Henry VIII
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Movie Reviews of Henry VIII
Movie Review: Balderdash!
Summary: 1 Stars
I was eagerly looking forward to this. Boy, was I disappointed. I'm a scholar of the 16th century and have been captivated by Henry VIII's court and wives. Especially Anne Boleyn. I have read every biography of the wives and Henry. I hate anachronisms and this drama was full of them. I hate historical inaccuracies and we had plenty of those. I agree with one reviewer who said Henry was over 6 feet tall, and although bluff and hearty, he was cultured and elegant until he became ill and irascable and disillusioned. No one ever gets Catherine of Aragon correctly. I think Annette Crosby came closest in the first PBS six wives to her personality and coloring. Catherine was very tiny, under 5 feet tall, auburn haired and blue eyed. As she bore children, she lost her figure and grew heavy. However, filmakers insist in casting dark haired ladies who are tall and slim. Anne Boleyn eludes them completely. She was slim and "above middle height" with dark hair and deep brown eyes. She was charming, bright, witty and talented, both musically and vocally. They always portray her as a shrew. She captivated Henry and excited him. Jane Seymour was demure and quiet and very, very plain. Has anyone looked at Holbein's portrait??? Anyway I won't go on. It's all just more of the same. One great big disappointment.Movie Review: Very disappointed
Summary: 1 Stars
I was looking forward to this movie, as I love anything to do with the Tudors, and find the time period fascinating, as well as the bizarre monarchy! However, this movie leaves everything lacking. Let's start with the music. Lovely, but far too familiar. They stole it from Gladiator! I was wondering why I could anticipate the next note! Also some music and scenes were stolen from the movie Elizabeth. Truly, no need for this. A little original creativity, please! Helena Bonham Carter is usually quite good in her roles, but she showed no emotion, and her perfomance is dull and flat compared to Anne in "Anne of the Thousand Days." She never comes off as convincing, nor powerful, as the real Anne Boleyn was. Henry seemed weak, as well, and the whole story is a Reader's Digest version, which, unless you are familiar with Tudor history, makes it very difficult for a viewer to truly understand the politics between Church and State, in those days, and how the chaos influenced life at Court and beyond. I had thought I would purchase this, but won't bother, afterall, which is too bad. For movies, stick to Anne of the Thousand Days, Lady Jane, and Elizabeth. For accurate history, get David Starkey's The Six Wives of Henry VIII DVD, which will be time well spent. Sorry!Movie Review: Tony Soprano as Henry VIII????
Summary: 1 Stars
I agree with many of the reviewers here. One even mentioned Tony Soprano as the inspiration for Ray Winstone's horrid performance. Give Tony Soprano a cockney accent, died red hair, and you have Ray Winstone. I have to admit I thought about James Gandolfini througout the entire time watching this. I am truly disgusted with the barrage of historical inaccuracies in historical period films, some I can tolerate, but this was not one of them. The miscasting of Ray Winstone was perhaps the largest blunder - he was short, could not provide any sort of "majestical dignity", and did not for one minute convince me of Henry VIII. The wives did not carry the movie either. Helena Bonham Carter was pregnant during the filming, and her large girth was evident and poorly hidden. It was distracting when you are picturing a petite attractive woman, and Helena Bonham Carter has a larger waistline than Henry!! I cringed when they had Anne Boleyn say goodbye to the three year old Elizabeth in the tower, that was the most gut wrenching inaccuracy of many. The only part I enjoyed was the last minute or so when the narrator, stating that Henry VIII, despite his quest for a male heir, did have a glorious heir in the form of a daughter, Elizabeth I.Movie Review: Distortion and Disregard of Historical Fact.
Summary: 1 Stars
This movie aired in two parts on public television. The historical inaccuracies in part 1 disgusted me,so I did not see part 2 (from Jane Seymour onward)The actor playing Henry sounded like some "puir bloodie bullie" from Manchester or parts further north. The real Henry grew up among intellectuals (Henry was in his own right, a scholar, theologian, musician, poet, sportsman and amateur physician/apothecary.) in a court that held its own with France and Spain in courtesy and sophistication.
The film rightly shows that Henry VII and Henry VIII were suspicious of any person having a claim on the English throne, but Henry VIII did not slaughter the Duke of Buckingham and his adherents in a wood. Buckingham died on the scaffold for treason, but his rebellion was nipped in the planning stages. (If there was one. It could have been a plot by Cardinal Wolsey to be rid of a nobleman who whispered in the king's ear against him.)
Helena Bonham-Carter as Anne Boleyn was, as always, a fine actress, and her scenes were lovely visually; but her "Anne Boleyn" was not like the Anne of the history books except that she was queen and she was executed.
Movie Review: Nope nope nope nope nope
Summary: 1 Stars
This thing is three hours and twenty minutes long. An hour an ten minutes into it, Princess Elizabeth is born. That should give you some idea of the horrible pacing. Plenty of others have complained about the wild inaccuracies, from tiny things (headwear) to major world-changing events (the break with Rome skipped over in a heartbeat), so I'll sum up quickly. The dialogue and situations themselves seem forced and highly unrealistic--for instance, Henry VIII leans over others watching a joust, including Katharine of Aragon and Cardinal Wolsey, to flirt with Anne Boleyn. Other highlights: Wolsey personally torturing Buckingham in the Tower (wrong in at least 3 different ways), Princess Mary torn shrieking from her mother by brutal guards, Henry bending Anne over a table and raping her. I haven't even made it to disk 2. I think I'm done, though, and my copy is now for sale. If I have to hear "I can do anything I want--I'm the king of England; I'm the king of England--I can have anything I want" one more time, heads will roll.
On the other hand, you do get to see Henry VIII's bum. That rates one star on its own.