Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972)

Australia released, PAL/Region 4 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. Languages:o English (Dolby Digital 2.0) Synopsis: Keith Mitchell is absolutely sure of where hes going and his performance is a tour de force. Peter Thompson, ShowtimeKing Henry The Eighth (Keith Mitchell) lies on his death bed and recalls his tempestuous reign over England from 1509 o 1947. This lavish and historical epic details the loves and scandals of the Tudor Monarch but concentrates chiefly on such highlights as the birth of Queen Elizabeth and the execution of Anne Boleyn (Charlotte Rampling Spy Game).Keith Mitchell is exceptional as the King as he recreates the role he played in the top rating BBC mini-series. Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived The women who married Henry VIII have become defined not by the way they lived but by the way their lives ended. More than a history lesson, this film is an accurate insight into the man and his loves and a turbulent life fuelled by lust, power and deception.Special Features:o Interactive Menu Product Description

Riveting

If you know the history then you will enjoy this interpretation. If not you can take this as your history and learn of the reasoning and lack of behind this great time in history.

Riveting is to say the least as you expect this to be a documentary. Upon viewing you find that it is anything but. As with all BBC productions there is no equivalent. A few liberties were taken with history but you just do not care because you are too busy kibitzing.

The Six Wives of Henry VIII can not be told in less than six programs. Each program or play has an appropriate title that explains the next queen. If the quality of the writing varies that is because they have different writers and it shows. When I first say that the episode "Catherine of Aragon" was written by Rosemary Ann Sission I knew we had a winner as she was also the screen writer for "Strong Poison" in the Lord Peter Wimsey (1987) (TV) series. So you can image how amazed I was to find that the episode "Anne Boleyn" was written even stronger.

The unifying element is Keith Michell who plays a spoiled brat oops I mean Henry VIII. He starts out clean shaven in his pageboy hairstyle and ends up as scruffy as his personality by the last play. It helps to have some background information of the time and place. Yet they fill it in well as they describe the current events and how they were influences by Henry VIII and his Six Wives.
February 10, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...