Henry VIII: The 2003 Television Miniseries

HENRY VIII

Despite having only five monarchs in its dynasty the Tudor era is fascinating to film and television productions. Out of those five only two ever get those two productions. When was the last time anyone saw an Edward VI or Mary I biopic? The long reign of the lusty King Henry VIII continues to be big entertainment. Henry VIII, the 2003 television miniseries, perhaps spends too much time with one of our unfortunate Mrs. Tudors to the detriment of her successors. However, good performances and production design lift up Henry VIII to solid entertainment. 

The first part of Henry VIII is dominated by the love triangle at the heart of "The King's Great Matter". Henry VIII (Ray Winstone) is desperate for a male heir. His loyal wife Catherine of Aragon (Assumpta Serna), widow of his brother Arthur, has managed only one daughter, Mary (Laura Belmont). Mindful of his father's warning to bear a son to keep the dynasty and power going, the King despairs. He also despairs for the attention of the beautiful Anne Boleyn (Helena Bonham Carter). Mistress Anne will not, however, become Henry's mistress. She is also enraged that her own betrothal was overthrown by Henry's chancellor Cardinal Wolsey (David Suchet).

Mistress Anne, however, is too much for Henry to resist. He will discard Catherine for Anne, even if he has to destroy his kingdom and tear Christendom in two to do so. While Woolsey ultimately fails in his mission, Henry is still able to split from both the Catholic Church and Queen Catherine. Sadly, Queen Anne manages to pop out only yet another daughter, Elizabeth. With that, her time is up.

The second half is taken up, minus one uprising, by the fates and fortunes of Mrs. Tudors Three to Six. Jane Seymour (Emilia Fox) manages to pop out the long-awaited son, Edward. Apparently, Henry had to smack Jane around a bit to do that. Jane dies, leaving a vacancy for Queen of England. Henry's loyal chancellor Thomas Cromwell (Danny Webb) finagles a wedding to German duchess Anne of Cleves (Pia Gerard). This German heretic gets probably not even ten minutes of screentime, and I think I'm being generous. Next up is Catherine Howard (Emily Blunt), the tartish niece of Henry's courtier the Duke of Norfolk (Mark Strong). Catherine is no virgin on her wedding night, but Henry is too much in love/lust to notice or care. She will be his second spring, until he discovered her liaisons with handsome courtier Thomas Culpepper (Joseph Morgan). Howard's fall means the imprisonment of Norfolk and Cromwell's execution. 

At last, Henry turns to respectable and twice-widowed Catherine Parr (Claire Holman). She is witty and a good companion for the ailing King. She is also a tool of the Seymour brothers, courtiers who are also Prince Edward's uncles. They bide their time for two things. The first is to position themselves as regents for the future Edward VI. The second is for one of them to marry Catherine Parr, which he had always wanted. How will Henry VIII close out his reign?

Henry VIII is entertaining, with sumptuous costuming and sets that befit our noble subject. Rob Lane's music is also appropriate. It is grand and elegant.

A lot of the acting is quite solid in Henry VIII. This is one of the first if not the first major appearance of Emily Blunt. She makes Catherine Howard into a tragic figure. Catherine Howard is, like Henry, a lustful figure. However, she is also a pawn in the various machinations of her powerful family. She is quite desirous when having an affair. Yet, her end has Blunt give a deeply moving portrait of this foolish, tragic young girl. As she stands on the scaffold, making her final statement, I think audiences will feel genuine sympathy for this misguided strumpet.

Helena Bonham Carter is an old hand at costume dramas. Here, her Mistress Anne is feisty and strong. She is able to stand up to just about everyone. Anne is able to stand up to Henry, up to a point. She also shares sharp words with Serna's Queen Catherine. Like Blunt, Carter excels in showing Anne's courage against her accusers. She is even able to show dismissiveness towards their cavalier and arrogant manner. When facing her own execution, Carter again like Blunt, is moving in her performance.

Serna herself has several strong moments. Of particular note is when she is made to appear before the kangaroo court set to declare her marriage illegitimate. Defending herself as a good, loyal wife, Serna also showcases Catherine of Aragon's quiet strength.

The men are not short-changed either. David Suchet, best known as Agatha Christie's master sleuth Hercule Poirot, does fine work as Cardinal Woolsey. He is cold and unfeeling when torturing Charles Dance's rebellious Duke of Buckingham. He also shows how he is both able to match wits with Carter's Anne Boleyn and see that she is more than his match. Suchet's final scene where he pleads for his life as the guards take him away show Woolsey crumbling.

In a subplot, Sean Bean pops up as Robert Aske, a formerly loyal lieutenant outraged at the Disillusion of the Monasteries and the ensuing violence. We open the second half of Henry VIII with the violent reprisals against the monks and nuns by the state. This arouses Bean's Aske to act against this brutality. Bean expresses that fire and righteous anger. It makes the ultimately false show of friendship by Henry all the more tragic for Aske's final fate. Mark Strong's arrogant and scheming Duke of Norfolk shows his villainy and manipulation. 

In the central role of Henry Tudor, I am of mixed opinion. I struggled initially to see Ray Winstone as our virile young or even middle-aged monarch. He seemed a bit too working-class to be imagined as a regal figure. He did grow on me in the role, however. I think his large frame felt more natural as Henry grew older. However, his gravelly voice did seem a bit at odds with how I see this not-so-merry monarch.

Where I think Henry VIII does go wrong is in where it chooses to focus on. The saga of Henry and Anne Boleyn has been chronicled so many times that one wonders if Henry VIII could have done one of two things. I imagine focusing exclusively on the second Mrs. Tudor would have been old hat, even if Helena Bonham Carter made for a good Mistress Anne. The second choice, to give her story less prominence, might have been better. 

That is because the second half of Henry VIII felt almost rushed into a frenzy. I think that there was exactly one brief scene where we saw the fourth Mrs. Tudor, Anne of Cleves. She disappeared so fast from the program that one would not be blamed in wondering whatever happened to her. We learn via Derek Jacobi's voiceover at the end that Anne of Cleves outlived all the other wives. We do see her pop up at Henry's funeral. However, what she was up to all those years, or how Henry got rid of her, Henry VIII does not answer.

Jacobi's narration also seems a bit meanspirited towards other characters who were virtually invisible. Peter Morgan's screenplay refers to Henry's oldest daughter as "Bloody Mary", adding that she died "embittered and unloved". It seems unfair to trash Mary I so hard. Granted, burning people is not the best thing to do. However, Princess Mary was stripped of her title after Henry dumped her mother for his bit of fluff. She was forced to declare that she was a bastard. She was forbidden from seeing her mother, even from attending her funeral. That would be more than enough to make anyone feel embittered.

These bits of historical fudging of facts seem more editorializing than necessary to move the plot forward. It might make for good drama, but showing Henry beating up the pregnant Jane Seymour seems so odd. This is especially odd given how Henry was so desperate for a male heir. Showing that he came inches from forcing a miscarriage again seems so bizarre. 

As a side note, I figure that Aske and his Pilgrimage of Grace were needed to set up the Jane/Henry conflict. I do think, though, that the entirety of that subplot might be better suited for a miniseries of its own.

Despite some quibbles, Henry VIII does an overall good job covering this most fascinating of historical figures. Good performances and sumptuous production (albeit with some dodgy CGI castles) elevate this Henry VIII to a higher level of viewing. 

7/10

Anne of the Thousand Days: A Review

ANNE OF THE THOUSAND DAYS

This is part of the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Today's star is Richard Burton.

With six wives it is no surprise that the tumultuous reign of  England's Henry VIII is featured often in film and television. Of particular note is his second wife, the unfortunate Anne Boleyn. If memory serves correct, Mistress Anne is the only one of the unmerry wives of Tudor to have whole films built around her. Anne of the Thousand Days is a well-acted film that despite its perhaps excessive length does manage to entertain.

As Henry VIII (Richard Burton) pauses before signing Queen Anne's death warrant, he remembers those halcyon days of not two years past. Desiring a male heir which his then-wife Catherine of Aragon (Irene Papas) could not deliver, he turns his eye to the beautiful maiden Anne Boleyn (Genevieve Bujold). She is no innocent flower, confessing to her fiancé Henry Percy (Terence Wilton) that she is not a virgin. However, she is deeply in love with Percy and is not interested in becoming His Majesty's mistress. She attempts to resist pressure from her family and Lord Chancellor Wolsey (Anthony Quayle). Anne also remembers how Henry discarded her sister Mary when she was his mistress, which also makes her leery of bedding our King Hal.

Hal, however, will not be denied, and is so desperate for her he'll tear the kingdom in two, creating a religious crisis by splitting from the Catholic Church to get Anne as his Queen and in his bed. Tragically, the child she is with turns out to be a girl, the future Queen Elizabeth I. As his frustration in getting a male heir grows, his eyes turn to pretty courtier Jane Seymour, much to Queen Anne's anger. 

She eventually falls from grace when accused of high treason due to alleged infidelities with men including her own brother. Anne maintains her innocence but Henry opts to behead a woman he loved rather than lose the chance for a male heir, unaware that the little Princess Elizabeth will be the greatest Tudor monarch of them all.

Anne of the Thousand Days has a simply perfect performance from Genevieve Bujold as the tragic second Mrs. Tudor. Bujold makes Anne a fully formed figure, contradictory in manner but fascinating to watch. She could be innocent one moment, lusty the next. Bujold made Anne into a strong woman, unafraid to tell Henry what was what, but she also showed a vindictive streak towards those who got in her way.

Whether it is throwing shade at Wolsey in forcing him to give up Hampton Court or demanding the execution of those who would declare Elizabeth a bastard as Henry's only legitimate heir Princess Mary had been, Bujold's Anne was clever, fiery yet also caring and concerned. In her rage at being denied the one man she loved or giving herself willingly to the lusty Henry, Bujold is a marvel in the role.

She manages to hold your attention more than Burton does, though to be fair the film is about Anne and not Henry. At times, Burton's bombast can come through, such as when he bellows "I AM ACCURSED!" on learning that her second child is a stillborn son. He can slip into being a bit theatrical at times but he is also surprisingly retrained when talking about how to woo maidens. Burton brings a certain calmness to our lusty monarch, one not usually associated with Henry VIII. 

He can still show his anger when things don't go his way and make veiled threats. "You shall dance to my tune, mistress," he calmly whispers as the musicians begin to perform an original composition. However, Burton tones down a lot of the grandiose nature usual for his performances and makes Henry if not loveable at least more rational when not raging.

Quayle was overtly manipulative and subservient as Wolsey, though his cardinal robes had the curious effect of making him look like he was wearing a giant red blanket. Despite the costumes being the only Oscar win of its ten nominations, the costuming failed to make Quayle's performance as good as perhaps he thought it was.  Though her role was small and she is technically wrong for it, Irene Papas is heartbreaking as the first Queen Catherine, making one wonder if perhaps a Catherine-centered film is long overdue. 

The film's Tudor-era inspired score was by Georges Delerue, who was familiar with the period due to writing the music for another film involving the King's Great Matter: A Man for All Seasons. 

Anne of the Thousand Days is perhaps a bit too sumptuous and can feel like it is dragging, but I think most people will be entertained by the power plays going on about. 

DECISION: B+

The Six Wives of Henry VIII: The Television Miniseries

THE SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII

Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. Three Catherines, Two Annes and a Plain Jane. These are two ways to remember the unmerry wives of Tudor, those six unfortunate women who found themselves as consorts to the lusty Henry VIII of England. The Six Wives of Henry VIII cover the tumultuous times of Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr as they struggle to navigate both the political intrigues of Court and the mental gymnastics of their oft-married monarch.

Starting with Catherine of Aragon (Annette Crosby), we see how Henry VIII (Keith Mitchell) came to find himself with this cavalcade of Queens. Catherine of Aragon, loyal wife to Henry, is devastated then enraged to be dumped for pretty courtier Anne Boleyn (Dorothy Tutin). However, Mistress Anne finds life at the top is not all crowns and dances. "You will endure all, Madam. I rule here," he tells the woman described as "a proud shrew".

Anne's fall is mixed with her personal courage, making her worthy of respect. Queen Number Three Jane Seymour (Anne Stallybrass) has something of a fever dream as she lays dying, remembering her courtship and struggles with Henry and his villainous Chancellor Thomas Cromwell (Wolfe Morris). She disagrees on his dissolution of the monasteries, but while she cannot fight this, she at least gives Henry the one thing he's wanted: a male heir. 

The German Princess Anne of Cleves (Elvi Hale) is wary of being Queen Number Four, but Cromwell needs that German alliance. Anne is appalled that the portly, vulgar "King's Messenger" is really the King. Henry for his part isn't too thrilled with Anne, but the wedding takes place. Anne, like Jane, is appalled on how religion is misused by the King and his ministers to torment the people. However, an unlikely bit of luck comes her way when the political winds shift, making the much-hoped German alliance unnecessary. Cromwell's fall is Anne's salvation, as she cleverly suggests an annulment and makes Henry think it's his idea.

Not so clever is Catherine Howard (Angela Pleasance), Queen Number Five. Niece of the powerful and power-hungry Duke of Norfolk (Patrick Troughton), the pretty but stupid and somewhat slutty girl catches the eye of the now very heavy and gangrened king. She attempts to be aroused by him but even he can't arouse himself. Cromwell's execution is soon followed by her own, her indiscretions in an effort to sire a male backfiring spectacularly on her. While her now-disgraced uncle survives with his head intact, he falls out of power altogether.

Finally, there's Catherine Parr, Queen Number Six. The twice-widowed Parr wants nothing to do with the much-married monarch but is pushed into it by ambitious Seymour relatives. She too, like Jane and Anne of Cleves, finds the religious tumult impossible, putting her own views against that of the King himself. It is only by mere luck and Henry's death that she is spared the fates of Anne Boleyn and her predecessor.

The Six Wives of Henry VIII takes the unique approach of featuring each wife in a separate episode both written and directed by a different group of writers and directors. In a more surprising turn, three episodes (Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr) along with one episode (Catherine of Aragon) were directed or written by women (Naomi Capon and Rosemary Anne Sisson respectively). In a time where women were not often given chances to work behind the camera, The Six Wives of Henry VIII gave a chance to offer something of the feminine perspective on the ultimate male chauvinist pig. 

This approach also allows a chance to see the various women not just as pawns in a game but as fully formed figures, with flaws as well as virtues. Of particular note is Tutin's Anne Boleyn. As she faces trial for high treason, adultery and incest, we see her private bravery and courage when she knows there is no hope of survival.

I think every one of the poor Mrs. Tudors did well in the miniseries. There's the foolishness of Pleasance's Catherine Howard, who despite being a bit of a tart you end up feeling sadness for her. Hale's Anne of Cleves showed a deftness as she handled Henry, a man she clearly does not love but who manages to outwit the mad king.

At the heart of the miniseries' success is Michell as Henry VIII. Proud, boastful, arrogant, and with a particular way of seeing the world as he wished it, by the end we feel sympathy for him too. His genuinely heartbreak at his impotence with Catherine Howard is a moving bit of acting. He can be wry at times, suggesting to a man that "if your morality won't let you take a mistress, commit bigamy". In all his virtues and faults: his arrogance, his besotted nature with his wives, his yearning for a son, Michell makes Henry a fully formed figure.

Other roles are equally well-acted, from Troughton's scheming Norfolk to Morris' repulsive Cromwell.

Despite having many hands at work, The Six Wives of Henry VIII has a strong coherence, if at times a bit too stage-bound and dry. Jane Seymour is the only time where I remember there being any location shooting. In fact, Jane Seymour is surprisingly dominated by outdoor scenes, where most of The Six Wives of Henry VIII is studio-bound. Sometimes this is to its detriment: when Catherine Parr and Henry got married, the set literally rattled. 

The miniseries also has very little editing, the camera flowing from one actor or group of actors to another, staged in a way that prevents cutting unless it's to the next scene. Whether this puts people off or not depends on the viewer, but at times it does feel a bit dull.

Still, The Six Wives of Henry VIII is well-acted and written, giving a good primer to the many women who found themselves Queen of England under the larger-than-life King.   

7/10