{"id":184,"date":"2015-02-10T05:27:24","date_gmt":"2015-02-10T05:27:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/englishhistory.net\/?p=184"},"modified":"2022-02-28T13:40:23","modified_gmt":"2022-02-28T13:40:23","slug":"movies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/englishhistory.net\/tudor\/movies\/","title":{"rendered":"Tudor England In Movies & Television"},"content":{"rendered":"

There have been many films made about the fascinating Tudors and they range from the sublime to the truly awful, rather like the many biographies<\/a> which fill bookstores and bore readers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Now if I could make a Tudor film, it would be a remake of 1971’s ‘Mary, Queen of Scots’ (shown above) with Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth and Gwyneth Paltrow as Mary. Sadly, no one seems willing to loan me the money for such a project<\/p>\n

The films are listed in chronological order and this list is not definitive.<\/p>\n

THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER (1909 through 2000)<\/a>
\nThere have been numerous adaptations of the classic Mark Twain novel which begins during the final days of Henry VIII’s reign.\u00a0 This link will take you to the most recent version.<\/p>\n

THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII (1933)<\/a>
\nThis film stars the great Charles Laughton as King Henry and beautiful Merle Oberon as Anne Boleyn.\u00a0 It’s the first ‘Tudor movie’ I ever watched and still one of the best.\u00a0 It can be purchased on video.\u00a0 Interesting note – Laughlin’s real-life wife, Elsa Lanchester, plays Anne of Cleves.\u00a0 The two later co-starred in Billy Wilder’s superb adaptation of Agatha Christie’s ‘Witness for the Prosecution’, – check it out, it’s a fun, suspenseful film with a different twist ending from the book.<\/p>\n

MARY OF SCOTLAND (1936)<\/a>
\nThis film is based upon a Maxwell Anderson play, and stars Katharine Hepburn as Mary Stuart<\/a> and the great Fredric March as Bothwell.\u00a0 It was directed by John Ford.\u00a0 It can’t be purchased; check the cable listings.<\/p>\n

FIRE OVER ENGLAND (1937)<\/a>
\nVivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier play lovers against the backdrop of Anglo-Spanish intrigue, with Flora Robson as Queen Elizabeth I.\u00a0 This is a nice, swashbuckling romance with intrigue and intelligent dialogue.<\/p>\n

THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX (1939)<\/a>
\nalso called Elizabeth and Essex <\/em>and Elizabeth the Queen<\/em>
\nThis film is based upon the Maxwell Anderson play, as was Anne of the Thousand Days<\/em> (below) and Mary of Scotland<\/em> (above).\u00a0 It has an interesting cast – Bette Davis in her first incarnation as Queen Elizabeth, the great Errol Flynn as Essex, and Vincent Price (before he was typecast in horror films) as Walter Raleigh.\u00a0 It can’t be purchased; check the cable listings.<\/p>\n

YOUNG BESS (1953)<\/a>
\nBased upon the Margaret Irwin novel, which has recently been reissued, this film stars Jean Simmons as Elizabeth Tudor.\u00a0 Charles Laughton reprises his role as Henry VIII from The Private Life of Henry VIII<\/em> (above).\u00a0 The plot is primarily concerned with Elizabeth’s relationship with Thomas Seymour, and takes great historical liberties; it is entertaining and well done.\u00a0 It can be purchased on video.\u00a0 And read Irwin’s work, too – she’s incredible.<\/p>\n

THE SWORD AND THE ROSE (1953)<\/a>
\nThis film tells the story of Henry VIII’s youngest sister Mary and her forbidden love affair with Charles Brandon<\/a>.\u00a0 I haven’t seen it but several visitors have told me it’s wonderful; you can purchase it on VHS.<\/p>\n

THE VIRGIN QUEEN (1955)<\/a>
\nOnce again, Bette Davis plays Queen Elizabeth; Richard Todd plays Raleigh and Joan Collins is his true love.\u00a0 I recently watched it again on AMC; it’s colorized and the men wear a lot of wacky-colored clothes (which is actually realistic, though jarring.)\u00a0 The dialogue is witty and Bette Davis is always fun to watch.\u00a0 It can be purchased on video; also, check the cable listings.<\/p>\n

A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (1966)<\/a>
\nThis film is based on Robert Bolt’s play and stars Paul Scofield as Sir Thomas More<\/a>, executed for refusing to recognize Henry VIII as head of the English church.\u00a0 This is a great film worth watching on its own merits, even without its Tudor connections.\u00a0 The story of More’s refusal to betray his conscience is justly famous and the film is a wonderful tribute to his life and accomplishments.\u00a0 It is available on dvd.\u00a0 Look out for the uncredited cameo of Vanessa Redgrave as Anne Boleyn.<\/p>\n

ANNE OF THE THOUSAND DAYS (1969)<\/a>
\nThis film stars Genevieve Bujold as Anne Boleyn and Richard Burton as Henry VIII<\/a>.\u00a0 It’s entertaining, the supporting actors are good, and Bujold’s performance has grown on me; she shows the vulnerability beneath Anne’s wit and charm.\u00a0 It’s based upon Maxwell Anderson’s play.\u00a0 If they remade this film, wouldn’t Virginie Ledoyen be the perfect Anne?<\/p>\n

THE SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII (1971)<\/a>
\nThis is a great Masterpiece Theatre series which was shown on PBS in America.\u00a0 It stars Keith Michell as Henry VIII and is divided into six parts, one for each wife.\u00a0 It was recently released on dvd.\u00a0 Michell later appeared in a film version of the series, much shortened, of course, and with different actresses portraying the wives.<\/p>\n

MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS (1971)<\/a><\/b>
\nI should admit that I am a fan of Vanessa Redgrave and thus suitably biased, but this is an entertaining movie.\u00a0 It also features the equally great Glenda Jackson as Queen Elizabeth, a role she reprised in the Masterpiece Theatre series, Elizabeth R<\/em>.\u00a0 Redgrave was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for her role.\u00a0 In the film there is a meeting between the two queenly cousins, – the meeting never occurred in real life, though Mary desperately wished for it.
\nPatrick McGoohan, aka Danger Man and Number Six, is suitably evil as Moray and Timothy Dalton is a thoroughly repulsive Darnley.\u00a0 (I think everyone can agree that playing Darnley is a thankless task.)\u00a0 The sets and costumes are a wonderful evocation of the Tudor era.\u00a0 The same production team made Anne of the <\/em><\/p>\n

ELIZABETH R (1971)<\/a>
\nThis Masterpiece Theatre mini-series starring Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth is fantastic.\u00a0 And it was recently released on dvd, with lots of extras.\u00a0 I have written a review of the dvd at Amazon.com; click here to read it<\/a>.\u00a0 It’s worth the expense. Jackson is incomparable and the series itself is wonderful.\u00a0 The mini-series format gives the story enough time to unfold and what a fascinating, engrossing story it is – the great events of Elizabeth’s reign, the facets of her character, her interminable marriage negotiations….. these are treated in detail and with commendable historical accuracy.\u00a0 The supporting actors – Mary, queen of Scots, Dudley, Cecil (William and Robert), Bacon, Essex, etc – are also superb.<\/p>\n

LADY JANE (1986)<\/a>
\nThis popular film stars Helena Bonham Carter as Lady Jane Grey<\/a> and the very handsome Cary Elwes as Guilford Dudley.\u00a0 The movie, like many Tudor flicks, is less than accurate in the facts department, mostly concerning Jane and Guilford’s marriage.\u00a0 But the invented ‘love story’ between them is well done and saves the film from being too depressing.\u00a0 I had the pleasure of seeing Jane Lapotaire, who plays Princess Mary<\/a> in this film, portray Katharine of Aragon at a RSC production of ‘Henry VIII’.
\nLady Jane<\/em> is finally available on dvd.<\/p>\n

SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (1998)<\/a>
\nThis film stars Gwyneth Paltrow as the fictional Lady Viola de Lesseps and Joseph Fiennes as Shakespeare<\/a>.\u00a0 Judi Dench appears briefly as Queen Elizabeth I; though her time on screen is short, she is unforgettable.\u00a0 There are numerous supporting actors who also shine.\u00a0 The costumes, sets, and musical score are also wonderful.
\nPaltrow and Fiennes are lovely together; the script is witty and fun; and the ending is spectacular.\u00a0 This is one of the few films I’ve seen that successfully mixes genres.\u00a0 And it’s almost as if the actors themselves knew they were in a great film.\u00a0 Their performances are confident and enthusiastic.\u00a0 This is truly a joy to watch.
\nI went to see this film on a whim and then promptly forced family and friends to watch it with me.
\nSome naysayers have written to me in disagreement and all of their complaints are directed against Paltrow.\u00a0 I think she is perfect in the role; even her scenes as the cross-dressing Thomas Kent are great.\u00a0 But opinions can differ – and even if you dislike her performance, there is much else to recommend the film.
\nBoth Shakespeare in Love and Elizabeth were released around the same time in 1998.\u00a0 Ironically, as it turned out, I was really looking forward to Elizabeth and didn’t give SIL a thought.<\/p>\n

ELIZABETH (1998)<\/a>
\nThis film stars Cate Blanchett as the Virgin Queen<\/a>. I disliked this film when I first saw it, though I admired the visuals.\u00a0 The cinematography and costuming were excellent; some of the acting was impressive, particularly Blanchett and Christopher Eccleston as Norfolk.\u00a0 (When are they ever bad?)\u00a0 But I found the story and direction to be muddled and overwrought, as was the score.
\nPart of my disappointment was doubtless caused by my Tudoritis<\/a>.\u00a0 I was looking forward to the film and wouldn’t have been easily satisfied.\u00a0 But my movie-going companion, who does not suffer from Tudoritis, remarked, ‘This isn’t just a bad Tudor film.\u00a0 It’s a bad film, period.’
\nI recently watched it again.\u00a0 And again, I admired Blanchett’s performance and the costumes were still spectacular.\u00a0 But I still wonder why they felt the need to rewrite one of the most compelling female lives of all time.\u00a0 And did Elizabeth live in a cathedral?!?<\/p>\n

THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL (2003)
\nThis film is an adaptation of Philippa Gregory’s popular novel. It was produced by the BBC and stars Natasha McElhone as Mary Boleyn<\/a> and Jodhi May as Anne<\/a>. The film premiered in the UK in spring 2003. As of October ’03, it hasn’t aired in the US and isn’t currently scheduled for sale anywhere.<\/p>\n

Two other films set in the 16th century are also worth watching:<\/strong><\/p>\n

LA REINE MARGOT (QUEEN MARGOT)(1994)<\/a>
\nI love this French film starring the incomparable Isabelle Adjani as Marguerite, daughter of Catherine d’Medici and princess of France.\u00a0 It’s a wonderful story with great historical accuracy.\u00a0 And can you believe Adjani was 38 when she made this film?\u00a0 Let’s hope it will be released on dvd in the US soon.\u00a0 Until then, read the Alexandre Dumas novel upon which it’s based.\u00a0 I think it’s one of his more entertaining works.<\/p>\n

EVER AFTER (1998)<\/a>
\nThis film is a retelling of the Cinderella story set in 16th century France.\u00a0 Drew Barrymore plays the heroine who triumphs over the ugly stepsisters and evil stepmother.\u00a0 It’s very entertaining; the performances are fun, the costumes beautiful, and the romance endearing. The official movie site is still up; click here to visit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There have been many films made about the fascinating Tudors and they range from the sublime to the truly awful, rather like the many biographies which fill bookstores and bore readers. Now if I could make a Tudor film, it would be a remake of 1971’s ‘Mary, Queen of Scots’ (shown above) with Cate Blanchett […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/englishhistory.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/englishhistory.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/englishhistory.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/englishhistory.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/englishhistory.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/englishhistory.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3907,"href":"https:\/\/englishhistory.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184\/revisions\/3907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/englishhistory.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/englishhistory.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/englishhistory.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}