Henry VIII [2003]

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Primary Contributor : Ray Winstone
Primary Contributor : Helena Bonham-Carter

Product Details

Director : Pete Travis
Actor : Ray Winstone, Helena Bonham-Carter, Sean Bean, David Suchet, Emilia Fox
Format : Box set, Colour, HiFi Sound, PAL, Widescreen
Binding : VHS Tape
EAN : 5014138505431
Product Group : Video
Release Date : 2003-10-27
Running Time : 250minutes
Studio : Granada Media

ASIN : B0000DK4NN

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Editorial Reviews

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

brillient (2008-08-30)

I would like to say that this film was brillient (excuse my spelling). The tudors which is out at the moment is rubbish. at least this film has kept to the facts.

Disappointed (2008-07-25)

I am not sure what to say - or just how to start. As a 'story' this is ok. But as a piece of acting? Now I have nothing against Ray Wilson but he is just not Henry V111 is he ? Better go to the set of Easter Enders. For that is what he sounded like.Too much blood, daft lines and poor actng!Avoid.

TURN OFF (2008-06-19)

Ray Winstone as Henry VIII ? A total casting disaster. I couldn't take more than 10 minutes of it.

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.

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