TotalTelly.co.uk
Devoted to Popular, Cult and Retro TV
Henry VIII And His Six Wives [1972]
![Henry VIII And His Six Wives [1972]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51MMQEQ3EHL._SL160_.jpg)
RRP: £9.99
Our Price: £2.78 (subject to change)
A Nice TV-Film
Review date: 2008-10-04 Rating: 6 out of 10
From an early age I had an interest in the Tudors, and my parents bought me this film when I was still at school. I very much enjoyed it at the time - it seemed to encapsulate everything that was interesting about Henry VIII, his personal life and his six wives. The costumes and settings were inspiring to my imagination and that is something which I can still appreciate today.
Watching this film as an adult a few years later, I think it's good but I can't work up the same enthusiasm that I felt when watching it as a child. The depictions of the wives, which back then I found memorable and easy to understand, now seem cliched and almost cartoony. The pace of the film is faster than I remember and the drama quickly shifts from one wife to the next, without much reference to the rest of Henry's life. Considering that a full six-part series 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII' had already examined each of the wives in depth, it seems a no-brainer to make a vastly condensed film about the same thing. Perhaps it would have been better to make a film about Henry's political life, or one about the Reformation.
This film is a spin-off of the successful TV series, yet bringing the series to the silver screen just didn't work. The writer for this film had previously written the 'Jane Seymour' episode of the series, and some of the scenes that were used in that were recycled for this film - which I don't think is very good. The movie is stylish and more lavish than the series, yet ironically it has the feel of a TV-film (probably because most of the crew usually worked in television) which perhaps defeats its purpose.
Similar Products
- Anne Of The Thousand Days [1969]
- Lady Jane [1985]
- A Man For All Seasons [1966]
- Elizabeth R (3 Disc Box Set) [1971]
- The Six Wives Of Henry VIII - Complete Series [1970]
Reviews
But what would I give you Crom?
Review date: 2008-09-09 Rating: 10 out of 10
'Then give me a healthy child'; from this point on Henry VIII and his Six Wives portrays the emotional and physical weight baring down on England's hungriest monarch. With stellar perfomances from the often typecast Brian Blessed, the often blind Donald Pleasance and often ridden Lynne Frederick, the film is a joy and will entertain young, old and David Starkey.
The complexities of the break with Rome are sidelined in the interests of his wives, puppies and the place which Goethe mentions. But nevertheless, greatness was achieved when a manic huntsman gleams at Catherine Howard with a bloody knife, surely the films finest allegory for her fate.
A Tudor Taster
Review date: 2007-02-19 Rating: 8 out of 10
I first saw this in the cinema on its original release and purchased the DVD version. There is much that is good in this; Keith Michell is excellent as are some of the supporting players. The concentration of the story on Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn is understandable but does poor justice to Katherine Parr and Anne of Cleves. The music, costumes and settings are very good and some of the key scenes - such as the confrontation at Blackfriars between Henry and Catherine of Aragon are very well done. The TV series inspired an interest in the Tudors which is still with me after more than 30 years. Overall the film version is well worth seeing, but the TV series, now out on DVD, is superb.
Watchable, but too much to cover in two hours
Review date: 2007-02-04 Rating: 6 out of 10
Keith Michell was excellent in the title role and aged very well! The costumes and sets are lavish and the film is well made, and the acting is generally good. However, as another reviewer has said, it's nothing like as good as the original BBC series, which also starred Keith Michell, and I also don't understand why this hasn't been brought out on DVD. This film couldn't be as good, because instead of having an hour to devote to each wife, all six have to be covered in two hours, so it goes at a frantic pace, and there is little attention given to the last three wives in particular. Anne of Cleves is largely ignored, and what little is shown portrays her as an ugly, naive and rather stupid stereotypical German 'Frau'. Her character in the original BBC series is explored in much more depth, and while the actress who plays the part (Elvi Hale) is probably more pleasing to the eye than Anne allegedly was, she comes over as an intelligent and highly educated woman who in fact becomes great friends with Henry after their marriage is annulled.
All in all, this film is very watchable but for anyone wanting a more in-depth characterisation of Henry's wives, who were all very different, it doesn't go far enough.
Where is the DVD release of the BBC series?
Review date: 2006-03-29 Rating: 4 out of 10
This movie is all very well, but as other reviewers stated, it is way too short to go into the detail of the relationships, some of which is significant and very necessary, whereas the hour-long BBC programmes do. Keith Michell is great in this as he was in the series and although the wives are not the same, the actors portraying them are good here, but glorious in the series. For example, Dorothy Tutin as Anne Boleyn and Anne Stallybrass as Jane Seymour do their roles more credit as the two actors in the movie, because they have more time to blossom in these parts and can fully show the nature of the person they portray and their interaction with the King - not to mention the plots and dealings around them!
It is high time that the BBC released these programmes on DVD, as the series is for me, together with I Claudius and Elizabeth R one of the three finest BBC dramas ever shown.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Donald Pleasence
Jane Asher
Keith Michell
Charlotte Rampling
Frances Cuka
Creators:
Keith Michell (Primary Contributor)
Donald Pleasence (Primary Contributor)
Peter Suschitzky (Cinematographer)
John Bloom (Editor)
Mark Shivas (Producer)
Roy Baird (Producer)
Ian Thorne (Writer)
Director(s):
Recording label: Cinema Club
Manufacturer: Cinema Club
EAN: 0505058227824
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2005-02-21
Universal product code (UPC): 505058227824
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 120 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1972
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Unknown)