[.ca] The Six Wives of Henry VIII

From Amazon.com:
A British television series originally broadcast on CBS (and rebroadcast on PBS) in America in 1971, The Six Wives of Henry VIII remains a painless way to learn something about royal history and its impact on the political and religious landscape of England. Keith Michell stars as King Henry VIII, who assumes the throne as a boy after the death of his older brother and inherits the latter's Spanish betrothed, Catherine of Aragon (Annette Crosbie), as well. Growing up and increasingly complicated in personality, with an ever-growing appetite for elusive happiness as well as power and food, Henry maneuvers (and is maneuvered by) forces around him to break from Rome and create the Church of England, in part to accommodate his wish for a divorce. Each story of the king's successive brides takes up an entire episode in the series. Dorothy Tutin plays the doomed Anne Boleyn, Anne Stallybrass is Henry's favorite, Jane Seymour, Elvi Hale is Anne of Cleves, Angela Pleasence is Catherine Howard, and Rosalie Crutchley plays last-in-line Catherine Parr. A very large and fine supporting cast adds intrigue and extra layers of tragedy to the proceedings, especially John Baskcomb as Cardinal Wolsey, Wolfe Morris as Thomas Cromwell, and Ralph Bates as Thomas Culpepper. Each 90-minute episode was crafted by a different writer, but the series holds together very well under Keith Michell's dazzling performance as the despicable if sympathetic Henry, whose emotional arc over many years and losses is something to see. --Tom Keogh

Best acting I've ever seen, and I mean ever:
I now have five DVDs in my collection. This is because I see a movie once, and that's that--upward and onward. I'd rather spend my money on books. The first three I bought are music DVDs. This is only the second dramatic DVD I've ever bought. Why? Keith Michell's performance as Henry VIII is simply the best I've ever seen, or probably will see, period. Even the almighty Olivier or Anthony Hopkins couldn't kick out a performance of this stature. I was only a kid (single-digit age) when I first saw this series, and it stayed with me ever since. The production can be almost laughably flawed at times--during the first play, "Catherine of Aragon," for example, you can easily see the microphones sticking up during the court scene, and in "Jane Seymour," you can see it's a doll instead of a real baby, but the acting overrides what's not so good. The supporting actors also give admirable performances, with the actress portraying each queen doing a fine job. Anne Stallybrass as Jane Seymour and Rosalie Crutchley as Catherine Parr are particular standouts. Basil Dignam as Bishop Gardiner, Wolfe Morris as Thomas Cromwell, and John Ronane as Thomas Seymour are also wonderful. But Keith Michell is the man. Over all six plays, running a total of nine hours, his performance is flawless. Young, handsome, and idealistic to old, fat, and full of self-pity and ego, he gets it right from facial expressions to dialogue delivery. And he can dance and sing so well, I'm getting ready to order a performance or two of him in some Gilbert and Sullivan productions. Now, to be warned, I only bought the DVD instead of the videotapes simply because I knew I'd be watching them a lot, and didn't want to wear out a tape. They list "scene selection" on the box, but the scenes are actually the choices between plays on each DVD. That's it. No extras, no nothing, so only buy the DVD if you are either going to watch them a lot, or want a DVD because it's easier to store. I spent a lot of time when I first got the DVDs trying to find the scenes for selection, when it finally dawned on me that I could choose a play, and that's it. Oh, well. After seeing this series for the first time, I became totally obsessed with finding out more about the era, and have since read dozens of books about Henry and his wives and his children. Although each wife's story is condensed to 90 minutes, all six playwrights do a fine job of elaborating the basics. Less dramatic license than I would have thought has been taken in many cases. Glenda Jackson is also marvelous in her six-play series, "Elizabeth R," which I recommend. But it's Keith Michell all the way here. I can't praise him enough. I'll keep looking for acting this good, but I doubt I'll find anything.

The Six Wives of Henry V111:
I purchased this DVD with some misgivings - based on a review I read on Amazon which stated it was very poor in technical quality. Having the viewed all the discs, I disagree. While it is true there are not additional features on the set (like interviews, directors comments, etc) I found the picture quality and sound to be good. There were no times when I had to raise the sound to hear. In other words, it is like watching the tapes - except on 3 discs which take much less space. The performances need no comment. This series has stood for years as superb and transfering it to DVD hasn't changed that

Majestic Performances...Mediocre DVD:
This review refers to DVD Complete Set(BBC/BFS Video) of "The Six Wives of Henry VIII"(3 discs)..... This classic BBC television series from 1970 is an outstanding production of 6 plays, all by different authors, depiciting the relationship Henry VIII had with each of his 6 wives.It's an entertaining and enlighting look at the monarch, played exquisitely from his youth to his sickly old age by Keith Michell.The six very different women, most of whom meet with a tragic ending are also portrayed brillantly by the actresses and will draw you into their joys and fears at being the Queen of England. Catherine of Aragon(Annette Crosbie), Ann Boleyn(Dorothy Tutin), Jane Seymour(Anne Stallybrass), Anne of Cleves(Elvi Hale),Catherine Howard(Anglea Pleasence) and Catherine Parr(Rosalie Crutchley),were all picked to serve a purpose for the Royal Court. Some served useful in forming political alliances, and some in gaining favors for social climbers in the court. But to Henry....They were there to provide him with sons..heirs to the throne..and God help them if they didn't. The production is wonderful. The costumes, make up, each play beautifully written, and the majestic performances will have you enthralled with each story and hanging on every word.The authentic look at this Royal soap opera is one any student of European history, or anyone who loves stories about Kings and Queens would be thrilled with.It is a five star performance. The DVD did not get the kingly treatment it deserved.Although there is nothing about it that will interfere with your enjoyment of this treasure, it is very dated. The costumes and magnificent jewelry need to be brightned up, the outdoor scenes are a bit grainy, and the sound(although clear and distinguishable) is a very low recording.The price is a little high considering what this could look and sound like on DVD with a restoration.So 4 stars for the package. It is absolutly worth the view and worth owning though.Unless a new edition comes along(this edition was released July, 2000), I would suggest to check with the sellers here, the prices seem much more reasonable.(I got a great deal at about half the price). You may lose your head over this one.....enjoy...Laurie

Riveting:
If you know the history then you will enjoy this interpretation. If not you can take this as your history and learn of the reasoning and lack of behind this great time in history. Riveting is to say the least as you expect this to be a documentary. Upon viewing you find that it is anything but. As with all BBC productions there is no equivalent. A few liberties were taken with history but you just do not care because you are too busy kibitzing. The Six Wives of Henry VIII can not be told in less than six programs. Each program or play has an appropriate title that explains the next queen. If the quality of the writing varies that is because they have different writers and it shows. When I first say that the episode "Catherine of Aragon" was written by Rosemary Ann Sission I knew we had a winner as she was also the screen writer for "Strong Poison" in the Lord Peter Wimsey (1987) (TV) series. So you can image how amazed I was to find that the episode "Anne Boleyn" was written even stronger. The unifying element is Keith Michell who plays a spoiled brat oops I mean Henry VIII. He starts out clean shaven in his pageboy hairstyle and ends up as scruffy as his personality by the last play. It helps to have some background information of the time and place. Yet they fill it in well as they describe the current events and how they were influences by Henry VIII and his Six Wives.

Riveting:
If you know the history then you will enjoy this interpretation. If not you can take this as your history and learn of the reasoning and lack of behind this great time in history. Riveting is to say the least as you expect this to be a documentary. Upon viewing you find that it is anything but. As with all BBC productions there is no equivalent. A few liberties were taken with history but you just do not care because you are too busy kibitzing. The Six Wives of Henry VIII can not be told in less than six programs. Each program or play has an appropriate title that explains the next queen. If the quality of the writing varies that is because they have different writers and it shows. When I first say that the episode "Catherine of Aragon" was written by Rosemary Ann Sission I knew we had a winner as she was also the screen writer for "Strong Poison" in the Lord Peter Wimsey (1987) (TV) series. So you can image how amazed I was to find that the episode "Anne Boleyn" was written even stronger. The unifying element is Keith Michell who plays a spoiled brat oops I mean Henry VIII. He starts out clean shaven in his pageboy hairstyle and ends up as scruffy as his personality by the last play. It helps to have some background information of the time and place. Yet they fill it in well as they describe the current events and how they were influences by Henry VIII and his Six Wives.