Henry VIII and his six wives (1972)

HENRY VIII AND HIS SIX WIVES 1972

Essentially a remake of the 1971 mini-series, The six wives of Henry VIII, this film once again features the very talented Keith Michell in the title role (with Bernard Hepton also re-visiting his role as Archbishop Thomas Cranmer). But if the earlier series focused primarily on the King's wives, 'Henry VIII and His Six Wives' (as the title suggests) switches the emphasis to Henry himself. In addition, this more focused and chronological view largely corrects the irregular time line of the series, making things somewhat easier to follow (although due to the time restraints of a feature film many events are only mentioned in passing or left out altogether). One can't help but notice that the film tends to focus on Henry's younger, more comely wives (Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, and Katherine Howard) while largely ignoring the older Katherine of Aragon, Catherine Parr and Anne of Cleves...despite the fact that his longest marriages were to the aforementioned Catherines (Aragon and Parr). As far as characterization goes, the film doesn't stray too far from the accepted views of Henry's wives (However Anne Boleyn is shown with the famous quasi-6th finger and wen --a sebaceous cyst-- on her neck...though neither were documented during her lifetime). The portrayal of Anne of Cleves is more realistic, in that she spoke little to no English, had very little understanding of her situation, and was fairly unimportant to Henry (both personally and politically). Consequently she only appears in two scenes. As for the remaining wives, the only real issues are those of omission. Many significant events are left out or glossed over...Katherine Howard's adulteries, for example, are never shown, nor is Catherine Parr's near arrest for religious extremism. Still, in combination with the 1971 mini-series, 'Henry VIII and His Six Wives' may present the most balanced picture of the famous (or infamous) King's bizarre marital career. The Royal cast: KING HENRY VIII AS PLAYED BY KEITH MITCHELL: QUEEN KATHERINE OF ARAGON AS PLAYED BY FRANCES CUKA: ANNE BOLEYN AS PLAYED BY CHARLOTTE RAMPLING: JANE SEYMOUR AS PLAYED BY JANE ASHER: ANNE OF CLEVES AS PLAYED BY JENNY BOSS: KATHERINE HOWARD AS PLAYED BY LYNN FREDERICK: CATHERINE PARR AS PLAYED BY BARBARA HUNT: THOMAS CROMWELL, EARL OF ESSEX AS PLAYED BY DONALD PLEASENCE: CARDINAL THOMAS WOLSEY AS PLAYED BY JOHN BRYANS: