Jackson Booth-Millard
I had remembered watching a tiny bit of this British film in secondary school when I was doing history, I knew that I had to see the whole thing at some point in the future, so when I got the opportunity I did. Basically set in Tudor England, King Henry VIII (Keith Michell) is on his deathbed, he reminisces on his long reign, and especially the crucial part his six wives played, without producing the male heir he desired to take his place and prevent civil wars. His first wife and queen was Spanish princess Katherine of Aragon (Frances Cuka), but all of the children she produced died, apart from daughter Mary, so he annulled the marriage and the divorced, this was his longest marriage, for 23 years. Henry's second wife was Anne Boleyn (Charlotte Rampling), while courting her she refused to sleep with Henry until they were married, she was a mysterious woman, with a sixth finger, so some believed her to be carrying out witchcraft, she also failed to produce a son, only daughter Elizabeth, they divorced, and she was later executed and beheaded for "infidelity", they were married for over 2 years. Henry's third wife was Jane Seymour (Jane Asher), who Henry met with the help of chief minister Thomas Cromwell (Donald Pleasence Donald Pleasence), protégé of Cardinal Wolsey (John Bryans), she does finally give Henry a son, Edward, but she dies soon after the birth, they were married for just over a year, and Edward later died aged 15 from tuberculosis. Henry's fourth wife, who he was advised to marry for diplomatic reasons, with Cromwell pushing for the lady, was German princess Anne of Cleves (Jenny Bos), Henry was initially shown a portrait of her, but was disappointed by her true appearance, he reluctantly marries her, but after only 6 months they divorce. Henry's fifth wife was Catherine Howard (Lynne Frederick), Anne Boleyn's young cousin, she was pressured to marry him by her uncle, but Archbishop Thomas Cranmer (Bernard Hepton) informs Henry she had liaisons before the marriage, he initially refuses to believe it, but Cranmer secures a confession, she also admits to an affair with Thomas Culpepper (Robin Sachs), she is beheaded, they were married for just over a year. Henry's sixth and final wife was Catherine Parr (Barbara Leigh- Hunt), he approached her while elderly, she is at first reluctant to marry, but Henry confesses to needing companionship, she becomes a loving stepmother to the royal children Mary, Elizabeth and Edward. After all the flashbacks have ended it returns to Henry VIII in his final moments of life, with Catherine Parr and Princess Mary by his side, Archbishop Cranmer is summoned to take his final confession, but while holding his hand, and before he can finish, Henry VIII finally dies from chronic heart failure. Also starring Michael Gough as Duke of Norfolk, Brian Blessed as Earl of Suffolk and Michael Goodliffe as Thomas More. Michell had previously played Henry VIII in the six-part television series The Six Wives of Henry VIII, obviously each episode focused on each of the six wives, he gives a standard performance, I agree Pleasance is more interesting as the devious Cromwell, and Cranmer gets his moments, as do all the supporting cast members, the costumes are good as well, I paid no attention at all to the political stuff, I just concentrated on the King with each wife, especially number 2, as an overall film, it's not a bad historical drama. Worth watching!
Chase_Witherspoon
If you haven't time to immerse yourself in the mini-series, then this two hour, compact 'preview' will give you a neatly constructed overview of the virile King and his exploits as he seeks to secure his lineage by conceiving a successor to his throne.Rather than condense aspects of the original mini-series (which essentially set aside one episode per wife, to put it crudely), this film version has been entirely remade. Only Michell reprises his title role, showcasing his intuitive interpretation of the rambunctious, though sometimes fragile majesty. Perhaps predictably, Charlotte Rampling's Anne Boleyn has the greatest exposure, though each of the wives acquit themselves well with the often limited dedicated screen time (the lovely Jane Asher playing the ill-fated Jane Seymour stands-out among the rest).Aussie actor Michell is a more vulnerable King Henry VIII than other memorable incarnations produced by Charles Laughton or Robert Shaw, displaying a deep-seeded personality conflict that while not unique to the character, is played with a more sympathetic tone and gesture.Hussein's ultra-light has its moments, although clearly it proves difficult to compress six marriages each with their own ulterior motives and intrigue into a mere two hour snapshot. For a preview, it's superb, though it's really no substitute for the mini-series time permitting.
bkoganbing
The recent BBC series The Tudors certainly had nothing on their productions a generation ago of Henry VIII And His Six Wives and Elizabeth R. Henry VIII certainly had his marital problems, but they weren't just his domestic concerns. Other heads rolled when this guy discarded a wife.Most account of Henry VIII usually start with him trying to get a divorce from Catherine of Aragon in the 1530s so he could begat himself an heir with another. In fact in the first episode which does cover 30+ years of his reign and a bit of Henry VII we meet the young and virile Prince Henry who takes as his bride, Catherine of Aragon intended for his late older brother Prince Arthur. England did in fact come close to having a real King Arthur.To keep to the format of dealing with his reign wife by wife a lot of history gets crammed into that first episode. Always uppermost in Henry's mind was the previous century and the dynastic struggles with the Houses of Lancaster and York known popularly as the War of the Roses. He wanted and needed a male heir to secure the secession and everything else was subordinated to that.Subordinate he did because when the Pope under pressure from the occupying Spanish Army in Rome of the Emperor Charles V who happened to be Catherine of Aragon's nephew, Henry just broke from Rome and founded the Anglican Church. No church was going to tell him what to do and mess up the chance of a peaceful succession.Keith Michell is a wonderful Henry VIII both as a young man and later on as the fat tyrant he's come down in popular culture as. The wives are well suited to their parts with Frances Cuka (Catherine of Aragon), Charlotte Rampling{Anne Boleyn), Jane Asher{Jane Seymour}, Jenny Bos {Anne of Cleves), Lynne Fredericks{Catherine Howard), and Barbara Leigh-Hunt{Catherine Parr}.Charlotte Rampling is tragic as the young ambitious Anne Boleyn from an even more ambitious family who won the king and then committed the horrible sin of having a girl baby. That baby grew up to be Queen Elizabeth, but her road to the throne was a rocky one also. Anne was essentially framed with an adultery charge in order to get rid of her.Which leads me to the best of the episodes. Lynne Fredericks as wife five Catherine Howard was a wild child to say the least. No fool like an old fool who really thinks this one wouldn't be straying. With the succession secured by Edward the child of Jane Seymour, Henry just wanted a little frolic. But he was old and fat and Ms. Howard had needs. Which she fulfilled with just about any young male who was around. Henry VIII's reign was full of ironies and this was one of the biggest ones. He had to frame Boleyn to get rid of her, but Catherine Howard needed no framing. He couldn't execute her fast enough once he found out.Thomas Cromwell who arranged the Boleyn marriage and later the Anne of Cleves marriage has come down as a sinister and thoroughly unpleasant man. And he's played by a guy and played well by one who's done a lot of sinister and unpleasant people, Donald Pleasance. Look also for a good performance by Bernard Hepton as Thomas Cranmer the first Archbishop of Canterbury under the new Anglican leadership.I've not seen the new Tudor series, but it will have to go some to beat this excellent mini-series from the BBC.
