Anne des mille jours

With a surprisingly strong script and good performances, the film delivers as a late 1960s production that reveals a cinema that was in transition into the modern era. As a historical drama it deserved its one Oscar win and 9 other nominations. It avoids the plodding performances of most costume dramas of the time, while not quite delivering the stunning intimacy that was achieved by the BBC two years later in its landmark "Elizabeth R" mini-series 1971 - (achieved through micro-direction, dedication to detail and precision use of the small screen close-up - who ever said film is the same medium as broadcast television?)

Richard Burton turns in arguably the best performance of his career as Henry VIII. Had his performance revealed just a shade more gravitas and reflection, he surely would have picked up an Oscar.

I'm glad to say that British commercial TV managed to air a decent print of this picture over the Christmas season 2006, even though the cinema-scope frame edges were cut off. Well worth watching, but if you shop for a DVD, do make sure it is in the correct format so the full 35mm squeeze / 70mm letterbox frame is visible. A classic from the '60s and a rare achievement.

Henry VIII's male chauvinistic desire to begat a male heir for the throne of England is a tale often told from many points of view. In Anne of a Thousand Days it's told from the point of view of Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII and mother of the infant child who became Elizabeth I.

Anne Boleyn, a high spirited young lass of 18, catches Henry VIII's eye at court. One of his previous dalliances was with her older sister Mary and that paid off well for the Boleyn family. Father Tom sees riches and glory even more and persuades her to really keep the king panting.

Anne succeeds all too well. Henry divorces Catherine of Aragon and marries Anne. But all he begats is another daughter. And Henry still wants a son and he's got an eye on another. It all ends tragically for the Boleyn family.

It's important to remember that as the film opens Henry VIII having caught sight of Anne at his court denies permission for her to marry some young lord whom she is in love with and vice versa. Had he looked elsewhere, had he moved on, all this might never have come to pass.

Anne of the Thousand Days took 21 years to come to the screen. It ran on Broadway for a year in 1948-1949 and starred Rex Harrison as Henry VIII. Richard Burton joins a great list of actors who've portrayed Henry VIII on the screen. Probably the young Charles Laughton did him best, but Burton is certainly fine.

Genevieve Bujold in her screen debut is a stunning and fetching Anne, too fetching for her own good. Poor kid though, in other than a monarchist society that was becoming more absolute during Henry's reign, she'd have married the man of her dreams and lived happily ever after.

Anthony Quayle is a fine Cardinal Woolsey though I prefer Orson Welles in A Man for All Seasons. Michael Hordern as Thomas Boleyn destroys more than one member of his family through his own ambition.

Irene Papas makes a tragic Catherine of Aragon. By all accounts Catherine was a pious woman who had incredible rotten luck with her pregnancies. Only daughter Mary survived who grew up to be the Queen known as Bloody Mary. She settled some accounts when she became Queen.

I think the best supporting portrayal is that of John Colicos as Thomas Cromwell. This Cromwell was the great uncle of the more well known Oliver Cromwell. Oliver has his supporters and detractors, but I've never seen a good word in any history books about Uncle Tom. Colicos has him pegged just right as a serpentine intriguer. By the way after the period of this film is over, Thomas Cromwell made one too many intrigues and got on Henry VIII's wrong side. People usually didn't live long after that and Cromwell was no exception.

When he wrote Anne of the Thousand Days, Maxwell Anderson grew up in a society of law. I think a fine appreciation of that fact comes into the moral of the story. Even an absolute monarch has to obey laws or no one is safe. Until Henry VIII was off this mortal coil, no one was.

in a special manner. for acting. for accuracy. and for Bujold. a great film not about history of a king choices but about values, forms of cruelty and love, about measure and desire. it is a classic but not just for the passing time . but for delicate nuances of performance - not a really surprise from an impressive cast ( Anthony Quayle, Irene Papas, Michael Hordern or William Squaire ) - for costumes and atmosphere, for the art to be key to discover testimonies of past. in many scenes, it can be second part for The man for all seasons. in same time, it remains proof for force of characters of Richard Burton. more than a film, it is a meeting. with a page of past, with the brilliant manner to translate tension of a time, for universal message and, sure, for art to do a real remarkable film.

Around 1525 Henry VIII fell hopelessly in love with his wife's newly acquired maid-of-honor, Anne Boleyn. A seemingly uneventful, probably unimportant infatuation changed the history of England radically and the history of the world forever. Who in Great Britain at that time ever dreamed that the events unfolding in their king's castle was about to change their lives so much. And it's true. Henry VIII, fascinating in himself, probably didn't even realize what his love for this woman was going to mean. Has there ever been a more tantalizing historical figure to study? This man moved -- literally -- heaven and earth to win the heart of this reluctant, uncooperative, insignificant girl. And no one plays Henry better than Richard Burton, combining wit, cruelty, and selfishness in one unforgettable character. This movie is such a charmer, even if it does take some historical liberties. Bujold is superb as the spiteful, spoiled Boleyn. But even in her transformation in this film is tragedy: she goes from the crown to the block with such speed that even her "head" must have spun! Any student of Tudor history, or anyone just wanting to see a good-old-fashioned epic, will love this movie. I like to think that Burton comes the closest to portraying what Henry VIII must have really been like. But even if you don't like history, Tudor England, or the stars in this movie, watch it anyway. You'll be glad you were born when you were and NEVER the object of a king's love.

Despite historical inaccuracies necessarily prevalent in historical dramas (i.e. not documentaries), this film is exquisitely conceived, written, directed, and performed. In my opinion, it is perhaps one of the best historical dramas ever produced, and both Bujold and Burton are remarkable. It's a pity that this film is not more widely known. I highly recommend it.