The Private Life of Henry VIII DVD, 1933

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MovieMail's Review

In the early days of movie-making, British films were often reckoned inferior to the slick entertainments of Hollywood or the sophistication of continental pictures. Well, Alexander Korda changed all that with The Private Life of Henry VIII, a major box office success and the first non-American film to be nominated for the Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

Korda does a respectable job of compressing Henry’s reign into 97 minutes, although as the title suggests, he’s more interested in the old goat’s matrimonial antics than the politics of the reformation. We start with the king planning to rid himself of wife number two, Anne Boleyn (Merle Oberon) then follow him through the four doomed and desperate marriages that followed.

It’s an episodic film, so a strong central performance was essential. Happily, Charles Laughton provided just that: his eventual Oscar was thoroughly deserved. The film remains a handsome, important achievement that’s impressively spry for a 76 year old.

Barney Kelly on 28th April 2009
View all 10 of Barney Kelly's reviews

Film Information

Director - Alexander Korda

Produced - 1933

Main Language - English

Countries & Regions - British Film

Cast - Robert Donat, Merle Oberon, Elsa Lanchester, Charles Laughton, Binnie Barnes

DVD Details

Film Description

Charles Laughton won an Oscar for this performance as the much-married monarch, in a film which remains one of the UK's greatest international successes. Picking up Henry's reign after his betrothal to wife number two Anne Boleyn (Merle Oberon), this Alexander Korda-directed costume epic follows the progress of the King's subsequent marriages to Jane Seymour (Wendy Barrie), Anne of Cleves (Elsa Lanchester), Katherine Howard (Binnie Barnes), and the woman who outlived him, Catherine Parr (Everley Gregg).

Related Genres

• Classic Comedy
• Classic Drama Movies
• Romantic Comedy
• Comedy Drama
• Classic British Film

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