Henry VIII [DVD] [2003]

Everyone knows the story of how Henry V111, the good king, became a tyrant. Ray Winston and the rest of the cast performed with true conviction. However, I've always had a little sympathy for the man, mainly because enormous power was handed to him without any checks or balances from his corrupt privy council. I also believe the Popes of the time have never been fully investigated. Had they not been meddling in British politics and granted Henry his divorce, as they had done for others, then the whole history of this country, perhaps the world, would have been different. And I also believe that jousting should be an Olympic sport.

**THIS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**The enigma of Henry VIII - tyrant, womaniser and the man who changed England forever - continues to fascinate Britain centuries after his death.Ray Winstone brings history's most beguiling monarch to life in this story of Henry VIII revealing the destruction Henry often left in his wake during his extraordinary 38-year reign. From the moment Henry Tudor casts aside his faithful wife Catherine of Aragon for the bewitching and determined Anne Boleyn (Helena Bonham Carter), he sets himself on course for a series of disastrous marriages. Violent conflict, both within the population and the church, left England reeling while its complex and charismatic King turned from handsome playboy to a bitter invalid desperate for a son and heir to the throne.I saw this mini-series about Henry VIII when it was first on ITV back in 2003 and I thought it was brilliant. Ray Winstone was excellent in his role as Henry VIII, which was his first role in a costume drama. His co-star is Helena Bonham Carter who played Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn; her character dominates the first episode and her dramatic death brings the first part of the story to its conclusion. David Suchet also makes an appearance as Henry's first chief minister, Cardinal Wolsey. The second episode, which follows the last eleven years of Henry's life, sees Winstone act opposite Emilia Fox, as his docile third wife Jane Seymour; Sean Bean as Robert Aske, leader of the Pilgrimage of Grace; and Emily Blunt (in her first major appearance) as Catherine Howard, the promiscuous teenager who was coerced into becoming Henry's fifth queen. At the start of the first episode, Joss Ackland makes an appearance as a dying Henry VII mistaking his heir Henry VIII for his late son Arthur Tudor. Concerned for the fragile chances of his family's dynasty, the dying king implores his son to marry his brother's widow Catherine of Aragon and have a son to secure the family line.This mini-series is a truly compelling and entertaining drama that I would very highly recommend to anyone, especially Ray Winstone fans such as myself and those interested in the history of our nation and its monarchs.

Love ray winston but this isn’t his greatest roll he makes A better ganster

I have just bought the DVD after watching this on TV some years ago. As an historian I found Ray's portrayal of Henry the most convincing of all I have seen. I believe he has captured the real King in looks and manner. As for the London accent, Henry V111 was a Londoner and quite possibly had such an accent. Sean Bean as the tragic figure of the heroic Robert Aske is also, in my opinion close to the real person, with his strong Yorkshire accent and forthright way in standing up to the King. The only criticism I have is the portrayal of Anne Boleyn. I feel Helena Bonham Carter was miscast for this role. From the portraits of Anne Boleyn she was very dark eyed with dark hair, a long face and an aquiline nose. None of the historical dramas' I have watched have ever taken her true looks into account, always casting a round faced, big eyed actress in the role which is a shame, as Anne's strong looks quite possibly played a part in her downfall.

Took quite a while to arrive... great series with a good cast but the series was very fast paced and missed out many details in my opinion

We went to Hampton Court Palace recently and decided to learn a little more about Henry Tudor, and we found this film very interesting and entertaining, others on here would complain that Henry Tudor was not a cockney, well I would say to them that Abraham Lincoln wasn't British (Daniel Day Lewis) and Margaret Thatcher wasn't American (Meryl Streep) but it didn't stop both films being really good, also others would complain that it wasn't factually correct, well we have watched movies that state they are based on real events, and the only real bit about them is some of the characters names and maybe a few scenes, so I say, if you want a fact based drama, when you already know all the facts, then choose a different movie, if however your a Ray Winstone fan and enjoy good costume dramas then this is the one for you

Ray Winstone plays the BEST Henry VIII

This is a fantastic movie TV series dvd of Henry the eighth it's very historically accurate and we'll casted I enjoy ray Winstone as Henry the eighth the best I've seen a few actors playing Henry but ray captures the character brilliantly I really enjoy watching this and if you have a interest in this part of English history it will give you a great insight on how life was then as the wardrobe department did a amazing job on the costumes and locations are very good too if you want to while a evening or weekend you can't go far wrong with this either it's not too long but gives you the important events in Henry's life it's easy to follow and extremely enjoyable go buy it