Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972)

The Movie Version of the Classic BBC Mini-Series
I received my DVD of "Henry the Eighth and His Six Wives" today and played it. Based on my experience of watching old films on TV in my youth, much of what was said in the prior reviews is true: There was no attempt to digitally restore the movie to what it had been back in 1972. The sound quality as well as the brightness and color tone fluctuated somewhat at various points in the story, and the film itself showed clear signs of wear and tear. Fortunately, there was not enough of these flaws to render the movie unwatchable.

Keith Michell was just as superb in this film as he was in the TV mini-series. Frances Cuka made a wonderful Catherine of Aragon, and I think the age difference between her and Michell was intentional (Catherine was six years older than Henry and quite plain-looking). I was disappointed with Charlotte Rampling's portrayal of Anne Boleyn. Maybe I expected too much, but even when she had Anne shouting and flinging Henry's minature across the room in...

Buyer beware
This is one of the poorest transfers to digital media I've ever watched. No title menu (in fact, the DVD seems to pick up several seconds [or minutes?] into the opening scene). Not sure if a letterbox version is available somewhere but mine was full-screen.

The original film appears to be badly damaged and it doesn't look like any attempt was made at digital restoration. Poor image and sound to boot. I hope this doesn't mean that no better copy exists and that we won't get the opportunity to see a cleaner version someday. If you're a Region 1 viewer, though, this may be your only option (as of Dec. 2007 at any rate).

So that I don't sound like a complete whiner, the production values, admittedly a tad dated, are much higher than those of the BBC version, and Keith Michell IMHO still offers up the best portrayal of Henry VIII bar none. He is just magnificent. Maybe a little too old to play Henry in his early 20s but from around the time Anne Boleyn comes on the...

Excellent Film...Terrible Transfer
Unfortunately there has yet to be a decent Region 1 transfer of this excellent film...But if you really want to own a copy I would give this version a miss in favour of History at the Movies.

The transfer is the same (as is the price), but at least you get the benefit of 12 other films, including 'Fire Over England' (1937) with Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh.

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