Henry VIII (TV 2003)

Two-part TV series documenting the stormy 38-year reign of King Henry VIII.

Director:

Pete Travis

Writer:

Peter Morgan

Stars:

Ray Winstone, Joss Ackland, Sid Mitchell

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ray Winstone	...	Henry VIII
Joss Ackland	...	Henry VII
Sid Mitchell	...	Young Henry VIII
Charles Dance	...	Duke of Buckingham
Mark Strong	...	Duke of Norfolk
Assumpta Serna	...	Katherine of Aragon
Thomas Lockyer	...	Edward Seymour
William Houston	...	Thomas Seymour
Danny Webb	...	Thomas Cromwell
Guy Flanagan	...	Tall Servant
David Suchet	...	Cardinal Thomas Wolsey
Scott Handy	...	Lord Henry Percy
Helena Bonham Carter	...	Anne Boleyn
Benjamin Whitrow	...	Thomas Boleyn
Stephen Noonan	...	Spanish Ambassador

Storyline

Two-part TV series documenting the stormy 38-year reign of King Henry VIII.

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Plot Keywords:

king henry viii | martyr | 16th century | religious conflict | arms tied overhead | 

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Taglines:

Heads Will Roll

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

PBS/Masterpiece Theatre [us]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 October 2003 (UK)

Also Known As:

Enrique VIII

Filming Locations:

Arundel Castle, Arundel, West Sussex, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£6,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Granada Television, Power, Powercorp

Technical Specs

Runtime:

193 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The actress Marsha Fitzalan, who plays the Duchess of Norfolk is, in real life, the daughter of the 17th Duke and Duchess of Norfolk.

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Goofs

Immediately preceding the scene (interior) where the Pope is seen writing his refusal to divorce Henry VIII from Catherine of Aragon, there is a panoramic view of the Vatican (with St. Peter's basilica), implying that the Pope was in Rome/the Vatican at the time.DIn fact, the Pope was at Orvieto at the time, and it was there, in the Papal palace, where he wrote and signed this particular document.

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Quotes

Katherine of Aragon: What did I do to upset you, that a maid of mine should turn against me like this?
Anne Boleyn: You failed to give England an heir.
Katherine of Aragon: And that upsets you so?
Anne Boleyn: What upsets the King, upsets me.
Katherine of Aragon: Let me tell you this. You want me to lie before God, and admit my first marriage was consummated? Well, it was not. You want me to retire, and withdraw my daughter's claim as sole rightful heir to the throne? Well, I shall not. Not in a thousand years. Not if you rack me within an inch of my life. So, I hope you have the ...

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Crazy Credits

Helena Bonham Carter receives second-billing in both parts despite Anne Boleyn getting the chop in the first part. Her contribution in part 2 is the pre-title reprise and flashbacks all already shown in part 1.

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Connections

Version of The Tudors: You Have My Permission (2010)

User Reviews

Don't Casting Directors ever look at pictures of historical personages?

I knew that the picture was going to be full of imperfections they minute I saw that they had made Katherine of Aragon a dark-haired, dark-eyed stereotype of what a Spaniard is suppose to look like. Katherine of Aragon, contrary to her previous portrayals, was a pretty, highly intelligent and well-educated young woman with reddish gold hair and blue eyes.

Moreover, she was infinitely more popular with the British people than Henry himself, and the Briitish people loathed Anne Boleyn for being the cause of hurting their beloved " Good Queen Catherine!"

It was believed that only Catherine's abhorence of Civil War prevented a good portion of the people rising up against Henry when he first started divorce proceedings. Assumpta Serna did an excellent job as Catherine, but her character(in my opinion) was given short shrift in comparison with Helena Bonham Carter's Anne Boleyn. Miss Bonham Carter was also too pretty to play Anne Boleyn, who, according to her contemporaries, was sallow-faced, black haired and eyed, and not that attractive in looks. What Anne did possess was a great deal of wit, charm, and ambition. Both she and Catherine were women who demonstrated strength and courage in adversity. What they lacked was the ruthless selfishness of Henry V111 and his monumental self-absorbsation in getting his own way. None of this was adequately portrayed in this series by the actors.