Amazon.co.uk Review
At the heart of Henry VIII stands a towering performance by Ray Winstone, who literally grows into the role, impressively doubling in size and ageing 40 years over the course of two feature-length episodes. Focusing on Henry's relationships with his six wives, this lavish mini-series also makes a good job of explaining the complex court intrigues of the period, detailing Henry's split with Rome and the political crisis following the creation of the Church of England. Winstone initially seems to play the King as little more than a London gangster, but he gradually unfolds a complex, brutal, manipulative, romantic, dedicated and driven man with great skill.
In a role which harks back to Lady Jane (1986), Helena Bonham Carter makes an intelligent and sardonic Anne Boleyn, her bold performance contrasting strongly with Geneviève Bujold in Anne of the Thousand Days (1969). Emily Blunt impresses as the sexpot Katherine Howard, and Emilia Fox is compelling as Henry's greatest love, Jane Seymour. There's fine support from an all-star cast, including Sean Bean, Charles Dance and David Suchet. The production is unflinching, with burnings, torture, marital violence and executions graphically portrayed. If there's a weakness it lies in too-modern dialogue and an uncertain visual style, with noticeable borrowings from John Boorman's Excalibur and Ridley Scott's Gladiator, as well as setting Shakespeare in Love-style elegance against the ugly colours and graininess of reality TV. Ultimately Henry VIII plays most like a prequel to Elizabeth (1999)--right down to using the same piece of Elgar to underscore the finale--and has most of the same faults and virtues as that Oscar-winning film. --Gary S Dalkin
Customer Reviews:
A Miscast Star.......2008-03-13
Ray Winstone is an excellent actor, but I fear he was miscast as Henry VIII in this production. What chiefly grated on me was his "Eastenders"
accent which contrasted sharply with the accents of his courtiers who all speak with received pronunciation. Admittedly we do not know how Henry VIII actually spoke (though his letters and other writings give a clue as to his linguistic code) but presumably he would have spoken with the accent and vocabulary of a highly educated upper class man of his time.
Hence I found such lines as "Wot, nuthink from court?" stretched the credibility of his portrayal to the limit.
Having said that, this production is still far superior to the dreadful
characterisation by Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the recent BBC TV series "The Tudors".
Decent drama but misses much out.......2007-08-20
Henry VIII starring Ray Winstone as the domineering monarch, Helena Bonham Carter as Anne Boleyn and Emily Blunt as the tragic Katherine Howard, is an amusing drama on the reign (and of course the marriages) of Henry VIII.
Ray Winstone plays the king with an East End London accent; this can evoke different responses. Either you will love it and find it amusing or even oddly endearing or it is too distracting and silly. For myself, I could not help but find it amusing. What helps is that Winstone looks fantastic as Henry. He also possesses the ability to play a domineering, bullish and terrifying individual which is a fantastic quality to have when playing the tyrannical monarch.
The problem is though, that some of the other casting does not match Winstone. This is particularly the case with Bonham Carter as Anne Boleyn. We see nothing of Anne's repudiated haughtiness or her political abilities. We do not even see the Boleyn faction that surrounded her. In contrast though Cromwell and Wolsey are casted well.
Like all productions on this period, things have been simplified in order for the production to be allocated into certain time regulations. There is also poor focus on Henry's marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, and to his final wife, Katherine Parr. In addition the scenes after Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn are pretty poor; again it takes the belief that after Anne gave birth to Elizabeth, Henry distanced himself from her, not considering of course that they remained married for nearly three more years. But her trial and in particular her execution is covered well.
The highlights of the drama includes the coverage of `The Pilgrimage of Grace' of 1536 led by Robert Aske, who is played brilliantly by Sean Bean. Emily Blunt is fantastic Katherine Howard and as a result her storyline is the best. The final montage at the end is effective and informative.
Overall this production doesn't manage to excel the BBC production `The Six Wives of Henry VIII' starring Kevin Mitchell, but it does well on certain events. The problem though is that the whole production appears to be a drama on Henry VIII's six marriages and while he is famous for his excessive marital affairs, I was rather expecting more about events in his reign given that the production is entitled `Henry VIII'. Apart from `The Pilgrimage of Grace' we are not given much else that is separate from the wives. It could have done with more stuff on the Henrician Reformation and England's relations with other powers like Spain, France and Scotland.
Very entertaining, but not very exact!.......2006-01-25
I thoroughly enjoyed Henry VIII, from the minute go.The costumes and scenery were perfect, Helena Bonham Carter was wonderful as Anne Boleyn,who has always been my favourite of the six Queens, portraying her just as I imagined her to be, bewitching, witty and clever but at the same time heading blindly towards disaster...and the King was Bluff King Hal through and through, with a slight cockney accent to set him apart from the rest. What a pity the historical facts were not as exact! However if you are not fussy,and want an entertaining, sometimes delightful(as was Katherine Howard), sometimes gruesome film about Henry and his Wives, this one's for you! I'll certainly watch it again and again.
Realistic, gripping...a real royal treat!.......2006-01-23
No-one will dare make an adaptation of Henry VIII's life ever again. Why? Because this is the definitive version, and any other actor taking on the Henry mantle will pale in comparison to Ray Winstone's portrayal.
Most of the film deals with Henry and his six wives, although political skulduggery and backstabbing are also present, as are a few battle sequences (particularly memorable is a bit when Henry does a spot of jousting!)
Ray Winstone embodies this character, not just in looks but in prescense, and how I feel Henry would have been. Henry's flaws are not covered over, and we really feel sorry for the character, or support the character depending on that moment in time, all thanks to Winstone.
He's supported by an able cast, most spectacularly by Helena Bonham carter as Anne Bolyn. Their scenes together are fiery and gripping to watch. Sean Bean, for however short a while, is also superb as Robert Aske, and injects some much needed enthusiasm into the second episode.
The film is split into two episodes. I thought the first episode was the better, as it took a while to play out, anmd built up Henry's relationships with his first two wives wonderfully.
However, the second episode then rushes through the remaining four wives in the same amount of time, and so feels a little rushed.
There are a few things that were ignored that I would have like to have known more of. Henry's children, daughter and sons, are only really seen at birth and at the end of the show. It would have been good to have them in it slightly more. A little more time spent on Henry's youth would have been great too. Still, these really are minor complaints.
Perhaps the show could have done being slightly longer. At over 3 hours already, it's certainly long enough, but I never once got bored. I'm no history buff, but to me, it felt realistic and it was more than entertaining. A right royal riveting viewing, recommended to everyone!
Interpretation in history..........2004-12-01
As an historian, I was a bit disappointed with the latest recreation of the lives and wiles of Henry VIII, arguably one of the most important figures in British history. The nursery rhyme is well known - Henry the Eighth was six times wedded; two he divorced, two beheaded...
This production, written by Peter Morgan (known for other television productions such as `The Jury') and directed by Pete Travis (also of `The Jury', also `Other People's Children'), is a period piece that largely rests on one primary theme - that Henry VIII was charged by his father with one task above all others, and that was to secure the succession for another Tudor. Since this was a world in which (supposedly) a queen could not rule in her own right, this required a male heir to the throne (of course, it would be Henry's own offspring that would change that assumption, for the better, and for ever).
Henry's quest to gain a male heir knew no bounds; by the time his obsession had destroyed many lives (not just those of the unfortunate women he married), he was an overweight and overbearing man with not too many years left to live. His succession of wives is made all the more dramatic by the speed of the unions - between his first divorce from Catherine of Aragon in 1533, he had five more wives in the span of only 10 years, the last one to last until his death in 1547. The women came into favour and fell out of favour quickly, sometimes due to infidelity and political intrigue, and sometimes due to the quirky whims of Henry.
It is this quirkiness that is highlighted in Ray Winstone's performance. Winstone is not well known to American audiences, but a regular fixture on British television and cinemas. Henry is presented as a brash, lustful, but often boyishly-innocent figure, vulnerable and wounded by others around him, especially the wives, if they do not live up to his expectations or desires of loving him for himself. The cast of women portraying the wives is impressive, including the award-winning Helena Bonham Carter as Anne Boleyn, Emilia Fox as Jane Seymour, and Clare Holman as Catherine Parr. If you think you recognise the voice of the narrator, you probably do - it is that of Shakespearean Derek Jacobi.
The sets, costumes, and other atmospheric pieces are well done and appropriate to the context. But this is an actor's piece, driven by dialogue, and here is falls a little short of fully satisfying. The characters are a bit too much of caricatures; they overemphasise certain strengths and weaknesses, and do not play as balanced figures (even for the imbalanced people that history tells us they were). This is meant to draw the tragedy of Henry's life out, and his role as more sinned against than sinning in many parts of the film play.
Well worth watching, the viewer who expects an undistorted history lesson will be disappointed. However, in the `some events have been changed for dramatic purposes' world of acting, it does help to cause some reconsideration here and there of all the events of the time. History is as much a record as it is interpretation. This is one.
Amazon.co.uk Review
At the heart of Henry VIII stands a towering performance by Ray Winstone, who literally grows into the role, impressively doubling in size and ageing 40 years over the course of two feature-length episodes. Focusing on Henry's relationships with his six wives, this lavish mini-series also makes a good job of explaining the complex court intrigues of the period, detailing Henry's split with Rome and the political crisis following the creation of the Church of England. Winstone initially seems to play the King as little more than a London gangster, but he gradually unfolds a complex, brutal, manipulative, romantic, dedicated and driven man with great skill.
In a role which harks back to Lady Jane (1986), Helena Bonham Carter makes an intelligent and sardonic Anne Boleyn, her bold performance contrasting strongly with Geneviève Bujold in Anne of the Thousand Days (1969). Emily Blunt impresses as the sexpot Katherine Howard, and Emilia Fox is compelling as Henry's greatest love, Jane Seymour. There's fine support from an all-star cast, including Sean Bean, Charles Dance and David Suchet. The production is unflinching, with burnings, torture, marital violence and executions graphically portrayed. If there's a weakness it lies in too-modern dialogue and an uncertain visual style, with noticeable borrowings from John Boorman's Excalibur and Ridley Scott's Gladiator, as well as setting Shakespeare in Love-style elegance against the ugly colours and graininess of reality TV. Ultimately Henry VIII plays most like a prequel to Elizabeth (1999)--right down to using the same piece of Elgar to underscore the finale--and has most of the same faults and virtues as that Oscar-winning film. --Gary S Dalkin
Customer Reviews:
A Miscast Star.......2008-03-13
Ray Winstone is an excellent actor, but I fear he was miscast as Henry VIII in this production. What chiefly grated on me was his "Eastenders"
accent which contrasted sharply with the accents of his courtiers who all speak with received pronunciation. Admittedly we do not know how Henry VIII actually spoke (though his letters and other writings give a clue as to his linguistic code) but presumably he would have spoken with the accent and vocabulary of a highly educated upper class man of his time.
Hence I found such lines as "Wot, nuthink from court?" stretched the credibility of his portrayal to the limit.
Having said that, this production is still far superior to the dreadful
characterisation by Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the recent BBC TV series "The Tudors".
Decent drama but misses much out.......2007-08-20
Henry VIII starring Ray Winstone as the domineering monarch, Helena Bonham Carter as Anne Boleyn and Emily Blunt as the tragic Katherine Howard, is an amusing drama on the reign (and of course the marriages) of Henry VIII.
Ray Winstone plays the king with an East End London accent; this can evoke different responses. Either you will love it and find it amusing or even oddly endearing or it is too distracting and silly. For myself, I could not help but find it amusing. What helps is that Winstone looks fantastic as Henry. He also possesses the ability to play a domineering, bullish and terrifying individual which is a fantastic quality to have when playing the tyrannical monarch.
The problem is though, that some of the other casting does not match Winstone. This is particularly the case with Bonham Carter as Anne Boleyn. We see nothing of Anne's repudiated haughtiness or her political abilities. We do not even see the Boleyn faction that surrounded her. In contrast though Cromwell and Wolsey are casted well.
Like all productions on this period, things have been simplified in order for the production to be allocated into certain time regulations. There is also poor focus on Henry's marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, and to his final wife, Katherine Parr. In addition the scenes after Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn are pretty poor; again it takes the belief that after Anne gave birth to Elizabeth, Henry distanced himself from her, not considering of course that they remained married for nearly three more years. But her trial and in particular her execution is covered well.
The highlights of the drama includes the coverage of `The Pilgrimage of Grace' of 1536 led by Robert Aske, who is played brilliantly by Sean Bean. Emily Blunt is fantastic Katherine Howard and as a result her storyline is the best. The final montage at the end is effective and informative.
Overall this production doesn't manage to excel the BBC production `The Six Wives of Henry VIII' starring Kevin Mitchell, but it does well on certain events. The problem though is that the whole production appears to be a drama on Henry VIII's six marriages and while he is famous for his excessive marital affairs, I was rather expecting more about events in his reign given that the production is entitled `Henry VIII'. Apart from `The Pilgrimage of Grace' we are not given much else that is separate from the wives. It could have done with more stuff on the Henrician Reformation and England's relations with other powers like Spain, France and Scotland.
Very entertaining, but not very exact!.......2006-01-25
I thoroughly enjoyed Henry VIII, from the minute go.The costumes and scenery were perfect, Helena Bonham Carter was wonderful as Anne Boleyn,who has always been my favourite of the six Queens, portraying her just as I imagined her to be, bewitching, witty and clever but at the same time heading blindly towards disaster...and the King was Bluff King Hal through and through, with a slight cockney accent to set him apart from the rest. What a pity the historical facts were not as exact! However if you are not fussy,and want an entertaining, sometimes delightful(as was Katherine Howard), sometimes gruesome film about Henry and his Wives, this one's for you! I'll certainly watch it again and again.
Realistic, gripping...a real royal treat!.......2006-01-23
No-one will dare make an adaptation of Henry VIII's life ever again. Why? Because this is the definitive version, and any other actor taking on the Henry mantle will pale in comparison to Ray Winstone's portrayal.
Most of the film deals with Henry and his six wives, although political skulduggery and backstabbing are also present, as are a few battle sequences (particularly memorable is a bit when Henry does a spot of jousting!)
Ray Winstone embodies this character, not just in looks but in prescense, and how I feel Henry would have been. Henry's flaws are not covered over, and we really feel sorry for the character, or support the character depending on that moment in time, all thanks to Winstone.
He's supported by an able cast, most spectacularly by Helena Bonham carter as Anne Bolyn. Their scenes together are fiery and gripping to watch. Sean Bean, for however short a while, is also superb as Robert Aske, and injects some much needed enthusiasm into the second episode.
The film is split into two episodes. I thought the first episode was the better, as it took a while to play out, anmd built up Henry's relationships with his first two wives wonderfully.
However, the second episode then rushes through the remaining four wives in the same amount of time, and so feels a little rushed.
There are a few things that were ignored that I would have like to have known more of. Henry's children, daughter and sons, are only really seen at birth and at the end of the show. It would have been good to have them in it slightly more. A little more time spent on Henry's youth would have been great too. Still, these really are minor complaints.
Perhaps the show could have done being slightly longer. At over 3 hours already, it's certainly long enough, but I never once got bored. I'm no history buff, but to me, it felt realistic and it was more than entertaining. A right royal riveting viewing, recommended to everyone!
Interpretation in history..........2004-12-01
As an historian, I was a bit disappointed with the latest recreation of the lives and wiles of Henry VIII, arguably one of the most important figures in British history. The nursery rhyme is well known - Henry the Eighth was six times wedded; two he divorced, two beheaded...
This production, written by Peter Morgan (known for other television productions such as `The Jury') and directed by Pete Travis (also of `The Jury', also `Other People's Children'), is a period piece that largely rests on one primary theme - that Henry VIII was charged by his father with one task above all others, and that was to secure the succession for another Tudor. Since this was a world in which (supposedly) a queen could not rule in her own right, this required a male heir to the throne (of course, it would be Henry's own offspring that would change that assumption, for the better, and for ever).
Henry's quest to gain a male heir knew no bounds; by the time his obsession had destroyed many lives (not just those of the unfortunate women he married), he was an overweight and overbearing man with not too many years left to live. His succession of wives is made all the more dramatic by the speed of the unions - between his first divorce from Catherine of Aragon in 1533, he had five more wives in the span of only 10 years, the last one to last until his death in 1547. The women came into favour and fell out of favour quickly, sometimes due to infidelity and political intrigue, and sometimes due to the quirky whims of Henry.
It is this quirkiness that is highlighted in Ray Winstone's performance. Winstone is not well known to American audiences, but a regular fixture on British television and cinemas. Henry is presented as a brash, lustful, but often boyishly-innocent figure, vulnerable and wounded by others around him, especially the wives, if they do not live up to his expectations or desires of loving him for himself. The cast of women portraying the wives is impressive, including the award-winning Helena Bonham Carter as Anne Boleyn, Emilia Fox as Jane Seymour, and Clare Holman as Catherine Parr. If you think you recognise the voice of the narrator, you probably do - it is that of Shakespearean Derek Jacobi.
The sets, costumes, and other atmospheric pieces are well done and appropriate to the context. But this is an actor's piece, driven by dialogue, and here is falls a little short of fully satisfying. The characters are a bit too much of caricatures; they overemphasise certain strengths and weaknesses, and do not play as balanced figures (even for the imbalanced people that history tells us they were). This is meant to draw the tragedy of Henry's life out, and his role as more sinned against than sinning in many parts of the film play.
Well worth watching, the viewer who expects an undistorted history lesson will be disappointed. However, in the `some events have been changed for dramatic purposes' world of acting, it does help to cause some reconsideration here and there of all the events of the time. History is as much a record as it is interpretation. This is one.
Amazon.co.uk Review
At the heart of Henry VIII stands a towering performance by Ray Winstone, who literally grows into the role, impressively doubling in size and ageing 40 years over the course of two feature-length episodes. Focusing on Henry's relationships with his six wives, this lavish mini-series also makes a good job of explaining the complex court intrigues of the period, detailing Henry's split with Rome and the political crisis following the creation of the Church of England. Winstone initially seems to play the King as little more than a London gangster, but he gradually unfolds a complex, brutal, manipulative, romantic, dedicated and driven man with great skill.
In a role which harks back to Lady Jane (1986), Helena Bonham Carter makes an intelligent and sardonic Anne Boleyn, her bold performance contrasting strongly with Geneviève Bujold in Anne of the Thousand Days (1969). Emily Blunt impresses as the sexpot Katherine Howard, and Emilia Fox is compelling as Henry's greatest love, Jane Seymour. There's fine support from an all-star cast, including Sean Bean, Charles Dance and David Suchet. The production is unflinching, with burnings, torture, marital violence and executions graphically portrayed. If there's a weakness it lies in too-modern dialogue and an uncertain visual style, with noticeable borrowings from John Boorman's Excalibur and Ridley Scott's Gladiator, as well as setting Shakespeare in Love-style elegance against the ugly colours and graininess of reality TV. Ultimately Henry VIII plays most like a prequel to Elizabeth (1999)--right down to using the same piece of Elgar to underscore the finale--and has most of the same faults and virtues as that Oscar-winning film. --Gary S Dalkin
Customer Reviews:
A Miscast Star.......2008-03-13
Ray Winstone is an excellent actor, but I fear he was miscast as Henry VIII in this production. What chiefly grated on me was his "Eastenders"
accent which contrasted sharply with the accents of his courtiers who all speak with received pronunciation. Admittedly we do not know how Henry VIII actually spoke (though his letters and other writings give a clue as to his linguistic code) but presumably he would have spoken with the accent and vocabulary of a highly educated upper class man of his time.
Hence I found such lines as "Wot, nuthink from court?" stretched the credibility of his portrayal to the limit.
Having said that, this production is still far superior to the dreadful
characterisation by Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the recent BBC TV series "The Tudors".
Decent drama but misses much out.......2007-08-20
Henry VIII starring Ray Winstone as the domineering monarch, Helena Bonham Carter as Anne Boleyn and Emily Blunt as the tragic Katherine Howard, is an amusing drama on the reign (and of course the marriages) of Henry VIII.
Ray Winstone plays the king with an East End London accent; this can evoke different responses. Either you will love it and find it amusing or even oddly endearing or it is too distracting and silly. For myself, I could not help but find it amusing. What helps is that Winstone looks fantastic as Henry. He also possesses the ability to play a domineering, bullish and terrifying individual which is a fantastic quality to have when playing the tyrannical monarch.
The problem is though, that some of the other casting does not match Winstone. This is particularly the case with Bonham Carter as Anne Boleyn. We see nothing of Anne's repudiated haughtiness or her political abilities. We do not even see the Boleyn faction that surrounded her. In contrast though Cromwell and Wolsey are casted well.
Like all productions on this period, things have been simplified in order for the production to be allocated into certain time regulations. There is also poor focus on Henry's marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, and to his final wife, Katherine Parr. In addition the scenes after Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn are pretty poor; again it takes the belief that after Anne gave birth to Elizabeth, Henry distanced himself from her, not considering of course that they remained married for nearly three more years. But her trial and in particular her execution is covered well.
The highlights of the drama includes the coverage of `The Pilgrimage of Grace' of 1536 led by Robert Aske, who is played brilliantly by Sean Bean. Emily Blunt is fantastic Katherine Howard and as a result her storyline is the best. The final montage at the end is effective and informative.
Overall this production doesn't manage to excel the BBC production `The Six Wives of Henry VIII' starring Kevin Mitchell, but it does well on certain events. The problem though is that the whole production appears to be a drama on Henry VIII's six marriages and while he is famous for his excessive marital affairs, I was rather expecting more about events in his reign given that the production is entitled `Henry VIII'. Apart from `The Pilgrimage of Grace' we are not given much else that is separate from the wives. It could have done with more stuff on the Henrician Reformation and England's relations with other powers like Spain, France and Scotland.
Very entertaining, but not very exact!.......2006-01-25
I thoroughly enjoyed Henry VIII, from the minute go.The costumes and scenery were perfect, Helena Bonham Carter was wonderful as Anne Boleyn,who has always been my favourite of the six Queens, portraying her just as I imagined her to be, bewitching, witty and clever but at the same time heading blindly towards disaster...and the King was Bluff King Hal through and through, with a slight cockney accent to set him apart from the rest. What a pity the historical facts were not as exact! However if you are not fussy,and want an entertaining, sometimes delightful(as was Katherine Howard), sometimes gruesome film about Henry and his Wives, this one's for you! I'll certainly watch it again and again.
Realistic, gripping...a real royal treat!.......2006-01-23
No-one will dare make an adaptation of Henry VIII's life ever again. Why? Because this is the definitive version, and any other actor taking on the Henry mantle will pale in comparison to Ray Winstone's portrayal.
Most of the film deals with Henry and his six wives, although political skulduggery and backstabbing are also present, as are a few battle sequences (particularly memorable is a bit when Henry does a spot of jousting!)
Ray Winstone embodies this character, not just in looks but in prescense, and how I feel Henry would have been. Henry's flaws are not covered over, and we really feel sorry for the character, or support the character depending on that moment in time, all thanks to Winstone.
He's supported by an able cast, most spectacularly by Helena Bonham carter as Anne Bolyn. Their scenes together are fiery and gripping to watch. Sean Bean, for however short a while, is also superb as Robert Aske, and injects some much needed enthusiasm into the second episode.
The film is split into two episodes. I thought the first episode was the better, as it took a while to play out, anmd built up Henry's relationships with his first two wives wonderfully.
However, the second episode then rushes through the remaining four wives in the same amount of time, and so feels a little rushed.
There are a few things that were ignored that I would have like to have known more of. Henry's children, daughter and sons, are only really seen at birth and at the end of the show. It would have been good to have them in it slightly more. A little more time spent on Henry's youth would have been great too. Still, these really are minor complaints.
Perhaps the show could have done being slightly longer. At over 3 hours already, it's certainly long enough, but I never once got bored. I'm no history buff, but to me, it felt realistic and it was more than entertaining. A right royal riveting viewing, recommended to everyone!
Interpretation in history..........2004-12-01
As an historian, I was a bit disappointed with the latest recreation of the lives and wiles of Henry VIII, arguably one of the most important figures in British history. The nursery rhyme is well known - Henry the Eighth was six times wedded; two he divorced, two beheaded...
This production, written by Peter Morgan (known for other television productions such as `The Jury') and directed by Pete Travis (also of `The Jury', also `Other People's Children'), is a period piece that largely rests on one primary theme - that Henry VIII was charged by his father with one task above all others, and that was to secure the succession for another Tudor. Since this was a world in which (supposedly) a queen could not rule in her own right, this required a male heir to the throne (of course, it would be Henry's own offspring that would change that assumption, for the better, and for ever).
Henry's quest to gain a male heir knew no bounds; by the time his obsession had destroyed many lives (not just those of the unfortunate women he married), he was an overweight and overbearing man with not too many years left to live. His succession of wives is made all the more dramatic by the speed of the unions - between his first divorce from Catherine of Aragon in 1533, he had five more wives in the span of only 10 years, the last one to last until his death in 1547. The women came into favour and fell out of favour quickly, sometimes due to infidelity and political intrigue, and sometimes due to the quirky whims of Henry.
It is this quirkiness that is highlighted in Ray Winstone's performance. Winstone is not well known to American audiences, but a regular fixture on British television and cinemas. Henry is presented as a brash, lustful, but often boyishly-innocent figure, vulnerable and wounded by others around him, especially the wives, if they do not live up to his expectations or desires of loving him for himself. The cast of women portraying the wives is impressive, including the award-winning Helena Bonham Carter as Anne Boleyn, Emilia Fox as Jane Seymour, and Clare Holman as Catherine Parr. If you think you recognise the voice of the narrator, you probably do - it is that of Shakespearean Derek Jacobi.
The sets, costumes, and other atmospheric pieces are well done and appropriate to the context. But this is an actor's piece, driven by dialogue, and here is falls a little short of fully satisfying. The characters are a bit too much of caricatures; they overemphasise certain strengths and weaknesses, and do not play as balanced figures (even for the imbalanced people that history tells us they were). This is meant to draw the tragedy of Henry's life out, and his role as more sinned against than sinning in many parts of the film play.
Well worth watching, the viewer who expects an undistorted history lesson will be disappointed. However, in the `some events have been changed for dramatic purposes' world of acting, it does help to cause some reconsideration here and there of all the events of the time. History is as much a record as it is interpretation. This is one.
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UK DVD List
UK DVD
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