Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972)
2h 5m | PG-13
Adapted from the BBC2 serial The Six Wives of Henry VIII. 1547, King Henry VIII's life has taken a turn for the worse and he is forced to look back over his life and the many loves which had brought him his three children, only one of which was the desired male heir to secure the Tudor dynasty.
Director: Waris Hussein
Studio: Anglo-EMI
Genre: Drama, History
Video: 720p
Cast
Keith Michell
as Henry VIII
Donald Pleasence
as Thomas Cromwell
Charlotte Rampling
as Anne Boleyn
Jane Asher
as Jane Seymour
Brian Blessed
as Suffolk
Michael Gough
as Norfolk
Reviews
Based on the BBC drama series (and exec produced by a man who went on to run their drama department for a while) this is a good effort at recounting in two hours the lives and loves of Henry VIII over almost 40 years. Donald Pleasance is noteworthy as the odiously ambitious Thomas Cromwell and Charlotte Rampling as the even more ambitious Anne Boleyn. Keith Michell is an old hand at playing this part by now - his 4th time of asking; and he does it stylishly. The script is of it's time, and so a bit long-winded but otherwise this has held up well. Quite a bit is filmed outdoors and/or on location and so it has less of the sterile look of the television series; I expect the costumes are the same, though....