Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

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.

powderblue First saw this years ago, during high school history lessons..and it was via this film that i became interested in Tudor History and in particular Henry and his Six Wives. I recently purchased it on DVD, and was so thrilled to see that it was still as impressive as it was all those years ago! Keith Michell IS Henry VIII. Such a performance and i don't feel anybody has come close to his interpretation of Henry's character since this film...Ray Winstone's " cockney " king in the recent Henry VIII made for t.v drama pales into nothing next to Mr. Michell's performance! Worth a mention are ALL the ladies playing Henry's wives, in particular Frances Cuka as Catherine of Aragon, Charlotte Rampling as Anne Boleyn ( stunning!!! )and the late Lynne Frederick as Catherine Howard..a vulnerable and rather moving performance! If you like Tudor History then check this film out! Highly Recommended!

dac87 I was fortunate enough to locate a copy of this very rare drama on ebay. I was entranced by the beauty of the sets, costumes, and acting. The film begins with Henry on his death bed. He begins to look back on his rather... productive marital career. First we meet Catherine of Aragon, who is tragically unable to give Henry a son; she is divorced so that Henry can wed the sexy Anne Boleyn. Anne's portrayal is not flattering as it makes her look guilty of the crimes she is accused of later in the film. She is quickly beheaded (off screen, we only hear talk of the execution)after she fails to provide an heir. Next comes plain Jane Seymour; she is the image of goodness and trust, and it breaks the viewer's heart to see her mistreated by Henry. Jane would be the wife that would give birth to a son, but unfortunately she died after child birth, leaving Henry to locate a new spouse. Heads begin to roll when Henry is talk into marrying Anne of Cleves; Henry believed her to be attractive and was told by many people (most of whom gained something if the two were to marry) of her beauty. When he meets the new queen, he is appalled by her looks and outraged that he should be forced into this marriage, so he beheads those who got him into this mess and divorces Anne. He sets his eyes on the VERY young Catherine Howard(the most pity-able of the wives). After a whirlwind romance, Henry learns that Catherine is not all she claims to be and, begrudgingly tries her for treason. She is beheaded. He then meets up with Catherine Parr, who outlived him. This is an absolute MUST for anyone studying Henry VIII or his wives.

Andy-528 since i was 7 years old and we did this little project on Henry VIII at school, ive held a place for old Henry somewhere.i find him and his life so interesting and thought this was brilliant. i espically liked anne bolyn who had such a strong character and catherine howard for her actual fear.Henry treks through life and wives just looking for a son. Then his third wife Jane Seymour dies during childbirth of his son Edward. I think it would of been Henry VIII and his three wives if she hadnt died. Jane was his perfect match and soulmate and gave him the only thing he wanted in life.You see Henry get larger by the wife with his famous weight gain. I read in his later days he had the get hauled to bed by ropes because he couldnt carry himself but we didnt get to see that in the film.a fantastic film 10/10