Henry VIII
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Movie Reviews of Henry VIII
Movie Review: Interpretation in history...
Summary: 4 Stars
As an historian, I was a bit disappointed with the latest recreation of the lives and wiles of Henry VIII, arguably one of the most important figures in British history. The nursery rhyme is well known - Henry the Eighth was six times wedded; two he divorced, two beheaded...
This production, written by Peter Morgan (known for other television productions such as `The Jury') and directed by Pete Travis (also of `The Jury', also `Other People's Children'), is a period piece that largely rests on one primary theme - that Henry VIII was charged by his father with one task above all others, and that was to secure the succession for another Tudor. Since this was a world in which (supposedly) a queen could not rule in her own right, this required a male heir to the throne (of course, it would be Henry's own offspring that would change that assumption, for the better, and for ever).
Henry's quest to gain a male heir knew no bounds; by the time his obsession had destroyed many lives (not just those of the unfortunate women he married), he was an overweight and overbearing man with not too many years left to live. His succession of wives is made all the more dramatic by the speed of the unions - between his first divorce from Catherine of Aragon in 1533, he had five more wives in the span of only 10 years, the last one to last until his death in 1547. The women came into favour and fell out of favour quickly, sometimes due to infidelity and political intrigue, and sometimes due to the quirky whims of Henry.
It is this quirkiness that is highlighted in Ray Winstone's performance. Winstone is not well known to American audiences, but a regular fixture on British television and cinemas. Henry is presented as a brash, lustful, but often boyishly-innocent figure, vulnerable and wounded by others around him, especially the wives, if they do not live up to his expectations or desires of loving him for himself. The cast of women portraying the wives is impressive, including the award-winning Helena Bonham Carter as Anne Boleyn, Emilia Fox as Jane Seymour, and Clare Holman as Catherine Parr. If you think you recognise the voice of the narrator, you probably do - it is that of Shakespearean Derek Jacobi.
The sets, costumes, and other atmospheric pieces are well done and appropriate to the context. But this is an actor's piece, driven by dialogue, and here is falls a little short of fully satisfying. The characters are a bit too much of caricatures; they overemphasise certain strengths and weaknesses, and do not play as balanced figures (even for the imbalanced people that history tells us they were). This is meant to draw the tragedy of Henry's life out, and his role as more sinned against than sinning in many parts of the film play.
Well worth watching, the viewer who expects an undistorted history lesson will be disappointed. However, in the `some events have been changed for dramatic purposes' world of acting, it does help to cause some reconsideration here and there of all the events of the time. History is as much a record as it is interpretation. This is one.
Movie Review: Bottom line, it's entertaining
Summary: 4 Stars
I am not a historian and follow this period purely as a hobby, so I am in no position to argue with those who feel this movie is historically innacurate. However, in the research I do on the period, it seems there are differing accounts of various events in history-when information is that old it's going to be twisted around a bit. And frankly, there have been major historical innacuracies in a LOT of the Tudor films-Elizabeth, anybody? I will say this-I was bothered by the scenes in which Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard were executed publicly, when, as far as I know, they were both extended the privilege of being executed privately on the tower green, with only a few select people present. To have Anne coming out and having people mock her and shout "whore"-that was one innacuracy that stuck out to me.
All in all though I must say I was indeed entertained by this film. Dramatically I think it is a nice achievement, with excellent acting if not the best script. The pacing is awkward, with the entire first half focusing on Anne Boleyn and Katherine of Aragon, and the second half whizzing through the other four wives, barely paying any attention to Anne of Cleves (she doesn't even SAY anything in this version) and Catherine Parr (A fascinating woman and the stuff of great drama). But the other stories were nicely condensed I feel.
I greatly enjoy Winstone, in fact he is my favorite portrayal of Henry VIII and here is why: He adds a humanity to this tyrant that you rarely see. For dramatic purposes he becomes softer as he ages, and while I realize that is not entirely accurate, it makes the audience feel for him and tempts us to look beyond the black and white wife murderer image of this king. I particularly enjoy his scenes with Catherine Howard-here we are two hours into the movie and we are seeing yet another side of his character-humility.
I enjoy all of the portrayals of the wives with the exception of Bonham Carter. First of all she is WAAAY to old. She doesn't look her age but this is film, and you can't get away with casting someone who is obviously age innappropriate. She exerts herself nicely in the scene where Henry rejects her once and for all when their son is born dead, but in other scenes she seems indifferent. For what Henry put the country through for her, we should have seen more fire-it is hard to believe that he found this woman so special that he tore England apart on her behalf. I wanted Genevieve Bujold from Anne of the Thousand Days-her paired with Winstone, now that would have made for some incredible drama. (I know, I know, the two films are 35 years apart...but one can dream!)
All in all, I didn't learn anything from this adaptation, but the story of Henry's wives is like a fairy tale that I just like to hear over and over, and this version is an entertaining adaptation.
Movie Review: Henry VIII: the man who changed England forever
Summary: 4 Stars
This new production of Henry viii begins with Henry vii on his deathbed telling his son the young Henry that above all else he must have a son to protect the dynasty and keep the throne strong. Thus begins a life long ambition that emotionally and physically engulfs King Henry. Directed breathlessly by Pete Travis, written eloquently by Peter Morgan, and filmed magnificently by Peter Middleton, this chronicle of the lusty king is a brilliant tour de force of a bloody and conflicted age, where the efforts to obtain and keep power often came at a hefty price.
Henry viii is definitely a robust production, but by concentrating mainly on Henry's marriages to his six wives and especially on his doomed love affair with his second wife Anne Boleyn, much of the historical background has been condensed, or in some cases, exorcised all together. Consequently, the film plays more like Henry viii for the abridged set, and those viewers who remember the more introspective and historically detailed series starring Keith Michell in the seventies, maybe in for a bit of a disappointment.
In this version, many of the background players briefly come and go and their roles in the life of the King and in the saga of the country, while important, are never really fleshed out. The viewer, for example, never finds out what happens to Henry's first wife Katherine of Aragon after he divorces her - we know she is exiled, but this is never explained on screen. It certainly helps if the viewer has knowledge of the events and people that shaped Henry's dynasty. Charles Dance, Sean Bean and David Suchet play characters that challenge the King and almost succeed in dethroning him, but their motivations are barely explained, although their actions do give the viewer a sense of the violent conflict that existed at the time: both within the population and the church.
The actors are generally top notch, with Ray Winstone totally inhabiting his character. The viewer watches in amazement as he transforms from being a sexy, handsome playboy who beds women at whim to an embittered, gout ridden, and over-weight old man, who is haunted by life's mistakes and the ghosts of his ex-wives. Winstone gives a swaggering, charming performance, totally convincing us of the conflict Henry had between his sense of duty to the throne, his need to father a son, and his unequivocal love for his wives. Helena Bonham Carter is suitably bewitching and determined as Anne Boleyn. She gives a subtle, heartbreaking performance as a queen who was wrongly accused of adultery. The action is, at times, brutal - there's a particularly ghastly close up of one of the beheadings - but the violence is never gratuitous and is always in keeping with the struggles of the period. Mike Leonard November 04.
Movie Review: history no, entertainment yes
Summary: 4 Stars
I found this TV production though not "historical," highly entertaining, 90% of it because of Ray Winstone's Henry VIII. He paints a portrait full of masculine vigor, with enough lust in his heart for at least a dozen men, and his tough guy East End accent somehow works well too, though it is quite a change from the Richard Burton/King's English type of Henry VIII I have previously seen.
There are scenes where he is memorable, like the emotion he expresses after Anne Boleyn (Helena Bonham Carter) gives birth to Princess Elizabeth.
In his old age Henry becomes a sad and sickly figure, and Winstone realistically catches that aspect of him too.
The rest of the large cast is also good, which includes David Suchet as Cardinal Wolsey, and Sean Bean in a role that is not long, but one of his most powerful, as Robert Aske, who goes against the king for having committed the brutal "dissolution of the monasteries."
The plot starts in 1509, with the death of Henry VII, and the young Henry VIII marrying Katherine of Aragon, but quickly segues to 1524, and centers on the last 21 years of Henry's life, with still no male heir from Katherine, enter Anne Boleyn and the other wives, court intrigue, and manipulations by Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell among those vying for power.
It is also quite gritty and bloody, and not for the young or squeamish, including muddy, violent battle and jousting scenes, lots of heads being chopped off, and even a dog fight, which fortunately is more heard than seen.
Well paced direction by Pete Travis, script by Peter Morgan, cinematography by Peter Middleton, and score by Robert Lane, make this an engrossing, if not historically accurate film, and since the core of this production are the intimate scenes, artistic license is to be expected.
Total running time is 250 minutes.
Movie Review: Decent film despite all the negative reviews
Summary: 4 Stars
I cannot figure out for the life of me why so many people are giving his movie horrible, almost vicious, reviews. The main complaint seems to be the historical inaccuracies. Well, the showtime TV show The Tudors is worse, grossly inaccurate, yet many people still enjoy it. This movie is inaccurate as are many film interpretations, but get over it. Other reviewers said that the actors were miscast and didn't look anything like the real-life personas. I 100% disagree. One only needs to compare a painting of Henry VIII to Ray Winstone to see the resemblence. In fact, Ray Winstone is probably my favorite Henry VII as he somehow manages to make a man who was overweight and unattractive seem sexually appealing. The show The Tudors, which I do like as well, is basically a Hollywood soap opera version where everyone is incredibly attractive. But what I liked about this film was that it was the opposite - the actors looked similar to the real people (more similar than any other film interpretation) and, as a result, seemed more realistic. The movie itself is a bit long and not the most exciting - more of a docudrama than a soap opera like the Tudors - but it definitely is worth watching, if at least to see another interpretation of Henry VII's life.