Henry VIII and His Six Wives

This is benchmark-quality drama, a two-hour film retelling of the lives (and deaths) of Henry VII's wives that uses much the same cast and crew as a previous six-hour BBC miniseries.

As a film, it's pretty much unbeatable and sets a standard of high quality that few others can match. Sets, costumes and backdrop are all superb, but of course the real strengths lie in the script and the calibre of acting. Keith Michell stars in a role he was born to play, never less than authentic whether he's playing Henry as an athletic young man or as an obese ancient. He also manages to make the tyrant deeply human, which is another string to his bow.

With the full story of the six wives crammed into a two-hour time slot, the pacing is fast and the script full of drama. Some of the wives fare better than others, but highlights include Charlotte Rampling's witchy Anne Boleyn and Lynne Frederick's captivating innocent, Catherine Howard. Filling the supporting cast with familiar, entertaining figures like Michael Gough, Donald Pleasence and Brian Blessed is another plus.

Most of all, though, I found this retelling succeeded far better in bringing to life the era than others - check out the terrible THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL for a good comparison. We learn much about politics, entertainment and religion of the era, but it's never told in a dry or heavy way. Unbeatable? Yes, I think this is.

Although I am no historian, I do take an interest in the subject and I loved learning about the Tudors even in primary school. Henry VIII and his Six Wives is for me one of the better films and such detailing of Henry VIII and his life and six wives. The story is compelling and well paced and the dialogue is intelligent and moving. For me, my only complaint really is the length, the events and details are compressed for just over two hours. For so many details and events, I couldn't help thinking it was too short and some of the events could have been expanded upon and some of the latter half less over-balanced perhaps. That fault aside, the film is splendidly directed, is reasonably true to history and maintains a strong emotional impact. David Munrow's music score is beautiful and evocative too. But two things especially stood out. One was the period detail and production values, the costumes and scenery are nothing short of splendid and the photography captures that beautifully. The other is the acting, which is wonderful from the entire cast. Keith Michell gives a textbook example of how to play Henry VIII, he doesn't play the famous king as a tyrant but his portrayal is a moving and somewhat more sympathetic one. Of his wives a stunning Charlotte Rampling and suitably vulnerable Lynne Frederick come off best, while Bernard Hepton is a fine Cramner and Donald Pleasance is a wonderfully devious Cromwell. In conclusion, a very good film. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This film was a shrunken version of a TV series, that chopped it all to bits. Some of the scenes and characters were left out and other important moments missing. The king's youth, his father, ect missing from the film that was in the TV series. You would have to watch the TV series to get the full version of this production. Apart from this, the costumes are gorgeous and to detail, while the acting is realistic.

I thought this film was brilliant. The acting was so splendid it brought out each of Henry's wives as an individual woman, with the exception of Anne Of Cleves who appeared only twice and had a grand total of around three lines. Anne Boleyn was excellently played by Charlotte Rampling, and we really can believe that she is innocent of no crimes when she is sent to the block. Another standout is the late Lynne Frederick as Catherine Howard, as we see her fear, after her arrest. Knowing she will follow Anne Boleyn. We inthis marriage feel for king henry, as he thought he had found his perfect loving wife in Catherine Howard. In all i would say that this film is a must see, although it is slighty inaccurate. It also exaggerates, making Anne Boleyn hide numerous bodily deformations, while actually all she had was an extra lump of nail on her left small finger. But still see it!

I saw this movie for the first time very recently, and was quite impressed. Henry the 8th and his six wives has a faultless cast, in particular Keith Mitchell, Jane Asher, Charlotte Rampling, Lynn Fredrick and Donald Plescence. We open on King Henry the 8th's death bed, and wittness him remeniscing about his various marriages, from Katherine of Aragon to Katherine Parr.

Keith Mitchell does a splendid job as the man himself, as he does not portray the king as some brutal tyrant, but as a lonely old man just looking for love and an heir.

Although it is not as good as the B.B.C'S Henry the 8th and his six wives (which also stars Keith Mitchell) it is a wonderful film, well worth a look, not least because it stars Jane Asher Charlotte Rampling and the late Lynn Fredrick as well as the wonderfull Donald Plescence.