The Shadow of the Tower

I found this mini series quite by accident. Although it can be a bit stagey and talky, I really enjoyed it. It's not about the son, it's the dad. Can't recall many biographies or documentaries about King Henry VII. I think John Maxwell is awesome. Then as the series progresses we have Geoffrey Palmer, John Castle, Rachel Kempson, and. Peter Bowles, all early in there careers.

I like the production value and the costumes look right. It maybe a tad long but that didn't bother me too much. I binged for 6 hrs took a break..LOL then watched the final seven.

I always thought Henry VII was an interesting character, from being a loved King only to become miserly and miserable later in life. He'd make a great Psychological study.

The other upside was seeing some great acting from people I never her of. Bruce Hodgkins, Norma West, Hugh Sullivan and especially Marigold Sharman.

It takes great acting to make a rather talky production watchable and it certainly is for me.

Victorious at Bosworth Fields, Henry VII assumes the crown of England but is forced to deal with pretenders, disloyalty, and insurrection while trying to rule as a benevolent and enlightened King. James Maxwell is quite good as Henry and the cast, made up of competent, albeit not noteworthy, British actor and actresses is fine. The stagy look of the film makes up for the obvious limited budget and the script has that pseudo-Shakespearian weightiness than makes for a good historical outing. The episodic series was made as a 'prequel' to the BBC's very popular 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII' and 'Elizabeth R', (both 1971) and the three productions seen in historical order would make for an entertaining and educational excursion through the sometimes benign, sometimes bloody, three generation Tudor dynasty.

Everything most modern historical shows (especially about the 15th-16th century English monarchs-- you know what they are) are not. Writing, historical accuracy, and top-quality acting are prized over sensationalism and sex, and the show is all the more intriguing for it. It hardly matters that the budget is low or that the camerawork isn't super "cinematic"-- the political intrigue and Henry VII's tightrope walk between being a good king, businessman, and family man are just wonderful to watch.

James Maxwell was probably far more accomplished as a theatre director than an actor, and his casting here as the first English Tudor monarch, King Henry VII, is probably the source of this drama's struggles. That king had a reputation for deviousness and ruthlessness that this performance seems to overly sanitise; indeed the whole thing lacks the potency and vibrancy of it's chronological successor "Henry VIII and his Six Wives" (1970). It is spread across 13 fifty minute episodes - some based on fact: his defeat of Richard III; accession; marriage to Edward IV's daughter - Elizabeth of York; Perkin Warbeck and his rebellions etc. and some based on potential scenarios that he may have faced during his reign - the best probably being an encounter with Peter Jeffrey as "The Prisoner", a man accused of heretical behaviour because he happens to believe that Jesus is not best represented to the people by a corrupt and venal Church. There is a decent cast drawn from English theatre circles with Norma West appearing, sparingly, as his wife, but the dialogue is overly verbose; the studio scenery implies some of the dinginess of their actual existence but at the same time leaves us looking at something over staged and really pretty unrealistic (and poorly lit) most of the time. The fact that many of the episodes were directed by different people also doesn't help the continuing, pretty tame, narrative of this fascinatingly shrewd individual from history. Maybe had it just condensed the reign into six episodes under the hand of one director then it would have improved significantly? Rarely available nowadays - probably far too expensive to repeat, but it is still very much worth watching despite it's flaws.

Impossible to imagine being made now, The Shadow of the Tower is a deep and insightful look at the Tudor era's least remembered ruler and its founder: Henry VII. The writing is always engaging even in the weaker episodes and there is a great eye for historical detail. Some episodes rise even higher than the rest, particulary those written by Hugh Whitemore. I see many reviewers here accuse the show of bad acting. I cannot understand that. Some minor roles are of course, but then I can't imagine what these people would make of more recent shows like the Tudors. I am sure nobody thinks that of James Maxwell who is obviously the stand out in portraying a compassionate, fair ruler who is occasionally conflicted but is also highly intelligent. Where it works in history it perhaps fails in drama. It is really a dramatised documentary though probably more accurate than most. I think a lot of people would find it dull. The history is what it is interested in, however, and there is not a wasted word as far as I am concerned. Henry's reign may not on the surface be especially dramatic compared to others but it was actually poised on a very interesting turning point in the shift from the Middle Ages to the Modern Age.

I would recommend to anyone interested in history and the episode "The Serpent and the Comforter" works great as a standalone.