Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

HotToastyRag While the famous scene from The Private Life of Henry VIII is unarguably the turkey leg scene, during which a very angry King Henry VIII eats an entire turkey while shouting his frustrations that another marriage is being forced upon him, this movie shows much more than the king's eating habits. As the title suggests, it reveals the private side of a king history has painted so vilely. The word "king" isn't even included in the title, because for most of the movie, he's shown to be a man, not a ruler. If you only think of King Henry VIII as a cruel, wicked king who beheaded his wife, give this movie a watch. You'll see a completely different side, a heartbreakingly human side.If you've seen a painting of King Henry VIII, you know he looks nothing like Richard Burton's portrayal in Anne of the Thousand Days. In this 1933 biopic, Charles Laughton completely transforms into the role. When he strides forward in his entrance, it's shocking to see the historical figure come to life. Charles won an Oscar for his performance, and even during the first ten minutes of the film, it's clear why. He's a master at transforming for different parts, and everything, from his walk to his laugh to his air as he interacts with his subjects, is utterly regal. As the film progresses, the audience is treated to more of his private personality. He may be annointed to the throne by God, but he feels terribly out of control of his life, and his anguish is palpable. Marriages are arranged without his desire, daughters are born instead of sons, and his very movements within the palace are curtailed by his guards.One of the most interesting aspects of the story is the power women have over the queen. King Henry VIII is a figure best remembered for his cruelty to Anne Boleyn, but this film shows a different reality behind closed doors. Henry's different wives exert enormous control over him. He's portrayed as a terribly romantic figure-despite his outward appearance-and when in love, will do anything and everything to impress his woman of choice. Merle Oberon, Wendy Barrie, Elsa Lanchester, Binnie Barnes, and Everley Gregg play the various wives. Binnie, the wife with the greatest screen time, isn't in love with her husband and has an affair with one of his loyal subjects, Robert Donat. It's incredibly heartbreaking, because, even though Charles Laughton's feelings run deep. He may be a king, but he can crumble and weep from a broken heart like any man.I've heaped a great deal of praise on this film, and if you start watching it and think, "I don't want to watch this gross guy onscreen for ninety minutes!" just give it another ten minutes. It's a fascinating character piece, and Charles gives a wonderfully layered performance.

writers_reign I managed to avoid this for most of my life but in the end I capitulated if only in order to see hambone Laughton actually chewing something else - several chickens - besides the scenery. Okay, it was made back in the day, when punters were still getting used to hearing the actors actually speaking and would accept virtually anything but seen today it's dire personified with Laughton leading a group of actors who appear to mistake Denham for Straftord-upon-Avon and appear to be competing for the Bransby Williams medal for declamatory, with only Elsa Lanchester's Ann of Cleves anchored in Buckinghamshire. Fits where it touches.

MissSimonetta I cannot tell you how many people I have come across who do not get that this is a black comedy and not a factual representation of the life of Henry VIII, despite the dryness of the title. One person even said they shut the film off after the first inter title quips that Katharine of Aragon was not worth mentioning because she was a good woman. Do they not realize that was a joke or are people THAT dense? If you don't realize it's supposed to be humorous after witnessing the circus-like attitude toward Anne Boleyn's execution at the opening, then surely you did by the time it gets to the wedding night between Anne of Cleves and Henry, where they play cards as they nonchalantly discuss terms of divorce.Ranting aside, if you're one of those people who DOES realize that this is a comedy, then you're bound to have a good time. The Private Life of Henry VIII (1934) is an episodic picture going through the many marriages of one of England's most infamous monarchs. Charles Laughton is amazing in the lead, portraying a Henry that is commanding and powerful as well as humorous and poignant. He's especially moving during his final scenes, where Henry tries fighting against his advancing age to impress his much younger fifth wife and especially when he breaks down after discovering she has been carrying on with a much younger man. Other notable performers are Elsa Lanchester as Anne of Cleves who plays off of Laughton well, and the gorgeous Merle Oberon as Anne Boleyn who faces death with dignity and a bit of humor.Turn your inner historian off and enjoy!

Robert J. Maxwell Near the beginning of "Three Days of the Condor," Max von Sydow and his gang of hired hit men brutally murder in cold blood half a dozen harmless and unarmed civilians. At the end, von Sydow's character has a little speech that is supposed to make us sympathetic. He may kill for the group that pays him the most, but he is a sensitive man, a man of principle. But that initial mass murder, starkly depicted, is an unforgivable act. It was so repellant that the fact that he might know the Louvre inside and out became irrelevant.I had the same problem with "The Private Life of Henry VIII." Charles Laughton gives a find performance, considering that it's so overplayed. But one expects a great big ham at a royal banquet. The difficulty is that the film begins with the tragic beheading of Anne Bolyne, Henry's second wife. And the preparations are dwelt on. The French headsman, imported for the occasion, spends forever sharpening his sword. There is reassuring talk about how it doesn't hurt. Happily the execution takes place off screen, as does the descending sword in "Anne of the Thousand Days," which tells part of the same story.The king isn't at all put off by his wife's death. She had to make room for wife number three. He goes through half a dozen wives. In the last scene he turns to the camera and says, "Six wives, and the last one is the worst." And we're supposed to chuckle at the bad luck of this pompous, self indulgent, murdering curmudgeon who lives by hypothetical imperatives alone.Laughton's performance can't be criticized. He shouts out orders and bullies everyone, man and woman alike. When he executes another wife for possible adultery, he weeps as he prays for forgiveness, "Mea culpa," but I don't believe it. He's never shown remorse in his life. Yet he injects some humor into the narrative. "There is no more delicacy," he complains at the dinner table, as he tears off a large piece of capon and slips the bones over his shoulder. Laughton has developed a walk that reeks of uncompromising authority, as he stomps around the castle.I guess the contemporary audience enjoyed it. I didn't like it much.