The Private Life of Henry VIII

Rating:
Summary: A charming, clever British comedy
Review: Charles Laughton is typically wonderful in his broadly-played role as England's King, Henry the Eigth, who infamously married six different queens, divorcing or executing them as circumstances warranted. The script to this magnificent Alexander Korda production is a witty jab at English history buffs, touching only briefly on the supposed treachery of Ann Boleyn, concentrating instead on the preposterous emotional life of the lusty, capacious King. Laughton, as ever, is a marvel, skillfully presenting Henry at first as a thinly-cariacatured lout, and gracefully embuing him with gradual shades of pathos and humanity. Viewers who look to this film as historical drama are clearly missing the point: this is all about the cleverly-rendered script, which turns British schoolboy lessons on their heads, and on the classy ensemble acting, which admittedly may be hard to focus on with the lamentable quality of the current print (I'm writing in the year 2003; perhaps Criterion or some other class-act movie restoration company can correct this problem soon). Still, fans of early British cinema will enjoy this film a lot.

Rating:
Summary: good old movie
Review: This is a really old movie but if you are a King Henry Vlll bluff you will like it. Charles Laughton makes a wonderful King Henry Vlll. I love all of the Charles Laughton King Henry movie and this one is great. For all King Henry Vlll fans. Worth buying.

Rating:
Summary: LOVERS OF HISTORICAL DRAMAS SHOULD LOOK ELSEWHERE...
Review: This is a somewhat disappointing historical drama, directed by Alexander Korda. While Charles Laughton does, indeed, give an excellent performance as Henry VIII, the film suffers from its screenplay, which chooses to focus on Henry's last five marriages, with emphasis on his fourth and probably least important marriage, that to Anne of Cleves. One has to wonder if her prominence in the film was due to the role being played by Elsa Lancaster, Laughton's wife at the time. The most important marriage, that to Katherine of Aragon, is dismissed as being of no interest. This is an amazing and absurd statement, given the fact that it was this marriage that ultimately set England on the path to Protestantism and the establishment of the Church of England. As a historical drama, the film leaves a lot to be desired, as it suffers from superficial treatment.

The film begins with the execution of Ann Boleyn, played by the lovely Merle Oberon, who, despite star billing, is only in the film for several minutes. The film then goes to the marriage to Jane Seymour, played by an actress with a thirties style hair bob. It is Jane who gives the King his heart's desire, a son and heir, before succumbing to death shortly after childbirth.

The film then segues into the marriage to Anne of Cleves, which role is played with comedic abandon by Ms. Manchester. This is followed by Henry's marriage to Katherine Howard, a young wanton who cuckolds the king with Thomas Culpepper, one of the King's Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber. The role of the hapless Thomas Culpepper is played by screen great, Robert Donat. Katherine Howard, as did Anne Boleyn, ends up losing her head on the chopping block for her treasonous transgression. Henry's last wife, Katherine Parr, is merely depicted as a loving and caring woman, watching out for Henry in his dotage.

The video itself is of very poor quality, with a lot of static which renders portions of the film's dialogue inaudible. It is also disconcerting to have many of the female cast wandering about the set with nineteen thirties style hair bobs, as this serves to have a jarring effect. For a better and historically more accurate picture of the wives of King Henry VIII, one would do well to view the BBC production, "The Six Wives of Henry VIII", which is available on DVD and as a set of six video cassettes.

Rating:
Summary: Better if done in series like the 1970's version
Review: This version was enrtaining and interesting, but it had flaws. If Katherine of Aragon was the first wife, why didn't they show her. The opening details said she was insignificant. That's unacceptable to me! The director needed a lot of fixing to do. I did like Binnie Barnel as Katherine Howard; she was adorable. Henry's grief on her death inspired a poem from me. If each wife was done in a series with each being at least 45 minutes, this movie would have rocked. But the sixth wife was done way out of character; Katherine Parr was a better woman in the 1970's series. This one was a nagging dog. Listen Katherine Parr (Everly Gregg), I don't know what I'm going to do with you!! *Points a finger at her* And as for the tall wife who said "I haven't had a new gown in a year I say to her. "You will be executed!" *Slaps her face. She holds her face in shock* And as for you, nurse! *Grabs the son out of her arms and gives it back to Henry. Then I punch the nurse in the nose* It doesn't matter if it was your charm, it's Henry's child none the less!!!