The Private Life of Henry VIII

Starring:Charles Laughton, Robert Donat, Franklin Dyall, Miles Mander, Laurence Hanray, William Austin, John Loder, Claud Allister, Gibb McLaughlin, Sam Livesey, Merle Oberon, Wendy Barrie, Elsa Lanchester, Binnie Barnes, Everley Gregg, Lady Tree, Frederick Culley, Annie Esmond, Mark Daly, Hay Petrie
Director: Alexander Korda
Studio: Aae Films
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

The Private Life of Henry VIII
Charles Laughton Still Wonderful As Henry VIII
The Private Life of Henry VIII
Creaky
good old movie

The Private Life of Henry VIII
Starring: Charles Laughton , Robert Donat , Franklin Dyall , Miles Mander , and Laurence Hanray
Director: Alexander Korda
Manufacturer: Allied Artists Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000085EF9
Release Date: 2003-01-23

Customer Reviews:

The Private Life of Henry VIII.......2007-05-14

My whole family enjoy this type of movie and we all remember seeing it as children. Charles Laughton makes a wonderful King Henry VIII. The story is very entertaining. Those that believe the film is not a true story just don't understand it. I loved it.

Charles Laughton Still Wonderful As Henry VIII.......2006-04-05

There was no actor quite like Charles Laughton and playing the title role of Henry VIII in this historical film truly made him an international star. Although the film may seem stagy and slow- going by today's standards, it still holds up fairly well. Certainly Laughton's academy award winning performance is still a joy to see. The story tells the story of British King Henry VIII and his six wives; well, actually five wives since the film begins with Ann Bolynn (Merle Oberon) his second, and even then we don't see much of her because she is about to lose her head because of adultery. We learn from the title cards which follow the opening credits that Henry's first wife wasn't at all that interesting and we need not concern ourselves with her, so it skips over her. It becomes clear later that another reason for poor Ann's demise was the fact that she failed to give the King a son, which he desperately wanted as an heir to the throne. Although it takes awhile, the King finally does get a son but we know from history that he will die young and his daughter by Ann will grow up to be Elizabeth I, but all of this is outside of the film's framework. Still, what story we do get is mostly entertaining and those that complain that the film is not historically true seem to be missing the point. It's really more of a comedy than anything else and therefore, doesn't concern itself too much with historical truth. Just witness the wonderful scene, for example, where Henry is attempting to explain to his new German wife (played by Laughton's real wife Elsa Lanchester) where babies come from!

The film is being released on DVD by a company called Allied Artists and although they claim the movie has been remastered, it certainly doesn't look it. The image is soft and there's not much black & white clarity. Fortunately, the print itself seems to be in decent shape overall, although not without a fair amount of scratches and the soundtrack could use some cleaning up too. Another annoying problem is that for a good portion of the film, we get lines of green and pink which keep fading in and out, and although these color lines are faint, it still quite annoying and probably could have been easily corrected had the film been transferred to disc more properly. The only extra is a short collection of stills from the film but these look a lot sharper and clearer than the film itself. The retail price for this disc is almost $20.00, which seems a bit high considering that picture quality for the film could have been a lot better.

The Private Life of Henry VIII.......2005-09-07

Henry VIII's unusual life has been covered in many films, but this lavish early depiction has its own magic, primarily owing to Laughton's dynamic, Oscar-winning portrayal, in a role he was born to play. Laughton is ably supported by a dashing Robert Donat as Henry's cuckolding subject, and the dark and stunning Merle Oberon as the endearingly dim-witted Boleyn.

Creaky.......2005-03-13

Charles Laughton plays the rotund monarch in a role that was highly praised. But it's lumbering and creaky, with heavy-handed theatrics, typical of the early talky era. I found watching this picture very heavy going.

good old movie.......2004-01-20

This is a really old movie but if you are a King Henry Vlll bluff you will like it. Charles Laughton makes a wonderful King Henry Vlll. I love all of the Charles Laughton King Henry movie and this one is great. For all King Henry Vlll fans. Worth buying.

The Hunchback Of Notre Dame/The Private Life Of Henry VIII

Average customer rating:

The Hunchback Of Notre Dame/The Private Life Of Henry VIII

Manufacturer: Genius Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0006GQMYQ
Release Date: 2004-01-01

Classic Award Winning Movies: A Farewell to Arms/The Private Life of Henry VIII/Blood on the Sun

Average customer rating:

Classic Award Winning Movies: A Farewell to Arms/The Private Life of Henry VIII/Blood on the Sun

Manufacturer: Bfs Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001BKBJI
Release Date: 2004-03-09

Average customer rating:

NOT FOR LOVERS OF HISTORICAL DRAMAS...

Private Life of Henry VIII
Starring: Claud Allister , Binnie Barnes , Wendy Barrie , Frederick Culley , and Robert Donat
Director: Alexander Korda
Manufacturer: Genius Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Art House & International | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B0006H31QM
Release Date: 2004-01-01

Customer Reviews:

NOT FOR LOVERS OF HISTORICAL DRAMAS..........2005-01-23

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 from its screenplay, which chooses to focus on Henry's last five marriages, with emphasis on his fourth and probably least important marriage, that to Anne of Cleves. One has to wonder if her prominence in the film was due to the role being played by Elsa Lancaster, Laughton's wife at the time.

The most important marriage, that to Katherine of Aragon, is dismissed as being of no interest. This is an amazing and absurd statement, given the fact that it was the dissolution of this marriage that was to act as the catalayst for the reformation that ultimately set England on the path to Protestantism and the establishment of the Church of England. As a historical drama, the film leaves a lot to be desired, as it suffers from superficial treatment.

The film begins with the execution of Ann Boleyn, played by the lovely Merle Oberon, who, despite star billing, is only in the film for several minutes. The film then goes to the marriage to Jane Seymour, played by an actress with a thirties style hair bob. It is Jane who gives the King his heart's desire, a son and heir, before succumbing to death shortly after childbirth.

The film then segues into the marriage to Anne of Cleves, which role is played with comedic abandon by Ms. Manchester. This is followed by Henry's marriage to Katherine Howard, a young wanton who cuckolds the king with Thomas Culpepper, one of the King's Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber. The role of the hapless Thomas Culpepper is played by screen great, Robert Donat. Katherine Howard, as did Anne Boleyn, ends up losing her head on the chopping block for her treasonous transgression. Henry's last wife, Katherine Parr, is merely depicted as a loving and caring woman, watching out for Henry in his dotage.

Attention to period detail is hit or miss, and many of the female cast wander about the set with nineteen thirties style hair bobs, which serves to have a jarring effect. For a better and historically more accurate picture of the wives of King Henry VIII, one would do well to view the superlative BBC production, "The Six Wives of Henry VIII", which is available on DVD and as a set of six video cassettes.

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