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The Private Life of Henry VIII | Year: 1933 Classification: Drama Directed: - Alexander Korda Actors/Actresses: - Charles Laughton - Robert Donat good old movie 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. A charming, clever British comedy Charles Laughton is typically wonderful in his broadly-played role as England's King, Henry the Eigth, who infamously married six different queens, divorcing or executing them as circumstances warranted. The script to this magnificent Alexander Korda production is a witty jab at English history buffs, touching only briefly on the supposed treachery of Ann Boleyn, concentrating instead on the preposterous emotional life of the lusty, capacious King. Laughton, as ever, is a marvel, skillfully presenting Henry at first as a thinly-cariacatured lout, and gracefully embuing him with gradual shades of pathos and humanity. Viewers who look to this film as historical drama are clearly missing the point: this is all about the cleverly-rendered script, which turns British schoolboy lessons on their heads, and on the classy ensemble acting, which admittedly may be hard to focus on with the lamentable quality of the current print (I'm writing in the year 2003; perhaps Criterion or some other class-act movie restoration company can correct this problem soon). Still, fans of early British cinema will enjoy this film a lot. Better if done in series like the 1970's version This version was enrtaining and interesting, but it had flaws. If Katherine of Aragon was the first wife, why didn't they show her. The opening details said she was insignificant. That's unacceptable to me! The director needed a lot of fixing to do. I did like Binnie Barnel as Katherine Howard; she was adorable. Henry's grief on her death inspired a poem from me. If each wife was done in a series with each being at least 45 minutes, this movie would have rocked. But the sixth wife was done way out of character; Katherine Parr was a better woman in the 1970's series. This one was a nagging dog. Listen Katherine Parr (Everly Gregg), I don't know what I'm going to do with you!! *Points a finger at her* And as for the tall wife who said "I haven't had a new gown in a year I say to her. "You will be executed!" *Slaps her face. She holds her face in shock* And as for you, nurse! *Grabs the son out of her arms and gives it back to Henry. Then I punch the nurse in the nose* It doesn't matter if it was your charm, it's Henry's child none the less!!! Buy The Private Life Of Henry Viii at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on The Private Life Of Henry Viii Search with the Priority Search Engine on The Private Life Of Henry Viii This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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