to support her.

In other words, he broke his promise.

He must accept the consequences.

CROMWELL: Majesty.

[♪♪♪]

Sir Thomas, you have visitors.

ALICE: Thank you.

Thomas. Alice.

Margaret. Oh...

Alice.

[CHUCKLES]

Father. Look at you.

Well, Thomas More,

I marvel that you have always been taken for so wise a man,

that you will now play the fool here in this close, filthy prison

and be content apparently to be shut up among mice and rats.

Oh, don't be like that.

I assure you this is one of the very best rooms in the tower.

In fact,

formally,

I am a guest of the constable, who just brought you here.

And I said to him before that if I ever showed the least sign of ingratitude

for his great generosity, he should just

throw me out of the tower altogether.

You know why we have come here.

I thought it was to see me.

Yes.

It was to see you.

But beyond that, it was to ask you to swear the oath,

so that you could come home with us.

Alice, tell me one thing.

What is that?

Is not this house as close to heaven as my own?

Good God, man. Is that all you can say?

[CLEARS THROAT]

You were always plain-speaking.

It's one of the attributes I admire you for.

Well, then I shall tell you plainly, husband,

that I, and Margaret and all your other family

have all sworn the oath and feel no worse for it.

And I have always said that I do not blame any other man or woman

who has sworn. I only say that I myself cannot swear.

Then you are thinking only of yourself. If you are proceeded against,

as you know very well, all your possessions will be forfeited

to the crown and we will be forced into penury.

I have had more sleepless nights over that issue than over anything else.

But still you will not swear! Alice!

I want you to understand, please.

I do not-- I do not willingly seek martyrdom.

I will do everything I can to accommodate the king and his desires.

We must remember that he once made me a promise

that he would never force me to do anything against my conscience,

to look first unto God,

and only after unto him.

So, Margaret, don't be sad.

And, Alice,

say you are not angry with me.

Please.

If you left, and I thought so, I would feel--

I'd feel even more lonely than before.

No.

I am not angry with you.

[♪♪♪]

But I am frightened.

Oh...

So very frightened.

[ALICE SOBBING]

MAN 1: Your Majesty.

WOMAN: Your Majesty. MAN 2: Your Majesty.

MAN 3: Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

[CHATTERING]

Your Majesty. Aah!

My Lady? Aah...

What is it? My Lady?

Your Majesty. My Lady.

What is it?

Oh, no. Your Majesty.

[ALL GASPING]

Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

Get the physician!

[♪♪♪]

[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]

I lost the baby.

Yes.

They told me.

We shall make no public announcement of the fact.

No.

[♪♪♪]

Thank you, Your Majesty.

[DOOR OPENS]

CROMWELL: Stand by.

Mr. Fisher. I came to bring you two pieces of news.

In the first place, the pope has made you a cardinal.

But the second is that Parliament has decreed

that to maliciously deny the king's supremacy in all matters

is now a treasonable offence, punishable by death.

So I ask you again.

Will you accept the king as the supreme head of the Church

and take the oath?

You already know my answer to that.

My agents intercepted this letter.

Its intended recipient was the emperor.

In it, the writer begs the emperor to invade England

and restore what he is pleased to call the true queen and the true faith.

Did you write this letter?

In due course, Mr. Fisher,

you are to be arraigned for treason...

and are to be tried according to His Majesty's pleasure.

Mr. Secretary,

I must thank you for bringing me word about my new hat.

At least it was not all bad news.

[♪♪♪]

Cardinal.

[SIGHS]

Forgive me, ambassador, for receiving you like this.

I am sad to find Your Majesty so unwell.

Is it so surprising?

I have received visits from the Earl of Wiltshire and others

trying to make me take the oath

and threatening me when I did not.

Boleyn said that I should be sent to the scaffold.

I truly believe that man to be an emissary of Satan.

Tell me, what news of poor Bishop Fisher?

Parliament has passed a new Treasons Act

which makes malicious denial of the king's supremacy

punishable by death.

Poor Fisher.

He was a lion in my defence.

And now he will die alone and ashamed in a prison cell.

What caused it?

There was nothing.

Of course there was something. What did you do to kill the baby?

I didn't.

I don't know.

Believe me, Father, I was so careful.

Well, not careful enough.

Well,

from now on we must all be careful,

you especially,

not to lose the king's love.

Or everything is lost.

Everything.

For all of us.

[♪♪♪]

HENRY: Charles, I want to ask you a question.

BRANDON: Mm-hm?

Have any of the women you've bedded ever lied about their virginity?

Their virginity? Mm-hm.

I'd say it's the other way around. Did any of them not lie about it?

Why do you ask?

I ask Your Majesty's forgiveness.

It doesn't matter.

I asked for the truth and you told me so.

What's this?

Dismount your horse!

Dismount now!

Down!

Good morrow.

Good morrow, Your Majesty.

What's your name?

William Webbe, Your Majesty.

No, your sweetheart's name.

Uh, Bess, Your Majesty.

Come here, Bess.

WEBBE: I assure Your Majesty

I have a permit and permission to ride through Your Majesty's forest.

I swear it, and could easily prove it.

Hello, Bess.

Your Majesty.

[♪♪♪]

Come with me.

GUARD: Form up!

[MOANING]

Are you really the King of England?

No, I was only pulling your leg.

[CHUCKLING]

Our English friend writes

that the Lady is not to have a child after all.

He also says that the king has already been unfaithful to her.

"But all this may mean nothing,

considering the changeable character of the king

and the craft of the Lady, who well knows how to manage him."

You and I, Campeggio, have done well to avoid the craft of women.

Celibacy is an immense relief.

Yes, Holy Father.

But our friend is still fearful

for the lives of Queen Catherine and her daughter,

neither of whom is safe as long as the concubine has power.

I will have prayers said for our dear sisters,

and also for Cardinal Fisher.

May God grant him the courage to endure his tribulations.

Yes, Holy Father. On the other hand...

Yes?

On the other hand, in the days of the founders of our church,

it was considered a privilege to be martyred,

like Saint Peter and the other apostles.

Our church was founded upon the blood of these martyrs.

So perhaps it is a pity that you and I, Campeggio, unlike Cardinal Fisher,

no longer have the opportunity to die for Christ.

JOHN: Sir Thomas.

Sir Thomas.

Yes, I'm here.

[♪♪♪]

I'm here. Who are you?

John.

A servant to Bishop Fisher, who is kept below here.

He asks you to be of good cheer.

How is he?

Truth be told, sir, he is old and not well.

He cannot eat the food here.

But his spirit remains ever unbroken.

I'm glad to hear it.

Not in the least bit surprised.

He asks if you would ever contemplate taking the oath,

and under what circumstances?

Tell him that I cannot take the oath

without damning my soul for all eternity.

And that I will not do.

Thank you, sir, for that.

I know it will renew my master's courage.

Now I must go.

God bless you.

Tell me, Mr. Cromwell,

does Sir Thomas More still continue in his stubbornness?

Yes.

You will force him to give his reasons

or I will deem his silence on the matter to be malicious.

I am appointing you vice regent in spiritual matters.

It's true you are a layman and not a churchman,

but in this matter I could not trust the prejudices of any churchman.

[♪♪♪]

[SIGHS]

My Lady, your sister has come.

Sister.

Mary. Ha-ha.

Your Majesty.

You are with child.

How has it happened? We knew nothing.

I'm married.

Married?

So

who is your husband?

His name is Mr. William Stafford.

I haven't heard of him. Is he at court?

He...

William is a man of little standing and no fortune.

He is now a serving soldier in Calais.

Then you think him

worthy to be the husband of the Queen of England's sister?

Yes, Father. Since I love him and-- You are very much mistaken.

You married him in secret and without asking our approval.

He is such a nothing we could never have given our permission.

If you were to meet him you would see

that he is a good, fine, honest man.

Since you acted brazenly and in spite of me, Mary,

I shall cut off your allowance.

You and your fine, honest young man can rot in hell,

as far as I am concerned.

[♪♪♪]

Anne.

How easy do you think it was for me to find a proper husband,

when I was called the great prostitute?

Indeed, I think myself fortunate to have found William and to be loved by him.

You did not ask my permission.

Do I have to ask your permission to fall in love?

BOLEYN: Yes!

Now we are royalty.

Everything is different.

Please.

Please,

sister.

[SOBBING]

No. No.

You and your husband are banished from court.

GUARD: Your Honour.

Mr. Cromwell,

how may I please you?

It would please me very much if you could give me the reason

or reasons why you will not take the oath.

I have, um, discharged my mind of all such matters

and will no more dispute kings' titles, nor popes'.

The king accuses you of stubbornness and obstinacy

for not giving your reasons.

You must have some view of the statute.

I have this view,

that the Act of Parliament is like a double-edged sword,

for if a man answer one way it confounds his body,

and if he answers another, it confounds his soul.

But if you do not answer at all, you will incur penalties.

His Majesty has commanded me

to draw up an act of attainder against you.

This will make your imprisonment permanent.

Poor Alice.

Sir Thomas.

Why will you not take the oath? Thousands have.

Many, I'm sure, share your beliefs and your faith.

And yet, not your scruples.

Well, as for that, some may do it for favour

and some for fear.

Some may perhaps think they can later repent and be shriven

and that God will forgive them.

And others may be of a mind that if they say one thing but think another,

then their oath goes upon what they think and not upon what they say.

But I cannot use such ways in so great a matter.

In which case,

and in all honesty, Sir Thomas...

you are likely to pay the ultimate price.

Mr. Cromwell, there really is no difference between us,

except that I shall die today

and you tomorrow.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[CHATTERING]

Forgive me, but aren't you Margaret More, Sir Thomas' daughter?

Yes, sir.

I am Eustace Chapuys, the emperor's ambassador.

It is a great pleasure for me to meet anyone associated with Thomas More.

Thank you, Your Excellency.

May I ask why you have come to court?

I have come to petition Mr. Secretary Cromwell.

Lately most of our lands have been sold off

and my family is gradually reduced to poverty.

Things go very hard with my mother.

I am sorry to hear it.

I am sorry for many things that are occurring in this kingdom.

The good seem to suffer, and the wicked to prosper.

[LAUGHING]

Oh, Mark. Majesty?

You're a free spirit. I love that.

Everyone else constrains me.

No one understands.

Never leave me.

[MUSIC ENDS]

[CROWD APPLAUDING]

Sister?

I couldn't sleep. I'm sorry.

Why could you not sleep?

For thinking of her.

Who? Thinking of who?

The Lady Mary, of course.

And her mother.

Catherine?

Yes, Catherine. What's wrong with you?

I don't understand.

What harm can they do you now? Every harm!

As long as Mary is alive,

she could be queen.

No. No, no.

The Act of Succession makes it impossible.

Elizabeth, your daughter,

will be made heir to the throne.

But the king can change his mind.

He can do whatever he wills now.

He has absolute power. You know that.

And what he has given, he can take away.

And what taken away, he can give back.

And he could still make Mary queen, even above my daughter.

But why should he?

I don't know, I just fear it.

[♪♪♪]

This is all I know of Mary.

That she is my death,

and I am hers.

[SPEAKING IN LATIN]

JOHN: Sir Thomas.

Sir Thomas. John?

Is that you, John?

My master, Cardinal Fisher, was found guilty

and is called forth tomorrow.

He hopes you and he shall soon meet in heaven.

Tell him that will be the way,

for it is a very strait gate we are in.

John.

John.

[♪♪♪]

Tell him he deserves and will receive all of heaven's graces.

Yes, sir. God bless you, sir.

[CHATTERING]

[WOMEN SOBBING]

God bless you.

[SPEAKING IN LATIN]

ALL: Amen.

You see that I am wearing my finest clothes,

for today is my wedding day.

Good people, I ask you to love the king

and obey him, for he is good by nature,

even if he is not right in his religious policies.

But I am condemned to die

for wishing to uphold the honour of God and the Holy See.

[CROWD MUTTERING]

And now, good Christian people, I ask you for your prayers.

I am only flesh, and fear death as much as any man.

It's true that I long since made up my mind to die,

if need be, for Christ and his Church,

but now that the moment is at hand...

I need your help.

God bless you, Cardinal Fisher.

MAN: God bless you, Cardinal Fisher.

God bless you, cardinal!

WOMAN 1: Peace be with you!

[CROWD SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

WOMAN 2: Bless you, Cardinal Fisher.

WEBBE: God bless you! God bless you, cardinal!

God bless you.

[FISHER SPEAKING IN LATIN]

[ALL GROANING]

[WOMEN SOBBING]

MAN [IN ITALIAN]: Not like that, asshole!

Moses looks like a pile of crap.

[SIGHS]

CAMPEGGIO: Holy Father.

Do you know who that was?

No.

Michelagniolo di Ludovico di Lionardo di Buonarotti Simoni.

Michelangelo? That was him?

That was him.

We forgive him because he is a genius.

Whatever that means.

Holiness, we have heard from England of the murder of Cardinal Fisher.

His head was struck from his body with an axe.

I have already heard. It is an outrage.

I had made Fisher a prince of the Church,

but it mattered nothing to King Henry,

who is now so mired in vice and lust

that he is beyond reason.

[CAMPEGGIO SPEAKS IN ITALIAN]

Majesty, now that Fisher is dead,

what is to be done about More?

[♪♪♪]

[SIGHS]

We should press ahead, Mr. Cromwell.

We should press ahead.

Father, what has happened here?

It seems to me that they are treating you worse than before.

Well, they've taken my stove,

some clothing.

My food is reduced.

Father, how can you--? Margaret.

You must not be concerned about me.

I've thought long and hard about Christ's passion and pain.

And I'm not afraid of death.

I'm only afraid of torture.

If they use violent ways to make me swear,

I don't know how brave I would be.

But you do not have to suffer anything.

Just take the oath, like I did.

Like everyone has done.

Just say it and your body will be saved.

But the saving of my body

will be at the expense of my soul. No.

Yes. No.

None of us believes that.

[♪♪♪]

Father, please.

Please.

For the love I know you bear us,

don't do this to us.

[MARGARET SOBBING]

Mr. Secretary.

Sir Richard Rich.

Sir Richard.

I'm very pleased to see you.

I have a job for you.

[WIND WHISTLING]

Why?

Why can he not be like others?

Why does he have to cross me?

Why can his vanity be greater than a king's?

It troubles me.

It weighs on my conscience and my heart is full and heavy and sore.

I say this only to you. I confess only to you.

I love him.

And I hate him.

I hate in equal measure to my love, for he is the spirit that denies.

It is up to you to judge whether or not he be on my conscience.

Sir Richard.

Good day to you.

I see my cell is fast becoming the place for lawyers to meet.

I am afraid, Thomas, that I come here most unwillingly, for I am ordered

to deprive you of all your books and papers and suchlike.

That is a pity.

Still, if you are ordered to, I suppose...

I suppose there is no other way.

You'd best get started.

May I ask you a question, Thomas?

Only if it's a hypothetical one, Richard.

It's better that way.

Suppose, then, that Parliament enacted a bill

to say that I, Richard Rich, was king,

and that it would be treason to deny it.

Would you accept me as king?

Yes.

But let me counter with another hypothetical case.

Suppose Parliament enacted

that God was not God,

and that to oppose the act would be treason.

Would you say that God was not God?

No. Since no Parliament can make any such law.

It has no competence to decide on the existence of God.

And no more can Parliament make the king supreme head of the Church.

[♪♪♪]

There, Thomas.

I think my work here is done.

Your Majesty,

the king is here.

My Lady.

Come here.

Do you still have a passion for me?

I do, sweetheart.

I love you.

There, now. Shh.

Don't weep.

Don't weep, my own darling.

It's all right.

Everything is going to be all right.

Shh.

[SOBBING]

[CHATTERING]

MAN 1: Sir Thomas.

MAN 2: It's treason.

COMMISSIONER 1: Sir Thomas More, you are arraigned before this commission

on charges of high treason.

How do you answer the charges?

Let me begin by denying

that I ever maliciously opposed the king's marriage to Anne Boleyn.

I have never spoken maliciously against it,

only sometimes according to my mind, opinion and my conscience,

and I have suffered as a result.

But you have maliciously denied the Act of Supremacy.

No, I've been silent upon it.

For all my taciturnity, neither your law nor any law in the world

is able justly and rightly to condemn me,

unless you may also lay to my charge either some word or some deed.

Your silence can easily be construed as an action.

But even in that case, the presumption that silence gives consent

precludes the charge against me.

[SPEAKS IN LATIN]

[WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY]

What of the charge that you conspired in prison with Bishop Fisher,

a convicted traitor?

I never met him in prison.

I only talked a little with his servant about familiar things.

And recommendations, such as were seemly to our long acquaintance.

[WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY]

We go back to your supposed silence on the Act of Supremacy.

We think you have in fact spoken about it.

And we have a witness.

Call the solicitor general.

MAN: Call Mr. Richard Rich.

[CROWD MURMURING]

Richard, you are under oath. Do you tell this commission,

truthfully, what the accused said to you on this matter?

Yes, sir.

We agreed that Parliament

might not make any such law that God was not God.

To which Sir Thomas said:

"No more can Parliament make the king supreme head of the Church."

COMMISSIONER 2: So he maliciously denied the king's authority?

In those words?

Yes, sir.

In those exact words.

[CROWD MURMURING]

Then I will charge this commission to return a true verdict.

I ask you, good sirs, to determine whether Sir Thomas More

did converse with Sir Richard Rich in the manner alleged.

You do so find him guilty.

[CROWD MURMURING]

Then I will proceed in judgement against the prisoner.

My Lord.

My Lord, when I was a lawyer,

the convention was to ask the prisoner before judgement was given

why judgement should not be given against him.

Hmm.

What, then, are you able to say to the contrary?

Thank you.

To my view,

this indictment is grounded upon an Act of Parliament

directly repugnant to the laws of God and his Holy Church,

the supreme governance of which

no temporal prince may presume by any law to take unto himself.

[CROWD MURMURING]

It belongs--

It belongs by right to the see of Rome, to Saint Peter and his successors,

as our Saviour told us himself when he was here on earth.

This realm, this realm being but one small part of the Church,

cannot make any particular law

disagreeable to the general laws of Christ's universal Catholic Church.

No more--

[CROWD MURMURING]

No more can this realm of England refuse obedience to Rome

than can a child refuse obedience to his own natural father.

[CROWD SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]

We now plainly see that you are maliciously bent.

No, sirs! Not maliciously!

I hope we may all meet merrily in heaven hereafter.

And I desire Almighty God to preserve and defend the king's majesty

and to send him good counsel.

[♪♪♪]

Sir Thomas More,

you are to be drawn on a hurdle

through the City of London to Tyburn,

there to be hanged till you be half dead.

After that,

cut down alive,

your bowels to be taken out of your body and burned before you,

your privy parts cut off,

your head cut off,

your body to be divided in four parts.

MAN: Thomas!

[CROWD SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]

Father. Bless us, Father.

MORE: I bless you, my children.

Be of good cheer, for I pray that we shall meet together in heaven.

JOHN: Father!

JOHN: Father! No.

When is the execution?

Tomorrow, Your Majesty.

What date is that?

The 6th of July.

What time?

At 10 in the morning.

[MAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

ANNE: That's absolutely hilarious.

Terrible.

[LAUGHING]

I've decided to commute the sentence to beheading.

Tell the officials.

[♪♪♪]

Yes, Your Majesty.

[SPEAKING IN LATIN]

Amen.

[CHATTERING]

[♪♪♪]

[GRUNTS]

Thank you, Sir Humphrey.

But when I come down again,

let me shift for myself, as well as I can.

I ask you to bear witness with me,

that I shall now suffer death

in and for the faith of the Holy Catholic Church.

I beg you earnestly

to pray for the king

and tell him

I died his good servant,

but God's first.

I ask for your pardon and blessing.

You give me this day a greater benefit than any mortal man

can ever be able to give me.

Pluck up your spirits, man.

Be not afraid to do your office.

MAN 1: Bless you, Sir Thomas! MAN 2: God be with you!

[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

[BELL TOLLING]

[SPEAKING IN LATIN]

[SCREAMS]

[SOBBING]

[♪♪♪]