VividSimon Simply Perfect

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

arleenm1740-55-499373 I am still watching the show, but am disappointed in the women who play the Bolyn sisters. I can't believe King Henry would fall in love with women who are, well sorry, but a bit homely. It's a bit slow moving and as I have watched many a show on this subject, can't help but feel it could have been done much better. Do not mind the hand held camera, and low budget, I believe that is always a good idea!

Liza-19 The Other Boleyn Girl - not to be confused with the book it claims to be based upon. This movie is not even close to a faithful adaptation. I could understand them changing or elaborating on a few things. The book is not perfection, but it was well-written and became very popular. I could understand if the BBC wanted to make this a little more faithful to what actually happened, who Anne Boleyn really was - but it's not even close to being historically accurate either. It's just fluff. Mindless, made-up fluff. A real shame.To begin with, the writer and director seemed to think it was a good idea to setup the story like it was a reality TV show. Seriously. They have the Boleyns sitting in front of the camera, confessing how they REALLY feel about what's happening in their lives. Anne Boleyn sits in a confessional (not the church kind, the Real World kind) and chooses what she wants to tell and what she wants to just sit and smile about. She looks stupid having to use such a modern cinematic device in a film set in the 1500s. It's "The Real World: Tudor England!" Jodhi May is a very good actress and after 'The Aristocrats' and 'A Turn of the Screw' I was becoming a real fan of hers. But she should never have been cast as Anne. Actually I think she would have been a better Mary. Natascha McElhone was a poor choice. She's a good actress, sure, but she has very modern features and does not appear convincing in period costume. (Honestly, I spent the first half of the film trying to figure out if she was "that girl" from 'The Truman Show.' She was.) She's also too old to play the teen-aged Mary so for some unknown reason they made Mary the oldest of the sisters. It makes no sense, I know. It's like the BBC seemed to forget that these people actually lived. They're twisting the story around and making things up left and right. I feel ridiculous having to correct the BBC on historical inaccuracies, but REALLY! Apart from the two sisters the rest of the cast was actually very well chosen. Steven Mackintosh struck me as a brilliant choice for George, and his casting was the real reason I decided to seek out this movie. Big mistake. He does a great job, sure, but he's hardly in this. How can anyone pretend they're adapting The Other Boleyn Girl and hardly mention George Boleyn? That's just absurd. Philip Glenister was another very good casting decision, but yet again, was hardly in the finished product. The real problem with this is the script. There's just no getting around that. It's bad. It's really, really bad. It's too melodramatic and not engaging. Anne is portrayed as an air-head, Mary as the ringleader, and George as the follower. Mary's first husband is hardly mentioned, her relationship with the king is never explained - they simply do not tell the story Phillippa Gregory wrote. The whole thing comes across as a great big waste. I have no desire to see this thing a second time. I guess I'll just have to read the book again and hope that the Natalie Portman version due out next year will be much better.*Note: As of this writing, the only way of obtaining this miniseries in the USA is on the last disc of the miniseries 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII.' That's a great miniseries but can cost $50 to $60 and that's way to much to spend if you're just looking for this piece of garbage.

sexy_pisces_gal Henry VIII fans will not be disappointed in the fantastic yet unorthodox film from Phillipa Lawthorpe. Based on the book by Phillipa Gregory, the other Boleyn girl stars Natascha McElhelone as Mary Boleyn, the eldest sister of George and Anne Boleyn. Returning to court a newly and happily married woman the beautifully Mary soon catches the attention of the womanising King (Jared Harris). Pushed into his bed by her conniving and scheming family Mary sinks into a depression as her marriage begins to founder and she begins to grow strong feelings of affection for the king. When Mary falls pregnant the Boleyn family panic as they realise the power and influence other presently hold over the king will desert them should her find love with another. They scheme with their son George (Steven Mackintosh) a close confident and courtier of the King to introduce him to the equally beautiful but less quiet Anne (Jodhi May). Anne however has no desire to become the Kings mistress and be discarded just like her sister but as Henrys passion for Anne grows his feelings for Mary disappears and he drops her along with her newborn son. With Mary gone and with his marriage increasingly ever failing Anne makes the King realise that she can give him the son he desires and be the wife he has not had. But as the royal divorce looms and Mary returns to court to attend to her sister, who herself is waiting to marry the King, trouble is brewing that threatens her plans and puts them into jeopardy. Against the wishes of his people and ministers Henry and Anne marry amidst a storm of public disapproval and hatred but again only a daughter is born of their union. The Boleyns observe that the king is fast losing interest in Anne and learns her life is at stake and the King begins to find affection in the young and pretty Jane Seymour. A terrified Anne and the family go to extreme measure s to bear the king a son and to save her head. This film portrays Henry not as a vicious tyrant but as a lovesick child who seems desperate to find the right woman rather then gain a son. Although Anne Boleyn was charged with treason and incest along with her brother George these charges were always considered trumped up but Lowthorpe offers a different insight suggesting Anne made love to her brother and in time he made her pregnant. Rich in history accuracies this film is a must see for all Tudor history lovers.

sydneypatrick Contrary to what the other reviewer here states, this was not meant to be a sweeping vision of history. It was clearly meant as a chamber piece - a chick flick of dark proportions.While this production does not begin to embrace the scope of Anne's criminal nature, or the greater national ramifications that became of her union with Henry VIII, it doesn't aim to. What it does do, however, is paint a poignant portrait of what it was to be a woman in the 16th century, and how ruthless those days in court were.I'm a fan of the novel this is based on and am hugely thrilled by this adaptation. It is bold and striking and the lead performance by Jodhi May is one of the most compelling I have ever seen anywhere. It should certainly act as her calling card to producers everywhere that she is more than ready to make the transition from ingenue to adult role. By this performance, I'd say she made the leap long ago.Jared Harris turns in a dead on performance as the Tudor king who became a tyrant and not the least bit because of his union with Anne Boleyn. The rest in the cast paled in comparison to these two, but that does not mean they turned in poor performances. To the contrary, this was a top notch production I wish greater American audiences could see.The only glitch for me was toward the end when there is video footage of modern day England, tourists at the Tower of London. I don't get it. But I can forgive one small moment in light of the greater ambition and success of this project.Period drama should always be so delicious!