The Wives of Henry VIII
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Movie Reviews of The Wives of Henry VIII
Movie Review: Good Movie, very informative
Summary: 4 Stars
Two discs, interesting about the wives and not so much the king.Movie Review: Mediocre - an introduction at best
Summary: 3 Stars
I was extremely excited when this series was announced, but after seeing episode 1 I was bored and decided not to bother with the rest.
This is probably much more interesting to someone who is not familiar with Henry's marital escapades. The history and analysis were simplified and shallow, even given the very real limitations of the format. Part of the problem is that the visuals aren't used effectively to enhance our understanding or bring the characters to life. There is a certain amount of eye-candy, but this would lose very little if it was used as a radio broadcast. It would be fine as an introduction and overview, so long as the viewer realizes that things were a lot more complicated. I don't think that anyone already familiar with this oft-told tale will learn much.
Rather than really acting, the visuals were done more like tableaux of people moving against historic backgrounds. These sometimes got VERY repetitious. There was one shot of Catharine of Aragon praying that was used over and over. While there were some handsome shots, the casting, costuming and makeup left a lot to be desired. I think that in portraying historic figures, it is a good idea to be guided by their portraits.
The casting for Henry and Anne was fairly good. Catharine of Aragon was red-haired, but for some reason she was played by a dark-haired actress, presumably to "look Spanish". Sloppy, sloppy. I am sure that the audience could have coped with an auburn-haired Spaniard. One of my criteria for judging a book on Henry's wives is whether or not the author realizes that Catharine was not dark-haired and that she was quite pretty as a young woman. The glimpses that we got of Jane Seymour were not promising.
Although the costuming was generally handsome the women's headresses were often wrong. O.K., maybe it is a little picky to wince because Anne Boleyn is wearing the wrong style of French hood, but accuracy is nice, and probably wouldn't have cost any more. Again, why not rely on her portraits?
The makeup was truly appalling. Catharine of Aragon looks exactly the same at 16 as she does on her deathbed at age 50. It was remarked by one foreign visitor when she was in her 40s that the King of England was young and handsome, but his wife was old and deformed. I think that portraying her as she actually looked might have added to our understanding of the web of reasons that inspired Henry to seek an annulment. Henry also looks the same at 17 and 44 - couldn't makeup and costume have made a little effort? At least shown him as clean-shaven, as he was when he was young and added the beard and a little poundage as he got older? Ironically, the story makes a point of saying that Anne Boleyn was visibly aging although she is the one who is shown for the shortest time period. The visuals simply add very little to the program, a serious flaw in a visual medium.
I can only hope that this has inspired viewers to go out and read on the period. David Starkey's book Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII is much better than this.
Movie Review: What kind of actors are this?
Summary: 3 Stars
Yeah, yeah, it's fine and dramitic. But now I will talk about the actors- whom most look nothing like who they're acting.
Catherine of Aragon- Black hair? I'm pretty sure that Catherine had red hair and did not have black hair. On her bed, she looks more like Anne Boleyn than Catherine! Another problem is her signs of age. In her 40s they did not put wrinkles and whited hair on her. And on her deathbed, she looks like she's half her real age! Catherine looks exactly the same when she was 16 as of when she was 50, and I'm pretty sure that a woman ages at 34 years of time!
Anne Boleyn- Good, good, Anne's appearance and voice is like the real Anne and is effective, but there is one problem. Despite, the good appearance, she looks old, even older than Catherine of Aragon when she first came to court! And without her headress, she looks 10 year older.
Jane Seymour- Red hair??? I'm convinced that Jane Seymour did not have red hair, but had brown. It seems that they switched Catherine and Jane's hair colours around! And I don't think Jane has long hair of has chalky skin. And without a headress, she looks like a modern woman!
Anne of Cleves- Does anybody research around here!??? There is absolutely no evidence that Anne of Cleves had black hair. Neither in her portraits or in books. It's clearly yellow-brown from any portrait! Plus, in bed, she looks more like Catherine Parr!
Catherine Howard- It is convincable that she looks pretty and has a soft voice, but I doubt she had red hair. This way, she looks more like Lady Jane Grey.
Catherine Parr- She looks nice as Catherine Parr, but not historically accurate. Catherine had chalky white skin not pimpled and dotted skin! And she had black hair, not brown hair.
Henry VIII- Henry VIII in Part 1 was acceptable in voice and appearance. But in Part 2, They drift off the real appearance and give him a tired actor, instead of a booming, inpatient one. And his voice, does not sound like Henry VIII. Also, in the beginning of Catherine of Aragon, young henry looked like Edward VI, only taller and at 18, he should not have a beard!
Princess Mary: Good in young and old. No problems.
Princess Elizabeth: Too short as always. And this time, her hair is WAY too long! She is suppose to be as tall as a teenager at 13!
Prince Edward: What treachery! Edward's head is not fat and rounded and is suppose to have blonde hair, and a small body.
Thomas Cromwell, Thomas Cranmer, Thomas Howard: What happened to then Six wives of henry VIII!? Their Cromwell, Cranmer and Norfolk looked exactly like them in the portrait. Same hair, same face- practically completely the same! Here, Cromwell is too bearded and bald, Cranmer is too rounded and red, and norfolk is way too old.
In all, the actors are pretty dissatisfying
Movie Review: Six Wives
Summary: 3 Stars
Entertaining if you are a Tudor buff. Historically accurate but rather ho hum if you are not into this period.Movie Review: Guess I'm in a minority....
Summary: 2 Stars
...but I feel duped. I really don't see the beauty and drama everyone's talking about. Instead I see a bunch of actors standing--literally standing, frozen in tableaux--and looking straight into the camera, smiling or frowning or whatever, while Starkey works himself into a lather in his narration. The whole thing has a rushed and oversimplified feel to it (example: Anne Boleyn insisted that Henry VIII divorce his wife and marry her....HELLO, a little more complicated than that). What's really baffling is that Starkey, of all the people on the face of the earth, should know better than to present this as a simple little fairy tale. Even the details people rave about--the costumes, the hairstyles--are distracting. Jane Seymour wears a fantastic contraption on her head unlike any I've ever seen in portraits of this period, and is decked out like the Queen of Sheba while she's still only a lady-in-waiting. And hair-down-over-the shoulders is not a Tudor period hairstyle. There were lice at court. Only the queen wore her hair loose on formal state occasions. The women playing Anne Boleyn and especially Catherine Howard (who Starkey makes a point of telling us was a "teenage queen"--Johnny Cash, anyone?) look too old for their roles. It sounds petty, but it's touches like these that are supposed to really bring a series like this to life. Unfortunately they can also damage it as well. The worst part has got to be Starkey's delivery--he's really over the top. If you've ever seen Jack Horkheimer talk about astronomy, you have some idea of how worked up this guy gets.