Books/Movies on the Tudors and Plantagenets

[trixiebelle]

Jane wrote:  Laughton really chews the scenery in that one, but it's still one of the great portrayals of Henry.  To me, the wedding night scene between Henry and Anne of Cleves (played by the incomparable Elsa Lanchester) was easily the best part of the entire film.  

Jane, did you know that Laughton and Lanchester were married in real life?  Makes for a more interesting scene, doesn't it?  

I liked the miniseries with Keith Mitchell as well.  My age is showing, but I cannot think of any of today's actors to play Henry VIII (especially Russell Crowe- sorry girls, but him???    )

[Finelly]

Laughton and Lancaster were married in real life....but Laughton was gay........

[Tsarfan]

P.S: You should try to find Charles II on DVD. It was fab.

Yes, it was wonderful.  However, try to get the U.K. release.  It contains significantly more footage than the U.S. release (and requires a player that can read Region II discs).

[Tsarfan]

As for movies, I love A Lion in Winter with Katherine Hepburn.
And also Anne of 1,000 Days.

I, too, loved The Lion in Winter -- but as a movie, not a historical re-enactment.  Such lines as, "it's 1185 . . . we're all barbarians", made it more a vehicle for Katherine Hepburn than a means of learning about the fantastically complex, influential, and culturally-accomplished Eleanor of Aquataine.

Anne of the Thousand Days was also superb -- and inexplicably not yet released on DVD.

What are everyone's views of the fictional Autobiography of Henry VIII:  With Notes by his Fool, Will Sommers?  I thought Margaret George presented a fascinating "it-could-have-happened-this-way" look at what might have motivated Henry VIII's erratic and ultimately horrific decline.

[rskkiya]

I, too, loved The Lion in Winter -- but as a movie, not a historical re-enactment.  Such lines as, "it's 1185 . . . we're all barbarians", made it more a vehicle for Katherine Hepburn than a means of learning about the fantastically complex, influential, and culturally-accomplished Eleanor of Aquataine.

Anne of the Thousand Days was also superb -- and inexplicably not yet released on DVD.

What are everyone's views of the fictional Autobiography of Henry VIII:  With Notes by his Fool, Will Sommers?  I thought Margaret George presented a fascinating "it-could-have-happened-this-way" look at what might have motivated Henry VIII's erratic and ultimately horrific decline.

Well at least they got the chickens running thru' the "Royal Progress"  right! LIW is one of the best films that I have ever seen on that period ..nice and dirty!

Not keen on "Anne of a Thousand Days" but "Becket" is rather tasty.

   -then again- I have perverse taste in films!
rskkiya

[Prince_Lieven]

I, too, loved The Lion in Winter -- but as a movie, not a historical re-enactment.  Such lines as, "it's 1185 . . . we're all barbarians", made it more a vehicle for Katherine Hepburn than a means of learning about the fantastically complex, influential, and culturally-accomplished Eleanor of Aquataine.

Anne of the Thousand Days was also superb -- and inexplicably not yet released on DVD.

What are everyone's views of the fictional Autobiography of Henry VIII:  With Notes by his Fool, Will Sommers?  I thought Margaret George presented a fascinating "it-could-have-happened-this-way" look at what might have motivated Henry VIII's erratic and ultimately horrific decline.

Yes, I too loved that book. Will's Somers provides witty barbs as dry as a martini to make sure things don't get too biased in Henry's favour. I also like Margaret George's book 'Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles', though I must admit that I sometimes felt like slapping Mary across her pretty little face!

Has anyone read 'the Seventh Son' by Reay Tanahill. It's well worth a read.

I can only fault Charles II: the Power and the Passion on one thing - Henrietta Maria, played wonderfully by Diana Rigg, speaks with an English accent. But apart from that, BUY IT NOW!!!!!!

[dac87]

If anyone is interested, they are making a movie based on the book "The Other Boleyn Girl".  They already made a tv movie adaptation.  The new film is to have Keira Knightly as Anne Boleyn.

[Arianwen]

If anyone is interested, they are making a movie based on the book "The Other Boleyn Girl".  They already made a tv movie adaptation.  The new film is to have Keira Knightly as Anne Boleyn.

Where did you hear that? I just checked imdb.com and couldn't find anything about it...I'm not sure how I'd feel about Keira Knightley as Anne, though...:-/

Regards,
Arianwen

[Elisabeth]

I haven't heard anything about a movie of The Other Boleyn Girl, either. Please keep us posted.

As for Keira Knightley, I just read in the paper that she will star as Elizabeth Bennet in a new British film of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, to be released in mid September. Knightley is not my favorite actress - she's beautiful but IMO rather affected and mannered in her acting - and I'm having even more trouble imagining her as Elizabeth B. than Anne B.! At least the real Anne had a certain dramatic sweep and theatricality to her personality, and in TOBG she's supposed to be "acting" the role of an innocent young girl all the time (because she's really an evil scheming witch!). Knightley might be able to pull that off. But Elizabeth Bennett is supposed to be frank, natural, and down to earth. Can Keira handle it? Maybe with the right director?

[nerdycool]

This is from her web site forum. In the first post there's a link to an article about the movie. However, the article is dated from May 2004. Supposedly, Miramax bought the rights to it. I searched Miramax's website, but didn't find anything. However, that's not saying much because their site isn't that indepth. It's all about what's out now and some movies that are soon to be released. No news section or anything. But I don't think it's being made because surely we would have heard something by now. But I do think that Knightly would make a fabulous Anne...if indeed a known actress HAD to play her.

http://www.kkwavefront.org/forums/showthread.php?t=244

On another note about Philippa Gregory, on her website, there is news that in Novmeber of this year, her new book "A Constant Princess" will be published. It is about Katharine of Aragon's early life in England as Princess of Wales and the tale of her marriage to Henry. Here's the amazon.co.uk's listing of it...  amazon.com doesn't have the synopsis, but you can preorder

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0007190301/qid%3D1118064625/sr%3D2-2/ref%3Dsr%5F2%5F11%5F2/026-0414000-5715641

[JulianC]

Well, I preferred Helena Bonham Carter playing another Tudor in "Lady Jane" and her husband played by Cary Elwes.  

[Kimberly]

Hey, Blanche, absolutely agree with you about Glenda Jackson. She also played Elizabeth to Vanessa Redgrave's Mary Queen of Scots in the movie of the same name. Our Glenda is now a Labour M.P. and as you would expsct, she's a feisty old so-and-so.

[Prince_Lieven]

Hi all, I'm reviving this thread to bring some news:

2006 will see the sequel of 1998's 'Elizabeth' with Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush returning as Elizabeth and Walsingham, Jeremy Irons playing Leicester (as he did to Mirren's Elizabeth - squeals of delight from Kim and Bluetoria  ). Hugh Dancy will also be in it, but I don't know as whom. It will be title 'Elizabeth: the Golden Age'.

[helenazar]

Anyone seen the BBC series Elizabeth R, it is excellent, I totaly recomend it, I think Glenda Jackson was brilliant, no actress I've seen playing Elizabeth is as good as Glenda was. She done Elizabeth as a strong-minded, powerful queen, in my opinion I think Cate Blanchette in the film Elizabeth done her as more of a weak character. I like the film Henry VIII and His Six Wives with Keith Michell another brilliant actor as Henry, Charlotte Rampling was good at Anne Boleyn although she didn't look much like her but she did have the beautiful long black hair like Anne and the other actresses who played the rest of the wives were also good , Michael Gough was good also as Norfolk. The Ray Winstone version was a load of rubbish, Henry VIII with a cockney accent, as if.

Blanche I absolutely agree with all your assessments. Jackson was great in ER, and I really disliked Blanchette's character. And Keith Mitchell was the best Henry while Ray Winstone  was ridiculous and clownish (I was puzzled by the cockney accent too  ).

[helenazar]

Hi all, I'm reviving this thread to bring some news:

2006 will see the sequel of 1998's 'Elizabeth' with Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush

Oh no! Why