Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

calvinnme I was only 13 when this series aired on TV back in 1971. Others have mentioned seeing it on PBS, but I clearly remembering it first airing in the U.S. on network TV - I'm fairly sure it was CBS - back in the summer of 1971. Isn't it amazing that in 30 years we went from great historical drama being summer TV fare to schlock like Survivor and Fear Factor? At any rate, this series stars actors and actresses that Americans have probably never seen before since this was entirely a British production. It consists of six episodes - one for each wife - each running 90 minutes in length. My favorite episodes were those about the second and fifth wives - Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard, respectively. Dorothy Tutin plays the long pursued and then quickly rejected Anne Boleyn, mother of the future Elizabeth I. She is executed on trumped up charges merely because she had failed to produce a male heir and Henry could never come up with an excuse for another divorce just a few years after he had come up with a philosophical and religious reason for one to Catherine of Aragon. He would have completely lost face and one with Henry's pride could not have that. How ironic that it was Anne's daughter Elizabeth - not Henry's son Edward - that was the strong and able monarch and heir Henry had hoped to produce, and the one to clean up the mess he made of England's treasury when she assumed the throne. Katherine Howard, Henry's fifth wife, is the other wife that is executed, although the charges of adultery against her are true. Mitchell does an outstanding job of playing the heartbroken king when he learns of Howard's treachery. The thing is, Katherine Howard's treachery is not so much that as it is the expected outcome of a young healthy 17 year-old girl married to an old man 30 years her senior who can no longer be a real husband to her. She was truly a tragic figure, but typical of that era - a young girl treated as a commodity by her family and placed in an arranged marriage. It is odd that with all of the intelligent and beautiful wives that Henry had, the one that had his heart until the day he died was the shy and plain Jane Seymour, his third wife, mother of his only son, and the only one of his six wives to die a natural death while still his wife. Through all six episodes Keith Mitchell plays Henry the VIII spectacularly as he gradually ages from a lean eighteen year old that is full of life into a bloated self-indulgent old man who still has the passions he had a teen, but with a body that does not cooperate. Turns out kings like commoners cannot escape from the ravages of old age. If you enjoy this series, you might want to consider watching "Elizabeth R", starring Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth I. Both of these series are excellent, but that is the one that people have remembered over the years, plus it won an Emmy for Best Drama.

valjoemv-1 I have the DVD version of "Six Wives of Henry 8th" and I love it each time I watch it. Keith Mitchell is Henry 8th. Nuff said. The costumes were beautiful. I fancy myself as a royal expert (at least my family says so). I watch it at least once every two weeks. The women chosen to play Henry's six wives were well played. I noticed two people in the series. The man that played "Thomas Seymour" and the man that played "Steven Gardiner Bishop of Winchester" were played by the same men in "Elizabeth R" (Henry's daughter by Anne Boylen). The Duke of Richmond is only mentioned once in "Catherine of Aragon". In the history books he lived to see Anne Boylen executed. Why was he not mentioned in "Jane Seymour" when he died? My next question is the man that played "Cardinal Wosley" in "Anne of Thousand Days" was credited in "Six Wives of Henry 8th" as the Narrator/Voice. As many times as I've seen the series I can not recall him. Any one know where he is so for future reference I will hear or see him?

Fong-4 Those with a knowledge of the era will appreciate the care taken in bringing it to the screen, minor bloopers not withstanding. Expect something in the technical range of a soap opera; but the writing and acting are generally underrated. In particular, it is very hard to see how Keith Michell, or anyone, for that matter, could 'over-act' in portraying Henry VIII.

star54 I put the first tape(Catherine of Aragon) into the VCR expecting something....quite different! I must give them credit for getting the history right:) Other than that,the writing was awful,the acting was overacted,some hilarious bloopers occured (e.g-a microphone popping up for about 30 seconds) I would recommend watching it just for a good laugh! Especially those interested in that period.After laughing our way through the first video,we popped Anne Boleyn in and again experienced pretty much the same,um,quality filming/acting! But a pleasant surprise came with Jane Seymour.The outdoor scenes were actually filmed outside,the script was much better written,and it was overall better! To our disapointment,the guy who directed it only did this one video.The rest were pretty much in the same pattern as the first two.Overall the best word to describe the series was interesting.The best was by far,Jane Seymour. My rating: *1/2 Enjoy!