Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972)

Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972). 2h 5m | PG

“This is benchmark-quality drama, a two-hour film retelling of the lives (and deaths) of Henry VIIu0026#39;s wives that uses much the same cast and crew as a previous six-hour BBC miniseries.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs a film, itu0026#39;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 heu0026#39;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.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWith 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 Ramplingu0026#39;s witchy Anne Boleyn and Lynne Fredericku0026#39;s captivating innocent, Catherine Howard. Filling the supporting cast with familiar, entertaining figures like Michael Gough, Donald Pleasence and Brian Blessed is another plus.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMost 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 itu0026#39;s never told in a dry or heavy way. Unbeatable? Yes, I think this is.”