The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970)

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Fantastic BBC series with a brilliant performance by Keith Michell as Henry VIII. He sustains the core of Henry throughout the entire series as he changes from an ardent young king into a grotesque martinet. All the actresses playing his various wives are terrific never slipping from character into more contemporary attitudes as is common today. All the episodes are fascinating but the ones of greater interest are the wives like Anne of Cleves and Katharine Parr whose stories are not as well known as say Anne Boleyn, although Dorothy Tutin is exemplary as Mistress Boleyn. The age of the piece does show in the limited settings and the texture of the picture but taking into consideration that in the early 70's that was the standard format once you get use to that its not really a distraction. A wonderful companion to the stellar Glenda Jackson starrer on Elizabeth I.

This series - and can you imagine the BBC financing and supporting a nine-hour historical drama series these days? - focuses on one of the six wives each episode, an interesting approach which comes off better in some instalments than others. Still, what is here is excellent - and far better than the ridiculously truncated film which followed a few years later.Keith Michell as Henry. What more can I add to the praise which has already been put forward? He is excellent in every episode; we see Henry as a complex character who at times can cause us to sympathise with his predicament. The writing of this series is tight and believable, and the supporting characters are solid. This always helps move a series along when many supporting players are there throughout. Of particular note are Patrick Troughton as Norfolk, Bernard Hepton as Cranmer, and Sheila Burrell as Lady Rochford.Of the six wives, all are excellent in their own ways. Katherine of Aragon's story is rushed, but Annette Crosbie does her best and is both memorable and pathetic ... Dorothy Tutin as Anne Boleyn is more fiery but the trial scene is truly regal and gives a different perspective ... Anne Stallybrass as Jane Seymour is sweet, pious, and just a little bit cunning (and that episode, largely in flashback as Jane lies sick to death at her son's christening, is well done) ... Elvi Hale as Anne of Cleves is extremely convincing, and her episode is full of intrigue ... Catherine Howard, as played by Angela Pleasance, is all gloss and no substance, but you still feel for her as she goes headlong to her fate without recognition ... and Rosalie Crutchley as Katharine Parr is a dull old crow in black, widow of old men, who at first resents her lot and then comes to respect and love the sick king.This series really is remarkable. I would never get bored watching it - and eventually, it led to another top-class BBC drama, Elizabeth R, using some of the same cast and moving the story through the reigns of Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I herself.

Sure this is about Henry the VIII and his 6 wives, but it also delves a lot more into the politics of the palace. Henry VIII (Well played by Keith Mitchell)assumes the throne after the death of his father. He marries Catherine of Aragon(Annette Crosbie), the widow of his brother. All goes well, until Anne Boleyn (Dorothy Tutin)catches his eye. Then, with the help of social climbing servants, Henry VIII changes the course of religion, and history as well. Desperate for a son (Which Catherine couldn't deliver), he breaks with Rome to marry Anne Boleyn, which ends with her execution for alleged adultery. Soon, Jane Seymour (Anne Stallybrass), Anne of Cleves (Elvi Hale), Catherine Howard (Angela Pleasence), and Catherine Parr (Rosalie Crutchley)will be wed to the King, each changing history, all become victims of politics, scandals, and the King himself. Lots of heads literally roll when the King is displeased or angered.Each part has its own style, emotion and impact. Practically no one escapes the wrath of the King, and all those that reach too high fall hard (Cromwell, played excellently by the late Wolfe Morris, falls exceptionally hard because of his advice to the King to marry Anne of Cleves, whom the King dislikes.) It is this segment that ALWAYS brings me to tears.Henry VIII begs Anne of Cleves to stay with him, because he knows that there will be people that will throw a young girl at him, making look like "an old fool." (A foreshadow to "Catherine Howard," who does just that.). Watching that scene always makes me cry, because he is trapped not by his position, but social climbing phonies that want more power. This is the perfect BBC drama to have in your collection and highly recommended.

Impeccable in casting, sets, dialogue, and period feel. All of the principals are magnificent; but the actors who play Stephen Gardiner and Robert Barnes are simply extraordinary. The much-maligned Keith Michell is still the best Henry this century, easily brushing aside Robert Shaw, Richard Burton, and Charles Laughton. Michell's combination of vanity, insecurity, overweening machismo, and determination to stay top dog at all costs is painful but fascinating to watch. This TV series does full justice to all facets of the Tudor period; best of all, it reveals extra magical touches with each re-viewing. Which means, in short, that this is a video which you should buy, rather than rent.