Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972)

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.

First saw this years ago, during high school history lessons..and it was via this film that i became interested in Tudor History and in particular Henry and his Six Wives. I recently purchased it on DVD, and was so thrilled to see that it was still as impressive as it was all those years ago! Keith Michell IS Henry VIII. Such a performance and i don't feel anybody has come close to his interpretation of Henry's character since this film...Ray Winstone's " cockney " king in the recent Henry VIII made for t.v drama pales into nothing next to Mr. Michell's performance! Worth a mention are ALL the ladies playing Henry's wives, in particular Frances Cuka as Catherine of Aragon, Charlotte Rampling as Anne Boleyn ( stunning!!! )and the late Lynne Frederick as Catherine Howard..a vulnerable and rather moving performance! If you like Tudor History then check this film out! Highly Recommended!

since i was 7 years old and we did this little project on Henry VIII at school, ive held a place for old Henry somewhere.i find him and his life so interesting and thought this was brilliant. i espically liked anne bolyn who had such a strong character and catherine howard for her actual fear.Henry treks through life and wives just looking for a son. Then his third wife Jane Seymour dies during childbirth of his son Edward. I think it would of been Henry VIII and his three wives if she hadnt died. Jane was his perfect match and soulmate and gave him the only thing he wanted in life.You see Henry get larger by the wife with his famous weight gain. I read in his later days he had the get hauled to bed by ropes because he couldnt carry himself but we didnt get to see that in the film.a fantastic film 10/10

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!