Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2030 in VHS
• Released on: 1999-07-01
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: HiFi Sound, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of tapes: 1
• Running time: 140 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
This lush, perfectly cast 1969 drama concerns both a doomed, royal love affair and a pivotal moment in British history. Based on Maxwell Anderson's 1948 play, Anne of the Thousand Days concerns the mess that surrounded King Henry VIII's decision to rid himself of his first wife, Catherine of Aragon (Irene Papas), and marry the young Anne Boleyn (Geneviève Bujold). Most British viewers know what happened next: Henry (Richard Burton) solved his problems with the Vatican's condemnation of divorce by having himself named head of the Church of England (see also A Man for All Seasons), while Anne's perceived problem conceiving a male heir made her vulnerable to plots by the nefarious likes of Thomas Cromwell (John Colicos). Director Charles Jarrott does a splendid job bringing all of these intrigues to life, though the story is ultimately about Anne, a naïve young woman who prepares herself to navigate some of the dangers of Henry's court. Bujold and Burton never gave better performances, and this strange, tragic chapter in the history of the kings of England has never been more compellingly told on film. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

Synopsis
This lavish costume drama tells of King Henry VIII's infatuation with Anne Boleyn. For her hand, the King defied the Vatican and established the Church of England in order to obtain a divorce from his wife.

Customer Reviews

THE QUEEN IS DEAD...LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!
This award winning production is a masterpeice. The cinematography is beautiful, the costumes are lush and magnificent, and the acting is superlative. Richard Burton, in the role of King Henry VIII, is superb, as his velvet voice mesmerizes the viewer. Genevieve Bujold, wonderful in the title role of the notorious Anne Boleyn, plays her part intelligently and with great presence. Irene Papas plays the role of the wronged Queen, Katherine of Aragon, with suitable pathos. Anthony Quayle is wonderful in the role of Cardinal Wolsey, prelate of the church and Chancellor of England, who eventually was brought low by Anne Boleyn. John Colicos does a remarkable job with the role of the ambitious Cromwell, who, regretably, would stop at nothing, even torture and murder, to see that his King got what he wanted.

While not historically accurate, it is still a sublime historical drama. It centers around Anne Boleyn's rise to prominence and her ultimate demise at the executioner's sword. While at court one day, Anne caught the King's eye. She, however, was in love with a courtier whom she wanted to marry. The King, besotted by her, refused to grant her permission to marry, and her courtier was forced to marry another. The King pursued Anne, while still married to the aging Katherine of Aragon. Anne refused, however, to give in and become his lover, knowing that once she did, she would be yesterday's news. Holding Cardinal Wolsey responsible for the loss of all her hopes and dreams, Anne played him like a fiddle, eventually bringing about his downfall. With Cromwell on the ascendancy, however, little did Anne know that her troubles were just beginning.

Angry at the turn that her life had taken, Anne became a doyenne of intrigue and, as she did with Wolsey, played the King like a fiddle. Her actions set into motion the events that would bring about the great Reformation, which would transform England from a Catholic country into a Protestant one. While Anne finally succeeded in marrying the King, she failed to produce the son that Henry VIII so desired, though the fault was Henry's and not hers, as we now know that it is the male who determines the sex of a child. The terms of Anne's reign would cost her dearly, and her legacy would be a bloody one. What had started out with high hopes would end tragically for her and set a precedent that would make all future wives fearful of coming to the same end. Ironically, Henry would never know that his child with Anne would become the greatest monarch that England has ever known, Elizabeth I.

This is a film that all lovers of period pieces and historical dramas will enjoy. It is simply a great movie.

Anne of the Thousand Days
Anne of the Thousand Days is a stunning film which tells the story of Anne Boleyn, from commoner to Queen. It is a passionate film, richly produced and acted, with star performances from Genevieve Bujold as Anne and Richard Burton as King Henry VIII.

Anne has freshly returned from the Court of France. Her family, the Boleyn’s, are riding high at the court of King Henry, largely due to the favors that Anne’s sister, Mary (Valerie Gearon) provides him with. Henry however is bored. His wife, Katherine of Aragon (Played majestically by Irene Papas) has failed in providing a male heir to secure the Tudor dynasty. Anne, who is secretly betrothed to Henry Percy (Terrance Wilton) catches the Kings eye, and so begins the most passionate and shocking love story in history.

With outstanding performances from Anthony Quayle (Cardinal Wolsey), John Colicos (Thomas Cromwell), Michael Horden (Thomas Boleyn), and William Squire (Thomas More), Anne of the Thousand Days paints a colorful and startling picture of one of the most fanatical and ruthless periods in English history. We are taken on a journey into the past, through the court rooms which denied Henry’s right to Divorce Katherine of Aragon, into the Bedroom of Anne whose affection he won after so long, and onto the Scaffold on Tower Green in which Henry ended Anne’s thousand day rule.

Bujold and Burton never gave better performances. Henry is portrayed by Burton as a spoilt, desperate man, who will do anything to secure his succession, and does. Anne is a complex, and powerful being who is determined and willful up until the sword descends. This is a film that has its inaccuracies historically, but captures the time perfectly. Margaret Furse’s Costumes won a deserved Oscar, and Georges Delerue’s musical score complements Charles Jarrott’s photography perfectly.

This has to be my all time favorite film. Having been out of print for some time, it has now been restored to DVD. I certainly would recommend that you invest in a copy… and some tissues!

Treading the field of gold
This film evokes wonderfully the darkness and machinations underlying the splendour of Henry's court, in a way that even equals A Man for All Seasons. Bujold's Anne is a brilliant rendering of the strong, spirited woman who beguiled and held Henry at bay before finally succumbing to the aura surrounding his majesty. Her emotional journey through to final betrayal by the man she has come to love, is hauntingly echoed by Irene Papas' portrayal, on the margins of the story, of Henry's discarded Queen Catherine. Burton's Henry is basically a philanderer who justifies his behaviour in the eyes of God by the need to father a male successor. Savage and sensitive, a poet yet a murderer - Burton plumbs the depths of his evil and self-deception. Anne's bravery and detachment when facing death; her spineless father - nicely captured by Michael Hordern; Anthony Quayle's corrupt, ruthless and yet oddly sympathetic Wolsey: it all leaves a vivid and often historically accurate impression of a story that will never lose its hold.