Anne of The Thousand Days

"Anne Of The Thousand Days" despite a few strayings from the historical truths, at times is a painstakingly researched production that tries to always be as accurate as possible in its retelling of the tragic rise and fall of the fascinating Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII. Tudor England was a time of great beauty, savagery, religious upheaval and pagentry and this is all captured beautifully in this film. Indeed "Anne Of The Thousand Days" is a visual and indeed intellectual feast for the eyes and the brain. Towering above the whole massive production here is Genevieve Bujold in the role of a life time as Anne Boleyn. Never has she been so perfectly cast as here. During the course of the film she develops from the simple girl just arrived back in England from her time at the stylish French court, who catches the eye of the England's august and rather frightening monarch, to that of being England's Queen who must live by her own wits alone if she is to survive in such unsure times. It is a stunning performance filled with equal amounts of fire, passion, sorrow, wit and spirit. The character of Anne is well researched here and Bujold rightly won an Academy Award Nomination for her performance here. Richard Burton had his last real stand out role as Henry VIII in this production. Many famous actors have portrayed Henry on stage and screen and Keith Michell's superb portrayal of the king was still ahead in the future when this film was made. Burton is wonderfully believable as Henry and fits the part like a glove with equal parts, majestic presence, selfishness, cruelty and great passion, just how this most famous of monarch's is envisioned. Burton also received an Academy Award Nomination for his colourful and beautifully balanced performance and his Henry has rightly joined the few who are deservedly remembered for their portrayals, Charles Laughton and Keith Michell in particular.

"Anne Of The Thousand Days' is rich in wonderful performances from Michael Hordern and Katherine Blake as Thomas and Elizabeth Boleyn, Anne's parents to Anthony Quayle in a superb performance of world weary splendour as the infamous Cardinal Wolsey. William Squire as Thomas More and Joseph O'Conor as Archbishop Fisher, two men bound up in all the tragic tumult of Henry's Reformation and who were sacrificed for Anne's sake also excel. Irene Papas portrays Henry's first wife Catherine of Aragon and while her very dark appearance perhaps fails to match the Red/Gold hair and pale complexion of the real Catherine, she is very impressive in her brief scenes as Henry's cast off wife who fought him all the way by refusing to grant him the divorce he eagerly sought thus bringing on the English Reformation. In a small but standout role Valerie Gearon plays Mary Boleyn, Anne's older sister and former mistress of Henry. While their relationship was historical fact in the film she is portrayed carrying Henry's child. That fictional development aside her's is a wonderful performance filled with the anger and uselessness felt by many women in the man's world of Tudor England.

The film is full of wonderful moments. Two standouts are Anne's triumphal procession through London where she is greeted by the jeers and insults of an outraged population who thought of her as a whore and her final speech to Henry in the Tower (fictional but carried of with finesse) prior to her execution where she gives nothing away to him and declares that "her blood will be well spent" and predicts that "her daughter (Elizabeth) will become a greater Queen than England has ever known. Stirring stuff and Genevieve Bujold makes the most of such a juicy part. The period flavour is caught beautifully and for all its brutality the Tudor period was sumptous in costumes, interior decoration, garden design etc. These are all faithfully reproduced in "Anne Of The Thousand Days" to maximum effect and the film is a gorgeous feast for the eyes.

For any student of Tudor history this film is a must see. I love it for its sterling attempt within the confines of popular entertainment to tell the story as it was. Production values are top notch and one feels the spirit of that young Boleyn girl who unwillingly found herself thrust into the historical spotlight, and who became a woman in the process, in each frame of Bujold's performance.


Much more than a costume drama   July 16, 2003
Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

The story of Anne Boleyn, second wife of the much-married Henry VIII, is well-known to just about everyone. This telling, based on the Maxwell Anderson play, is rich in its examination of plotting at the royal level. Henry seeks a male heir--a woman to rule England after his death is anathema to him. He must fulfill his glory with a son to make his reign seemingly immortal.

Boleyn is played as, not a stupid schoolgirl, but the canny younger sister of Mary Boleyn, also a mistress to the King. Where Mary fails in capturing the King's heart, Anne succeeds by strategem and anger. When Henry forbids her marriage to Percy, she takes revenge and yet works off her fascination with the powerful king by heeding the pragmatic advice of her ambitious parents.

Burton's Henry is a slightly toned down version of the loud, blustering king of typical historical dramas. Burton plays him as obsessive. Nothing ever must stand in the way of his desires. Irene Pappas plays the aging and tragic Katherine of Aragon, and the other supporting cast provide rich portraits of Cromwell, More, and Woolsey. Bujold, who starts out timid and clumsy as an actress (she was 19) rises to the occasion for a magnificent soliloquy at the end, making her performance work quite well from teen-age schemer to mature and somewhat bitter queen.

While not always historically accurate, this is a stunning look at a time of high drama in English history. The costumes are a bit confusing--the cut is more Renaissance than Tudor period, which is slightly annoying if you love period costume work. As to direction, the film is overlong in the middle and drags as the scheming parties set their traps. The last 15 minutes, however, regain the pace and are exciting. We know what is to happen, yet the swing of the headman's axe is still a shock. A great historical drama that should not be missed.


Fun fantasies, but not history   February 27, 2006
Irene Rheinwald (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
11 out of 13 found this review helpful

Alright, alright, I confess! Despite being an expert on the subject, and thus all too willing to rip every frame to shreds, I still adore this movie. Notwithstanding how divorced (pun intended) it is from reality, the passion of execution (pun wholly intended) is remarkable. I don't watch movies like this for historical accuracy, and neither should anyone else; "Anne" is no history lesson. Generalized, broad strokes for one of the most complex and far reaching events in English history? Bad scholarship, good fun.

Yes, Henry loves her (after bedding her sister Mary); yes, he turns England's religious orientation upside down; yes, he throws off his older Spanish wife; yes, Anne bears Elizabeth, who will become a great monarch; yes, she is executed one thousand days after a brilliant coronation. Reality stops there.

Inaccuracies: Thomas Boleyn was an accomplished, if conniving, courtier (not this simpering bottom feeder), Mary Boleyn's children were probably not Henry's, Henry Percy had been engaged to Mary Talbot since childhood, Wolsey never spoke to Anne Boleyn re: Percy.

The laundry list: Katherine of Aragon was short, fair, and plump, and Henry light haired and balding. Wolsey lost Henry's favour due to failing the "divorce" issue, not because Anne Boleyn swore vengeance over the broken love affair (though she was so furious, she 'smoked', in the words of Cavendish, Wolsey's gentleman usher); Henry suspected the legitimacy of his marriage long before his passion for Anne Boleyn. Anne Boleyn was not responsible for the deaths More or Fisher--the men faced a consitutional impasse. The queen and her maternal uncle, the third Duke of Norfolk (who was as difficult as his niece), did not get on. The decline of the royal marriage did not begin with Elizabeth, but occurred much later: Henry often defended his queen, referring to her as his "beloved wife" mere weeks before her arrest. Her fall was rapid and politically motivated, with Thomas Cromwell as architect. Also, Katherine and Mary had been forcibly, cruelly, separated prior to the former's death.

Henry examining Anne Boleyn at her trial? Visiting her cell (she was housed in the luxurious apartments built for her before the coronation, long destroyed) after the trial? Wonderful drama--that never happened. I also doubt Anne Boleyn had the prescience to see Elizabeth's future as a great queen. And please, what stilted and/or anachronistic dialogue! Maxwell Anderson and the screenwriters must shoulder blame.

Indeed, events and incidents occur in a truly creative time frame. And the costumes and interiors, although extravagant, are not entirely true to period. However, exterior shots are exquisite: at least they filmed at Hever (the modern Hever), but most of Henry VIII's palaces (Greenwich, Richmond, Whitehall) are long gone (Wolsey's Hampton Court, based on Italianate prototypes, does not much resemble the current complex). Lots of problems if one knows too much.

And, of course, there is the ultimate question: did Anne Boleyn love Henry VIII? She had already stepped beyond the bounds of convention by dallying with Henry Percy while promised to James Butler (one reason for her recall from France): women of her station did not consider love and marriage as inclusive. Marriage was a business of alliances, ambition, treaties and progeny, little more. One could debate whether she actually loved 'Harry' Percy or Henry Percy, the future Earl of Northumberland--a major catch. Same with Henry VIII: indeed, they were inextricably intertwined, she being utterly dependent on him during the divorce (more correctly termed annulment), but the "in love" notion is dangerous territory.

But why do I adore this movie? Passion. Genevieve Bujold, although too young for the role, and perhaps a whisper TOO French in appearance (Anne Boleyn was of English-Irish stock, but seemed French by virtue of upbringing), imbued the queen with wild intensity and intelligence. The confrontations between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn from beginning to end are brilliantly realized. A trace of an accent is good; some sources state Anne Boleyn retained an accent (affected?) all her life. We do not see her as a cultural icon, nor an intellectual, but this IS a romance. She's maybe not quite elegant enough to be Anne Boleyn, but is often luminous. Richard Burton certainly chews every piece of available scenery, but Henry VIII exhibited dangerous moods, from sunny to stormy, raging to tearful; men of that era were encouraged to show emotions openly without recrimination. Compelling enough reason to watch this movie. Bottom line? "Anne of the Thousand Days" is tremendously entertaining, but very romantic revisionist history. There's a truth to the personalities here, unlike Philippa Gregory's horrible "Other Boleyn Girl".

And yes, why this movie is not available on dvd is a complete mystery. Writing to Universal has not been successful, but perhaps if more people do so, they might for once do something! Soon this movie will disappear--how sad a loss.


Put on DVD, please   September 28, 2004
Viewer (USA)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

In a nutshell, this is a fantastic movie, with great acting, lovely costumes, lavish sets, and well worth watching, over and over, again. The scene of Anne in her last days, alone are worth a viewing. Amazon, please set up a page for a DVD, so we can send a list of how many people want this on DVD to Universal Studios. This should definitely be out on DVD by now, but we still await! Thank you!


Applause, applause - now please get this on DVD   July 9, 2004
D. Eichholz (Indiana USA)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

A nicely done docudrama regarding the relationship between King Henry VIII of England and Anne Boleyn. Much of the filming was done on location, which adds to the " atmosphere. " Mr Burton played Henry as a strong, but majorly flawed person, as he should have. Ms Bujold was lovely, more than competent and held her own against some of the finest actors of that time. The story is as old as air, but with a twist - it really happened and it changed the course of England. How far would a man go to secure a son ? An heir ? This film lays it out beautifully and it is a eye feast and makes one want to learn more about the woman who helped bring about great social and religious change and also gave birth to one of Englands' most dynamic rulers, Queen Elizabeth I. It holds up very well.