- Actors: Charles Laughton, Robert Donat, Franklin Dyall, Miles Mander, Laurence Hanray
- Directors: Alexander Korda
- Writers: Arthur Wimperis, Lajos Biró
- Producers: Alexander Korda, Ludovico Toeplitz
- Format: PAL, Black & White, Mono, Full Screen
- Language English
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - 1.33:1
- Classification: U
- Studio: Carlton
- VHS Release Date: 26 Jan 2000
- Run Time: 97 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00004CJS9
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,916 in Video (See Top 100 in Video)
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Product Description
Charles Laughton (The Hunchback of Notre Dame; The Canterville Ghost; Witness for the Prosecution) stars as King Henry VIII, with Robert Donat (The Thirty-Nine Steps; The Inn of the Sixth Happiness) as Thomas Culpepper, in this lavish Alexander Korda biopic, made in Black & White in 1933.
The film tells the story of the king and the last five of his six wives. Set almost entirely within the royal castle, it begins just before the death of his second wife Anne Boleyn (Merle Oberon - The Scarlet Pimpernel; Wuthering Heights) and ends just after his sixth wedding to Catherine Parr (Everley Gregg).
Also starring, as wives 3, 4 & 5 are; Wendy Barrie (as Jane Seymour), Elsa Lanchester (as Anne of Cleves) & Binnie Barnes (as Katherine Howard),
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
This was the film that really put British cinema on the map, and there are some masterful performances. The most noticeable are Charles Laughton (Henry VIII), Merle Oberon (Anne Boleyn) and Binnie Barnes (Catherine Howard.) However despite the lavish costumes (especially Oberon's and Barnes') the film was severely lacking in historical depth. The jovial Henry VIII played by Laughton was very far removed from the vicious tyrant of historical fact and the sultry temptress Catherine Howard was in historical fact a rather stupid and naive teenager.
Despite this it is a pleasure to watch good costume, hilarious in parts, touching in others (especially Anne Boleyn's death and the love-scenes between Culpepper and Catherine) and on a rainy afternoon it's great to sit down with it and a plate of chips and a good friend!
Despite this it is a pleasure to watch good costume, hilarious in parts, touching in others (especially Anne Boleyn's death and the love-scenes between Culpepper and Catherine) and on a rainy afternoon it's great to sit down with it and a plate of chips and a good friend!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The Private Life of Henry VIII is great rip-roaring fun, racing through Henry's last five marriages in an hour-and-a-half (an opening caption explaining the first was too dull to bother with). More gossip than history, the performances are spot-on, from Charles Laughton's Henry, setting the benchmark for all other actors attacking the role, to the servants below stairs who act as an earthy chorus to the royal bedhopping. The wives fare pretty well, Merle Oberon making a strong impression in her brief pre-execution scenes as Ann Boleyn and Elsa Lanchester's outrageously comic turn as Ann of Cleves particular standouts. Impossible not to enjoy, why can't modern British period pieces have this much zest and be this much fun?
While there are many NTSC public domain versions available of varying quality, Network's official PAL DVD boasts much better picture quality.
While there are many NTSC public domain versions available of varying quality, Network's official PAL DVD boasts much better picture quality.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The above movie is a classic and a brilliant piece of acting by a consummate talent. However the quality of the original could have been greatly enhanced if it had been digitally remastered. Disappointingly, this is not the case and we are left with a very poor quality image with all the blobs of white and missing emulsion, scratches and lines etc., that old film is subject to. A great pity it deserves better. I score 4.5 for content 0 for quality.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
historical shenanigins
Dont expect historical correctness here but sit back and enjoy the ride.Theres some very funny moments in this as well as drama. Read more
Published 22 months ago by R. Poole
The Private Life of Henry VIII [DVD] [1933]
Excellent classic movie. If you ain't seen it you don't know what youa are missing
Published on 3 Jun 2009 by A. Norris
LOVERS OF HISTORICAL DRAMAS SHOULD LOOK ELSEWHERE...
This is a somewhat disappointing historical drama, directed by Alexander Korda. While Charles Laughton does, indeed, give an excellent performance as Henry VIII, the film suffers... Read more
Published on 11 Nov 2002 by Lawyeraau
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