Anne of the Thousand Days [DVD]

Burton, with his wonderful voice, brings out every aspect of Henry: his self-deluding sentimentality, his determination to get what he wants at whatever cost both sexually and politically, his almost child-like ruthlessness and bullying, going from dewy-eyed vulnerability one minute to petulant rages the next. Was there ever a better way to sum up Henry than when he demands of a friend that he be spoken to frankly man-to-man, and then erupts "I am the King!"

I have seen many good performances of Anne Boleyn, from Charlotte Rampling in "Henry VIII And His Six Wives", to Helena Bonham-Carter in the recent ITV1 production, but Genevieve Bujold to me is the definitive Anne. Fiery, intelligent, alluring, and with a steely ruthlessness of her own. In many of the scenes she is simply exceptional, most particularly in her execution scene, which brilliantly captures the horror of this young woman being put to death on a beautiful May morning. My only criticism of the whole film is that sometimes the actors have to struggle with a clunky script, but for a film which captures the whole diabolical ruthlessness of Henry VIII's era (for instance, parents being more than willing to sell their daughters into the King's bed for whatever goodies it may bring them) that is a very minor criticism indeed.

While not historically accurate, it is still a sublime historical drama. It centers around Anne Boleyn's rise to prominence and her ultimate demise at the executioner's sword. While at court one day, Anne caught the King's eye. She, however, was in love with a courtier whom she wanted to marry. The King, besotted by her, refused to grant her permission to marry, and her courtier was forced to marry another. The King pursued Anne, while still married to the aging Katherine of Aragon. Anne refused, however, to give in and become his lover, knowing that once she did, she would be yesterday's news. Holding Cardinal Wolsey responsible for the loss of all her hopes and dreams, Anne played him like a fiddle, eventually bringing about his downfall. With Cromwell on the ascendancy, however, little did Anne know that her troubles were just beginning.

Angry at the turn that her life had taken, Anne became a doyenne of intrigue and, as she did with Wolsey, played the King like a fiddle. Her actions set into motion the events that would bring about the great Reformation, which would transform England from a Catholic country into a Protestant one. While Anne finally succeeded in marrying the King, she failed to produce the son that Henry VIII so desired, though the fault was Henry's and not hers, as we now know that it is the male who determines the sex of a child. The terms of Anne's reign would cost her dearly, and her legacy would be a bloody one. What had started out with high hopes would end tragically for her and set a precedent that would make all future wives fearful of coming to the same end. Ironically, Henry would never know that his child with Anne would become the greatest monarch that England has ever known, Elizabeth I.

This is a film that all lovers of period pieces and historical dramas will enjoy. It is simply a great movie.