The Six Wives of Henry VIII has imperfections sure, with the Catherine of Aragon episode having some very overdone make-up and uninspired and less-than-lavish sets, in fact in the first two episodes they were rather plain, and Anne Boleyn's feeling at times rushed(Anne and Henry's romantic courtship could have come out more, disappointing after seeing it done so wittily in Anne of the Thousand Days). Even with these flaws though The Six Wives of Henry VIII is outstanding and something of a flawed masterpiece, the writing and acting being some of the best of any historical-based drama series I've seen.
While the series has some problems technically, actually it does not look bad generally at all considering the budget constraints. From the Jane Seymour episodes and onwards the sets and locations show more detail, I actually liked the shadowy quality that the lighting had and the photography is unobtrusive while not being staid. But visually it was the costumes that fared the best, a lot of effort went into them and it shows as they do look wonderful. The script is, to sum it up in a word, superb, very like scripts from a play, with dialogue that is truly literate and not soap-opera-ish in the slightest and treats the subject with subtlety(which is more than can be said for Henry VIII with Ray Winstone- most of the dialogue in that had the subtlety of an axe) and The Other Boleyn Girl). Not once did the dramatisation feel one-sided, Henry is actually a quite complex character here.
The Six Wives of Henry VIII respects history, it is by far the most historically accurate account of the subject matter without being too scholarly/history textbook-like, and although it's paced very deliberately it's still always entertaining, loved the wit that the Anne of Cleves episode had, the romantic elements are sweet, the political elements are suspenseful and it's always educational. Having the Anne Boleyn episode primarily focused on the build up to her final days and execution came across very well, and The Six Wives is the most successful of all the Henry VIII accounts on film and television to show what made Henry and his Six Wives so famous and in detail too. The Six Wives of Henry VIII is beautifully directed throughout, the dances were simple but elegant and what there is of music(due to the style of the dialogue there did not need to be much) is charming and appropriately used.
And as has been said early on in the review the acting along with the writing some of the best of any historical dramatisation and possibly the best thing about The Six Wives of Henry VIII. There is a splendid support cast, with standout performers from Bernard Hepton, Sheila Burrell as Lady Rochford and a scarily cold Patrick Troughton as Norfolk. Wolfe Morris is not quite as devious as Donald Pleasance in the 1972 film(too short and very compressed but very well written and acted) but he still acquits himself very well, and Anthony Quayle is a fine narrator. The six wives are all very well portrayed, Annette Crosbie is a splendidly dignified Catherine of Aragon and while not erasing memories of Genevieve Bujold in Anne of the Thousand Days Dorothy Tutin is a haunting, witty and sometimes ruthless Anne Boleyn. Anne Stallybrass's Jane Seymour is very affecting and Elvi Hale gives easily the most interesting Anne of Cleves of any dramatisation of Henry VIII(that's saying a lot as Anne is nearly always wasted) and his Six Wives, charming and very funny. Angela Pleasance is thankfully neither blandly over-innocent or nymphomaniac-like and Rosalie Crutchley gives along with Crosbie the most sympathetically played performance of all six wives as Katherine Parr. Topping them all is Keith Michell, who is amazing as Henry, he can be hilarious but Michell does amazingly at capturing Henry's tormented pain in his later years and tyranny as well with neither component over-balancing the other, a multi-faceted and nuanced portrayal that makes you feel scared of(like in the Catherine Howard episode) and sympathetic(the Jane Seymour episode sees him at his most likable) towards Henry.
Overall, a flawed masterpiece of a series, has short-comings technically but the writing and acting are nigh-on perfect pretty much. 9/10 Bethany Cox
While the series has some problems technically, actually it does not look bad generally at all considering the budget constraints. From the Jane Seymour episodes and onwards the sets and locations show more detail, I actually liked the shadowy quality that the lighting had and the photography is unobtrusive while not being staid. But visually it was the costumes that fared the best, a lot of effort went into them and it shows as they do look wonderful. The script is, to sum it up in a word, superb, very like scripts from a play, with dialogue that is truly literate and not soap-opera-ish in the slightest and treats the subject with subtlety(which is more than can be said for Henry VIII with Ray Winstone- most of the dialogue in that had the subtlety of an axe) and The Other Boleyn Girl). Not once did the dramatisation feel one-sided, Henry is actually a quite complex character here.
The Six Wives of Henry VIII respects history, it is by far the most historically accurate account of the subject matter without being too scholarly/history textbook-like, and although it's paced very deliberately it's still always entertaining, loved the wit that the Anne of Cleves episode had, the romantic elements are sweet, the political elements are suspenseful and it's always educational. Having the Anne Boleyn episode primarily focused on the build up to her final days and execution came across very well, and The Six Wives is the most successful of all the Henry VIII accounts on film and television to show what made Henry and his Six Wives so famous and in detail too. The Six Wives of Henry VIII is beautifully directed throughout, the dances were simple but elegant and what there is of music(due to the style of the dialogue there did not need to be much) is charming and appropriately used.
And as has been said early on in the review the acting along with the writing some of the best of any historical dramatisation and possibly the best thing about The Six Wives of Henry VIII. There is a splendid support cast, with standout performers from Bernard Hepton, Sheila Burrell as Lady Rochford and a scarily cold Patrick Troughton as Norfolk. Wolfe Morris is not quite as devious as Donald Pleasance in the 1972 film(too short and very compressed but very well written and acted) but he still acquits himself very well, and Anthony Quayle is a fine narrator. The six wives are all very well portrayed, Annette Crosbie is a splendidly dignified Catherine of Aragon and while not erasing memories of Genevieve Bujold in Anne of the Thousand Days Dorothy Tutin is a haunting, witty and sometimes ruthless Anne Boleyn. Anne Stallybrass's Jane Seymour is very affecting and Elvi Hale gives easily the most interesting Anne of Cleves of any dramatisation of Henry VIII(that's saying a lot as Anne is nearly always wasted) and his Six Wives, charming and very funny. Angela Pleasance is thankfully neither blandly over-innocent or nymphomaniac-like and Rosalie Crutchley gives along with Crosbie the most sympathetically played performance of all six wives as Katherine Parr. Topping them all is Keith Michell, who is amazing as Henry, he can be hilarious but Michell does amazingly at capturing Henry's tormented pain in his later years and tyranny as well with neither component over-balancing the other, a multi-faceted and nuanced portrayal that makes you feel scared of(like in the Catherine Howard episode) and sympathetic(the Jane Seymour episode sees him at his most likable) towards Henry.
Overall, a flawed masterpiece of a series, has short-comings technically but the writing and acting are nigh-on perfect pretty much. 9/10 Bethany Cox