Anne of the Thousand Days
(A- or 3.5/4 stars)
Based on a Broadway play, 'Anne of the Thousand Days' (a beautifully crafted 1969 historical drama directed by Charles Jarrott) chronicles the founding of the Church of England and, tells a relatively sympathetic account of the rise & fall of the beautiful & ambitious Anne Boleyn (Genevieve Bujold) who would become the tragic 2nd wife of tyrannical King Henry VIII (Richard Burton). Engaged to another man, God-fearing Anne tries to avoid the king's overt sexual advances; initially refusing to become his mistress. But her betrothal is severed by Henry's deceitful, but clever chief minister.
Vowing revenge, Anne returns to court, where Henry, in due course, proposes marriage; promising to divorce his empowered & beloved-by-the-people Spanish wife, Queen Catherine of Aragon (Irene Papas), who can't seem to provide a male heir for him. Henry eventually breaks Anne down; convincing her to marry him but, to move forward with that, the king must face a seemingly unbending church that believes divorce is a mortal sin. Anne soon becomes Queen Anne, the most powerful & affluent woman in England, rewarding her allies & punishing her adversaries. After several years, Anne becomes the most powerful & affluent woman in England, rewarding her allies & punishing her adversaries. But her world steadily starts to collapse when she, too, fails to give birth to a male heir that her husband so desperately wants. To this, he flagrantly flaunts his paramours in her face. Anne's enemies rally against her, rustling up a scandalous set of lies to shatter her and, they succeed in a ruthlessly unfair hearing which ends Anne's 'thousand-day' reign as queen. Drama ensues.
I enjoyed this movie greatly, but then, I tend to enjoy big, sprawling historical dramas like this. Other folks might say that this 140 minute movie is overlong, dull & overwrought. I get that, but I luxuriate in these types of languorous endeavors. 'Anne of the Thousand Days' garnered a whopping 10 Oscar nominations; the Academy of the 1960s was wont to shower classy, 'royalty' films like this {i.e., A Man for All Seasons & Becket} with praise. This film contains Margaret Furse's gorgeous 16th c. costumes & handsome sets designed by Lionel Couch; producing a very lavish looking motion picture.
Richard Burton is quite good as the monstrous King Henry VIII, who can discard his 1st wife, Catherine, as easily as he looks to 'get rid of' his 2nd, Anne; who would give birth to eventual Queen Elizabeth I. Burton is even able to imbue just a touch of humanity to 'the monster'. His Oscar nom here would be his 6th of 7; shockingly, he would never win one. Even more impressive is Genevieve Bujold as the spirited, strong-willed, tragic Anne Boleyn. Also stellar is John Colicos as Oliver Cromwell, Oscar-nommed Anthony Quayle as Cardinal Wolsey, & Michael Hordern as Thomas Boleyn.
As is the case with big historical films of this sort, the screenplay tends to be a weak link. John Hale & Bridget Boland's script is intelligent here, without necessarily going all-in on character depth or intricate historical insights. But that's okay. Nearly every other component of filmmaking is excellent. 'AOTTD' is lushly photographed by Arthur Ibbetson and, the proceedings are aided by Georges Delerue's stirring music. So sure, the film isn't perfect - no film is. But I found it to be just a superbly acted, sumptuous, regal spectacle to ooh & ah at and to sink your teeth into the political intrigues with.
Vowing revenge, Anne returns to court, where Henry, in due course, proposes marriage; promising to divorce his empowered & beloved-by-the-people Spanish wife, Queen Catherine of Aragon (Irene Papas), who can't seem to provide a male heir for him. Henry eventually breaks Anne down; convincing her to marry him but, to move forward with that, the king must face a seemingly unbending church that believes divorce is a mortal sin. Anne soon becomes Queen Anne, the most powerful & affluent woman in England, rewarding her allies & punishing her adversaries. After several years, Anne becomes the most powerful & affluent woman in England, rewarding her allies & punishing her adversaries. But her world steadily starts to collapse when she, too, fails to give birth to a male heir that her husband so desperately wants. To this, he flagrantly flaunts his paramours in her face. Anne's enemies rally against her, rustling up a scandalous set of lies to shatter her and, they succeed in a ruthlessly unfair hearing which ends Anne's 'thousand-day' reign as queen. Drama ensues.
I enjoyed this movie greatly, but then, I tend to enjoy big, sprawling historical dramas like this. Other folks might say that this 140 minute movie is overlong, dull & overwrought. I get that, but I luxuriate in these types of languorous endeavors. 'Anne of the Thousand Days' garnered a whopping 10 Oscar nominations; the Academy of the 1960s was wont to shower classy, 'royalty' films like this {i.e., A Man for All Seasons & Becket} with praise. This film contains Margaret Furse's gorgeous 16th c. costumes & handsome sets designed by Lionel Couch; producing a very lavish looking motion picture.
Richard Burton is quite good as the monstrous King Henry VIII, who can discard his 1st wife, Catherine, as easily as he looks to 'get rid of' his 2nd, Anne; who would give birth to eventual Queen Elizabeth I. Burton is even able to imbue just a touch of humanity to 'the monster'. His Oscar nom here would be his 6th of 7; shockingly, he would never win one. Even more impressive is Genevieve Bujold as the spirited, strong-willed, tragic Anne Boleyn. Also stellar is John Colicos as Oliver Cromwell, Oscar-nommed Anthony Quayle as Cardinal Wolsey, & Michael Hordern as Thomas Boleyn.
As is the case with big historical films of this sort, the screenplay tends to be a weak link. John Hale & Bridget Boland's script is intelligent here, without necessarily going all-in on character depth or intricate historical insights. But that's okay. Nearly every other component of filmmaking is excellent. 'AOTTD' is lushly photographed by Arthur Ibbetson and, the proceedings are aided by Georges Delerue's stirring music. So sure, the film isn't perfect - no film is. But I found it to be just a superbly acted, sumptuous, regal spectacle to ooh & ah at and to sink your teeth into the political intrigues with.