Les six femmes d'Henri VIII

This is a film adaptation of the six part BBC TV series. I've unfortunately never seen the series but I know it is highly regarded, much more than this film version. The reason for the inferiority of this version is obvious: the original material is very compressed.

It is naturally very difficult to compress a life so colourful, and containing so much complex political and abstruse religious manoeuvring as Henry's in a 2 hour film. Events rush by so much that it requires a good working knowledge of the life of Henry VIII to be able to follow them. For example Henry's relationship with Thomas More is barely established (it comes down to one 30 second conversation) before Thomas is executed. Later, we suddenly see rebels kneeling before Henry, for some under explained reason, who he immediately betrays (this is the Pilgrimage of Grace, when northerners rebelled against the king's abandonment of the Roman rite). Nor is the fall of Thomas Cromwell properly explored among many other lacunae. I wonder what the uninitiated would make of these things? Bewilderment I guess.

The compressed nature of the film gives rise to much obvious expositional dialogue. Henry baldly states things rather than us subtly getting to know his thoughts through his actions. This violates the basic rule of drama "show not tell".

Because of this the scenes of Henry's later life, when a lot of the political and religious turmoil had died down, come off better. There is simply less to explain to the audience and most of the famous historical people (Woolsey, More, Cromwell) were dead. So the personal drama can be explored more fully. The scenes with Katherine Howard are probably the highlight of the film, even if the actress rather over-eggs her final monologue. The scene with the king weeping is especially moving.

I'm not sure if I could recommend this to a complete novice in Tudor history, it would be too confusing. But for those studying Henry's reign of general history buffs, it is moderately interesting.

If you haven't time to immerse yourself in the mini-series, then this two hour, compact 'preview' will give you a neatly constructed overview of the virile King and his exploits as he seeks to secure his lineage by conceiving a successor to his throne.

Rather than condense aspects of the original mini-series (which essentially set aside one episode per wife, to put it crudely), this film version has been entirely remade. Only Michell reprises his title role, showcasing his intuitive interpretation of the rambunctious, though fragile majesty. Perhaps predictably, Charlotte Rampling's Anne Boleyn has the greatest exposure, though each of the wives acquit themselves well with the often limited dedicated screen time (the lovely Jane Asher playing the ill-fated Jane Seymour stands-out among the rest).

Aussie actor Michell is a more vulnerable King Henry VIII than other memorable incarnations produced by Charles Laughton or Robert Shaw, displaying a deep-seeded personality conflict that while not unique to the character, is played with a more sympathetic tone and gesture. This changes of course as his jealousy and mistrust is fanned by those obsequious to him, courting their own power and favour - the insipid Cromwell played with aplomb by the versatile Donald Pleasance.

Hussein's ultra-light has its dramatic moments, although clearly it proves difficult to compress the details of six marriages and their respective intrigue into a two-hour snapshot. For a preview, it's superb, though it remains inferior to the mini-series time permitting.

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 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.

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.