The Summoning of Everyman

Year
Director:
Writer:
Cast:

2007
Douglas Morse
Petrus Dorlandus
Paul Barry
Sally Conway
Seth Duerr
Uma Incrocci
Zainab Jah
George McGrath
Lynn Cohen
Richard Rose
Lindsay Taylor

Director Douglas Morse is a part time faculty member at The New School. His goal was to create a professional film version of Everyman for use in his Script Analysis class and also for the academic community at large.

With a cast of accomplished New York City actors, this movie is a revelation. Beautiful, moving, and at times unexpectedly comic, a welcome addition for anyone tackling the play. This movie is for students, scholars, film buffs, and fans of the medieval. The story of Everyman is a spiritual tale of aging, dying and death.

God instructs Death to collect the soul of Everyman and bring him to his final judgment. Everyman, unable to bribe Death, must then seek a companion to join him on his journey to face his reckoning before God. Abandoned by Fellowship, Cousin, Kindred, and Worldly Goods, Everyman approaches Good Deeds, who alone will accompany him to the very end of his journey.

The Summoning of Everyman has screened at

The International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds
Screen Media Seminar, University of Cambridge
The Medieval Forum, Plymouth State University
New York University Department of English
The Catholic University of America

The Summoning of Everyman Trailer

The Summoning of Everyman Gallery

Buy the DVD

All Region DVD 52 Minutes
Available in the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and Japan exclusively from Films for the Humanities and Sciences

Reviews & Awards

"It's excellent to see this great classic of human mortality brought back to life with such commitment."
- Helen Cooper, Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English, University of Cambridge

"This is the most impressive film I have seen of a pre-Shakespearean drama in English. It not only illustrates an important moment in the history of Western theatre, but also - like the play it puts in motion - stages a breathtaking story of life and death. The cast, performances, cinematography, and locations are superb. The Summoning of Everyman is a gift to the serious student of drama, and a must-see for anyone interested in Shakespeare and the early modern theatre. Even after five centuries, Everyman's struggle to accept the fact of his own death remains uncanny in its power to move us."
- Douglas Bruster, Professor of English, The University of Texas at Austin, and co-editor with Eric Rasmussen of "Mankind" and "Everyman" for the Arden Early Modern Drama series

"This film beautifully captures the essence of The Summoning of Everyman. Teachers of early drama will be grateful for the way the film serves the text and evokes the play's time and religious culture. All viewers will appreciate Paul Barry's moving portrayal of the central character's plight."
- Harry Keyishian, "Shakespeare Bulletin," The Johns Hopkins University Press