Henry VIII (1979)

Henry VIII is a proud and wilful monarch who defies Rome's ban on divorce to marry his mistress Anne Boleyn. Cardinal Wolsey, the Powerful Lord Chancellor of England, attempts to bend Rome ... See full summary »

Director:

Kevin Billington

Writer:

William Shakespeare (play)

Stars:

John Stride, Julian Glover, Ronald Pickup

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Stride	...	Henry VIII
Julian Glover	...	Duke of Buckingham
Ronald Pickup	...	Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury
Barbara Kellerman	...	Anne Bullen
Timothy West	...	Cardinal Wolsey
John Rowe	...	Cromwell
Lewis Fiander	...	Duke of Suffolk
Alan Leith	...	Sergeant-at-Arms
Claire Bloom	...	Katharine of Aragon
Tony Church	...	Prologue
John Bailey	...	Griffith, Gentleman-Usher
David Troughton	...	Surveyor
John Nettleton	...	Lord Chamberlain
Charles Lloyd Pack	...	Lord Sandys
Nigel Lambert	...	Sir Thomas Lovell

Storyline

Henry VIII is a proud and wilful monarch who defies Rome's ban on divorce to marry his mistress Anne Boleyn. Cardinal Wolsey, the Powerful Lord Chancellor of England, attempts to bend Rome to the king's wishes in the matter of the divorce of Catherine of Aragon so he can marry Anne Boleyn. Later, near death, he repents his unpriestly activity. After Henry divorces her, Catherine is sent to Kimbolton Castle. Anne marries Henry and becomes his queen.

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Plot Keywords:

shakespeare's henry viii | based on play | character name in title | 

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Genres:

History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 April 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare: Henry VIII

Filming Locations:

Hever Castle, Hever, Kent, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Time-Life Television Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The entire film was shot on-location at Leeds Castle, Penshurst Place, and Hever Castle; each of which bears associations to some of the historical figures in the play.

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Connections

Version of A Man for All Seasons (1957)

User Reviews

A Brilliant adaptation and a wonderful recreation of the period

I loved this film. It is good in almost every way. The acting is great (Claire Bloom as Queen Catherine and Timothy West as Wolsey were particularly good) as you would expect from a BBC film but as well as that it was actually filmed on location at Penhurst Place, Dover Castle and Leeds Castle and there are some wonderful costumes. Sometimes, what you see on the screen looks like a painting of the time come to life. Also, there is a lot of music from the period and one of the songs ("Orpheus and His Lute" I think) was sung by Emma Kirkby. The only thing about it that I don't think is brilliant is the play itself. It is a bit dull, especially when listened to on audio cassete and even more so when reading it. However in this adaptation, the play and the characters come to life.

I don't know why the BBC don't release "The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series, on video. The ones I've watched have all been very good and have some very well known British actors