Lady Jane (1986)

That was an excellent one.

Please don't spend money on this.

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Don't Believe the Hype

I found this very enjoyable, and its refreshing to watch a character from Tudor history, that doesn't really get much attention, when it comes to history in fiction. Helena Bonham Carter , played this role well.Lady Jane was well educated, and great granddaughter of Henry vii England, also great granddaughter of of Thomas grey,1st marquess of Dorset, a son to late queen consort Elizabeth Woodville, by her first marriageto John of Groby.Very sad tale of young girl who was victim of others political ambitions. What I know of her mother, she was very strict. And was not named in the ,line of succession.Her mother being the daughter of Mary Tudor, (Henry VIII sister). Its fascinating how peoples lives in this era all intertwine with each other. Lady Jane at one stage was brought up in same household I believe as the young Elizabeth Ist,& and also was ward of Thomas Seymour.King Edward Vi uncle.whom himself was executed for treason,along same lines of political ambition.He set his devious eye on Young Elizabeth, and also on marrying Lady Jane toEdward Vi. Its seems quite common thing in this era to set their sights quite high, to end up getting the chop. Good film.

Lady Jane had much going for it, including a talented cast, that it had Trevor Nunn directing and that it was covering an interesting but not-quite-as-well-known part of Tudor history. And while it has its imperfections it is more than worthwhile. Some of the first part of the film is sluggishly paced, the film is often over-scored in both a bombastic and syrupy way(though also with some lovely moments) and a lot of the supporting roles are written in a stock way(ie. Duke of Northumberland, as untrustworthy as the man was I'm not sure whether he was quite the scheming villain that the film made him out to be, could be wrong though). There is also one unbelievable scene which was when Jane swore that her husband would never be given the title of king, that would have made sense if the film had maintained that Jane and Guildford hated each other but instead it makes them madly in love which was rather conflicting.However, there is much to recommend. If you're wondering how accurate Lady Jane is to history, in places it does play fast and loose(the romance being the biggest one) but most of the time it is accurate(especially with Jane's execution), at least it didn't feel grossly distorted and gratuitous like Henry VIII with Ray Winstone did. First off, Lady Jane is incredibly well-made, the costumes, sets and scenery are colourful and immaculate in detail(perhaps too much so at times), the lighting is dynamic and the photography is beautiful. The script doesn't do as good a job with developing the supporting roles but does a wonderful job with Jane, who goes through several character stages. The dialogue is thoughtful and avoids being too mawkish. The story is compellingly told and plausible on the whole, despite a few pacing lulls and that one conflict in the central romance, there's plenty to be entertained by and the ending is truly emotional. The romance is not 100% believable and has an 1980s feel at times, but it was also rather touching and the chemistry between Helena Bonham Carter and Cary Elwes smolders. Trevor Nunn directs beautifully, and Lady Jane is very well cast and acted. Helena Bonham Carter is both sexy and fiery but in the later parts she's heartfelt as well, while Cary Elwes is similarly excellent. John Wood's Northumberland is one of his serious roles and he does great at being sinister and Patrick Stewart plays a scheming, cold-hearted character menacingly and movingly. Jane Lapotaire is a haunting Mary and Michael Hordern and Sara Kestelman's performances are fine too.In conclusion, imperfect but well done. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I love watching period movies. I really like Helena Bonham Carter, she is one from my list of favorite actresses, and I really looked forward to watch an old movie of her when she was young and at the beginning. She is a talented actress and even when she was young she still gave great performances. I look forward to watch Hamlet too because I've seen some samples on the internet of her Ophelia and I enjoyed them. As for this movie, I like it. A decent and bittersweet story of two young people who are persecuted by the ones who gave them life only to accomplish their own selfish interests in ruling a kingdom. But when they discover how much power they posses as the next rulers, their ideas to change the world and make a better place, while also enjoying life and their love makes everything interesting and sweet. The actors did a great job, the costume's were amazing, and it's a really inspiring story about how power, money and selfishness can change some innocent's people destiny.Worth watching in a quiet evening.

Trevor Nunn may be a great theatre director but he cannot make movies. Just why he decided to make this turkey, I cannot imagine. Given that the actual true story of Lady Jane Grey is a fascinating example of political intrigue in Tudor England, it is all the more inexplicable that Nunn opts for a Woman's Own version of the tale complete with syrupy music that lurches in style from faux 16th century to 1980s muzak.Historical accuracy goes out the window and suddenly the 15 year old Jane and her slightly older husband Guildford Dudley are transformed into young lovers cast in the 'Romeo & Juliet' mould. The pace is leaden, and at almost 2 and a half hours, the film is overly long. Beautiful photography and many historic locations aside, the best ingredient is the wonderful supporting cast drawn from some of the finest acting talent in the British Isles.Of course (as can be judged from most of the comments here) the Americans loved it and perhaps it was made for the US market? The recent, equally risible TV series THE TUDORS was made for America too - given that English history is not a strong point across the pond.It was a failure on release and Nunn has not made a major film since.Thank goodness!