The Six Wives of Henry VIII
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Annette Crosbie, Dorothy Tutin, Elvu Hale, Keith MichellBrand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Box set, Color
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 630 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-05-16
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Model: E2454
Studio: BBC Warner
Movie Reviews of The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Movie Review: Best Viewing of the Life of Henry VIII and his Queens/ The standard to which all others should be compared!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am so glad to hear this series is now available on DVD!! I recall watching this wonderful series on our little 19" black and white TV in 1971 and have raved about it to people ever since whenever anything Tudor-related is brought up. The acting was so good, and the history of the times was respected.
One reviewer mentioned that the DVD needed freshening. Hers was a 2000 release, while this is a 2006 release, btw.
It got me hooked on Tudor history. Since then in my opinion, its hard to find anything in film or historical non-fiction books that don't make me want to wince...or worse.
Phillipa Gregory should be ashamed of herself, I think anyway. The only good thing about her books being best-sellers is perhaps some people will go on to read better written, more accurate Tudor history or historical fiction.
As for other older films: "Man of All Seasons" feels dated, as does "Anne of a Thousand Days" but they're at least good entries into the field, and were well made. Glenda Jackson's "Elizabeth I" sold as a package with the "Six Wives of Henry VIII" was excellent, though I read in reviews it appears more dated than the Henry VIII films do. Its's nevertheless a great acting experience to watch.
I found the two Elizabeth movies starring Cate Blanchett released in the last few years to be discouraging. Many things were correct historically: the lovely clothes, the feel of the great icy cold castles, the constant fear of being "out of favor" and risking death thereby; but others were so far off, it felt like a "just miss" to me.
....Of course, wondering how serious Elizabeth's relationship with Robert Dudley was is one of those popular and never-to-be-known historical questions. That movie, however, with its' silly concept that Elizabeth I decided to recreate herself as the "VIRGIN QUEEN" for all time; a sort of symbol for...something..is ludicrous. She certainly spent a lot of time considering marriage for someone determined to be remembered as the "Virgin Queen".
The movie made from the Phillipa Gregory book....much was historically based but SO MUCH was based on rumor and theory---some from the time of the Tudors themselves. Its' too distressing. Makes me feel how I felt when I first read the "DaVinci Code". History for the lowest common denominator, and wild theories presented as facts...!
In this "Six Wives of Henry VIII" series, at last we have available good acting, good story telling, honest history, (so far as it is known) and a story that really holds you. Henry's tragedy, his desire for a son and heir, changed all of English history and perhaps even that of W.Europe, as he threw over Catholicism to allow him to marry a younger woman who might give him a son. The tragedies build up, as each queen has some flaw, major or minor, that he cannot abide. THEY of course, were even more tragic figures, losing one's head is after all a bigger tragedy than someone's longing for a male heir. But the women are seen as minor creatures in the big play of history while Henry VIII remains important, a major factor in events of his time and even down to ours, due to his decision to remake the entire religion (and in some ways the culture) of his lands.
A well written, well acted piece of film craft that anyone who is interested in that era should own.
Summary of The Six Wives of Henry VIII
A chronicle of England's turbulent years of the early 16th century recounting the life and times of the vibrant and lusty King Henry VIII in a cycle of six plays. Stars Keith Michell in his Emmy Award-winning performance as Henry VIII and features a 90-minute "bonus drama", The Other Boleyn Girl, based on the popular Philippa Gregory novel.Similar DVD Movies
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