A Review of: The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon (1970)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
- Clips and Audio Taken From:
-'The Six Wives of Henry VIII: Catherine of Aragon', BBC, (1970)
-'One Foot in the Grave', BBC, (1990-2000)
-Soundtrack from 'Physco', (1960)
Literary and Online Sources:
- D. Starkey, 'Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII', (2004)
- The Letters and Papers of Henry VIII:
www.british-his...
- J.P.Sommerville, 'The Henrician Reformation':
faculty.histor...
- Henry VIII and the Break with Rome Timeline:
www.historyont...
rome-timeline/
Any photographs and other images used belong to their respective owners
Factoid: The tomb of Catherine of Aragon receives more visitors than the tomb of Henry VIII.
Justifiably so, though do remember that Catherine is buried inside a cathedral in a rural area. Henry is buried inside Windsor Castle, one of the royal residences in London, which is under very heavy security.
Catherine was much more dignified and humane and more loved at the end of her life than Henry was at the end of his life
@@nassauguy48 yes, Henry is buried beneath the floor of the choir in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, next to his 3rd wife Jane Seymour. The body of Charles I is also interred in the same crypt. During the committal service for Elizabeth II, her coffin was carried over the plaque on the floor in the chapel that indicates Henry's tomb.
The best ever. No fancy production values. Just great acting.
I love most of the acting save for the Queen perhaps
This and Elizabeth R made me a die hard Anglophile......The visual presentations of these iconic figures are still the best, most accurate in my opinion. Seeing Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour from these series- and of course Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth- still takes my breath away and I feel that I am right next to them observing them in the flesh....
I love this series and I watch it every year. And thank you for bringing up the red hair dilemma. The BBC always seems to want Catherine to look like a stereotypical Spaniard in the more recent adaptations and I hate it.
Spaniards are just white 😣 It depends on from what part of spain you are from. I am Portuguese and Spanish and very fair skinned. Wjen I was born my hair was blonde and as I grew it turned strawberry-blonde, then auburn?, eventually darker and darker. My mother has very dark, ashy brown hair.
By white I mean Caucasian. Obviously you can be olive-toned or tan.
And of course there are Spaniards now who are not white that are actually moorish. Meaning brown or black. Although that term can be derogatory in some cases so I wouldn't use it if I were you.
What about Charles when Prince Harry was born, scoffed when he took one look at his reddish hair then spent the afternoon playing polo.
Diana said this was the initial angst (after Camilla, of course) within their marriage problems.
Queen Elizabeth l also had that coppery colour, so came from Henry's side as well, not just Catherine of Aragon.
At the ecclesiastical trial of their marriage Katherine knelt at Henry's feet and he tried to lift her up as he was so humiliated but she refused and remained kneeling as she gave an impassioned emotional speech to the king. Then she swept out, leaving him and the whole court astonished....and the king angry.
This was wonderful! I was a 15 year old kid, from the ghetto of Chicago, and I GOT IT!! Loved this! What helped me to get ready for it was that I was a big masterpiece theatre fan, having seen things like The First Churchills and the few mini-series that Susan Hampshire had done and Keith Michell was unforgettable in this role! Then, Glenda came along later with Elizabeth R. Those were the days!
James Harris right on! It’s funny what strikes you, huh?👍
We watched these on PBS, too, when they first came out, and we loved them all. Not forgetting also "I, Claudius". I believe the Catherine episode relied heavily on the lovely Garrett Mattingly bio. Mattingly's books are gifted with a sense of empathy for all sides of the conflicts he describes, and I admire him for that.
@@melenatorr Yes!! I, Claudius was fantastic as well. And let's not forget about Cousin Bette, another great one with the wonderful Margaret Tysazk
Keith Michell was better than Glenda Jackson, by a long shot. Glenda was not that good. It is hard to play Elizabeth and no actress so far has played Elizabeth well. Annette Crosbie as Catherine of Aragon was the best.
James I was a couple years younger than you when I saw this fell in love with the whole series and read the book which accompanied it. Big fan of Masterpiece Theatre too, Watched it religiously
I watch this series at least twice a month. OMG. The 1972 one, I cant find it anywhere, would love to watch it. Keith is Hal as well in that I believe.
You can get the dvds from Amazon. That's where I got mine.
Remember H8 fell in love with Katherine. Really loved her. Beautiful! I felt very sorry for Queen Katherine and abused Mary I.
I believe she was the only one he actually loved
The acting in this is just wonderful.
21:14-CATHERINE OF ARAGON PROTECTION SQUAD! CATHERINE OF ARAGON PROTECTION!
As a boy growing up in Southern California a watched this series on PBS. It sparked my ever growing anglophilia and my love for British history in general. Keep up the good work _Laughing Cavalier_ !
Many thanks! I have a review of Waterloo up next (fingers crossed it should be up in a couple of days) after that I will probably get back to reviewing this series.
I WILL ALWAYS GIVE RESPECTS FOR CATHERINE OF ARAGON😭
Catherine's gable hood deserves its own acting credit. It's a scene stealer.
For a while, the women at Court very subtly indicated which wife they supported by their choice of headpieces. Supporters of Catherine of Aragon (including Jane Seymour) wore the gabled hood. Supporters of Anne Boleyn wore the more modern French hood comprised of pearls and black velvet.
And I can't believe I've never seen this show! Seems amazing, it's like 'The Tudors' but with actual HISTORY haha
Yeah there has been far too many Tudor related dramas in recent years that don't care about history. This series does get some things wrong (although some of that is down to material they did not know about at the time) but, with a minimal budget, they do a far better job of covering Henry VIII and his wives than shows like the Tudors. They did a film adaption in 1972 called 'Henry VIII and His Six Wives' (which I might review one day) which I would definitely check out. They show it on BBC 2 from time to time.
The 'Elizabeth R' series with Glenda Jackson was a sequel to this one and is brilliant, last I checked someone had uploaded all six episodes to TH-cam.
Its on Amazon Video!
@@KenyanBunnie only in the US and not in the UK unfortunately
The 2003 mini series is really good the one with Emily Blunt and Helena Bonham Cater
This was the best Henry VIII's ever portrayed
I completely agree. Whenever they bring about another discussion on the Tudor Dynasty, and this show is mentioned, it shows you the reach and depth this series has.
I think Burton was quite good in "Anne of the Thousand Days". Robert Shaw fairly good, too, but didn't look as much like him, though he captured Henry's basic personality relatively well. He wasn't in the film that much, though, as I recall. "A Man for All Seasons" wasn't really about Henry, rather Thomas More. The movie's great, nevertheless. I think Burton most looked like Henry among the 3.
Thanks for this comprehensive and very enjoyable review. I’ve one disagreement: in criticising this episode for having spent too long on Katharine’s teenaged years and that it skips over significant events of Henry’s reign, you overlook that this series is not called Henry VIII, it’s called the Six Wives of HVIII. It’s a study of the women, not the reign. Each episode is biography of each Queen. In that context, Katherine’s early marriage to Arthur and long, uncertain, impoverished years of betrothal to Prince Henry, a pawn of her parents and father in law, penniless, yet ever conscious of her status s the daughter of Europe’s two greatest sovereigns, (much greater, in every way, than the English crown), is critical to the story formation of her character that proved so formidable decades later, when Henry disgraced her. IMHO. Cheers and thanks for this great series of reviews. I loved the series when I saw it as a child. My entire family were riveted - to this series and later to Glenda Jackson’s Elizabeth. I wish the series were more readily available. I think Amazon is the only current source?
Because Catherine was married to Henry for nearly a quarter of a century (longer than the other five wives combined), there was only so much that could be fit into a 90 minute episode.
What actually happened when Henry confronted Katherine with his wanting to end their marriage was that she collapsed sobbing, and Henry was very much abashed. Soon after Katherine argued that while they had lost sons they still had a living daughter. Once she had pulled herself together she put up a great fight for her marriage. But she had known for a long time that the marriage was not going well. Henry hadn't slept with her for some years by this time and Katherine had withdrawn from court and spent most of her time with her ladies in her apartments, becoming ever more pious. She only attended official public occasions with the king. So they were no longer even companions but living separate lives.
I believe the episode had Henry using the term divorce, which was not accurate. Henry sought an annulment,not a divorce.
he literally said that in the video, did you not watch it?
@@obey2263 Must have missed it.
Keith Michell (1926-2015) was a fantastic actor and, like fellow Australian actor Leo McKern, did the bulk of his acting work in Britain. One exception in his native country that Michell appeared in was the 1986 TV mini-series 'My Brother Tom', a series set in an small Australian town in the 1930s that is split down the middle between Catholics and Protestants (it co-starred Scots actor Gordon Jackson).
They had an explanation, with JRM why they didn't want him in a fat suit they said it didn't look right. I think JRM got Henrys psyco side across right BUT Keith Michell gets across how people stayed loyal to him AND were scared of him, you can see, like the way he banters with the council in the start of the 73 movie version, how he was likeable too and he was defo the most accurate in terms of physical likeness, same as Jackon as Elizabeth
I love this series and Elizabeth R with Glenda Jackson. I have a signed photo and note back from Glenda when I wrote to her 7 years ago
Deborah du Parc b I totally agree with you in everything you said wow! A signed photo photo of a Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth R - Very impressive hoping you have a happy holiday season!🎄🙏🏻👋💜
The BBC series (The Six Wives) remains unmatched IMO, although there have been fantastic dramas since.
Keith Michell is to Henry VIII what Glenda Jackson is to Elizabeth I. Flawless performances.
DiabolicalAngel - you nailed it!
That is so true and they both won Best lead Emmys that year. I remember because I watched.
@@JamesHarris-hl2bm - I thought Helen Mirren did a great job too, but for me, Glenda Jackson IS Elizabeth.
@@MrBronx61 agreed. Helen was wonderful, but Glenda is as good as it gets!
And Glenda Jackson’s still going strong - about to play King Lear!
Yes! Do PLEASE do every one! You can't find them on here, anymore.
Thanks, I will try although I had some problem with copyright with this one, it is all sorted now though. By the way, TH-cam for some reason marked your comment as Spam, it has been doing that a bit lately with some peoples comments, I have absolutely no idea why.
Keith Michell rocked! Best Henry VIII ever. His make up was superb. All of the acting was brilliant. The low budget just shows that you don't need all of the bells and whistles to provide good story telling. It was uncanny how much Wolf Morris looked like Cromwell, Bernard Hepton looked like Cranmer and Patrick Troughton looked like Norfolk per their historical portraits.
The depictions of Catherine of Aragon and Jane Seymour also strongly resembled the actual portraits.
It was discussed earlier in the episode that Catherine chooses to not know somethings. "It is a most royal attribute." I liked that scene.
I remember watching this series when I was 10 and still is one of the best adaptations in my honest view and Keith's depiction as Henry is one if not the absolute best. Good acting can really take a character role to another level.
Does it hold up?
The make-up’s a little dodgy, certain effects & colour’s a bit off, but it *still* has an overall stellar quality to it.
‘The Tudors’ scarcely held up five years after the fact, let alone decades.
Have they even repeated The Tudors on TV? I think I saw season 4 on a re-run in like 2012 or something (and then re-watched a few years back fro Tudor Rant 1), but it has not been on since. Sadly, the Six Wives series has not been re-run but Elizabeth R has been a few times, even on some BBC channels like Channel 4. They out to have Tudor week where they show the Six Wives, Elizabeth R and Shadow of the Tower.
@@The_Laughing_Cavalier I believe every once in a while it's on-demand, but compared to any of the shows produced by the BBC it pales by comparison. Let me also say that it did get better and Season 4 was the best IMHO, both in content and portrayal.
It has been on Netflix for years until the new year
In actual fact poor Queen Catherine collapsed to the floor sobbing after the king dropped the bombshell that their marriage was over. The king didn't know what to do, He had never seen his queen hysterical before, not even with all her miscarriages and the son who died.
I remember to watch on TV this show, translated to Spanish version and all the show had a very high reception.
One chapter every week.
I remember that my mother was moved by Catherine of Aragon and she was pitted by the young Catherine Howard.
English production of historical shows are always of high standard.
Greetings from Argentina 🇦🇷
I remember watching this when it originally aired. Infact my father made sure our entire family watched it. Still amazing to watch in 2020. Keith Michell is as mesmerizing to watch today (as I am watching this)as in 1970. I became a life long fan of Masterpiece Theater then and there.
This series and Elizabeth R captivated me even at the age of 13 when all I wanted to do was play Halo and shoot aliens. That's how good the dialogue is.
Is anyone else experiencing problems with the audio? The volume of the audio from 1970 is about 1/4 as loud as the 2018 voice-over.
I do use Windows Movie Maker at the moment so it might be that causing problems, I usually boost the video volume as high as I can and it still sounds a bit quiet (although there is an option to emphasise video, I might have to try that). I'll take it into account when I do the Anne Boleyn episode.
Very interesting. Well met! But Henry VII WAS the one blocking her getting betrothed/married to Henry VIII, and for the reasons he said. He left her in poverty (well, for a Royal) in the interim, and she even had to sell her plate and valuables to buy clothes and pay her debtors. I’d love to see you do one on the one they did on Henry the second. It looked almost like a play.
The best Henry Vlll I ever saw was Robert Shaw in A Man For All Seasons......he was truly terrifying, but also affable and charming when it suited him. There is a great scene of him singing to Anne Boleyn on their wedding day (Lyn Redgrave played Anne) and as he sings joyfully to her they share wine from the Wassail Cup, as Anne laughs and giggles, her eyes sparkling with happiness.
it was actually Lynn's sister Vanessa Redgrave who played Anne Boleyn. A truly great film & Robert Shaw was great as King Henry.
I had heard of this series AFTER The Tudors (my Tudor obsession began way before either) and I wasn't gonna watch it because the 70s production values etc would not be as amazing as the detail they got done with a huge showtime budget in the 2000s series, but I'm glad I did.
Each actor plays it right. I think Keith is to Henry VIII what Glenda Jackson is to Elizabeth I and the actor who played Henry VII was in that series: the definative of each monarch. I'd love to have seen Keith in THe Tudors where he aged the way he did in this series.
It may not have had the glitz but it does bring another perspective to the series.
I encourage anyone to get their hands on Shadow of the Tower the story of Henry VII who I think is a far more interesting character than his son, cos he had to work for it, and deal with uniting the country as people tried to bring him down left and right.
The actor who played the seventh Henry was, I believe, John Woodnutt, whom I know best from his two appearances on Doctor Who - when, in the tenure of the third Doctor ("Frontier in Space"), he portrayed the Emperor of the Draconians; whereas later, with the fourth Doctor ("Terror of the Zygons"), he played a double role as the Scottish Duke of Forgill and as the Zygon leader Broton. He was indeed a stalwart actor - credit must be given him for appearing under a TON of makeup and costume in each instance! 😎
This is an extraordinary series - wonderful cast, although the ages of the actors don’t necessarily match real life. Also highly recommended - In the Shadow of the Tower, a series about Henry VII, and Elizabeth R, about guess who. I still watch all three regularly.
@The Laughing Cavalier Wasn't Dorothy Tutin compelling as Anne Boleyn! She was brash and unlikeable in episode 1, but her speeches in episode 2 were magnificent! I'm just about to start episode 3 😁
I’ve just watched all the episodes and now just about finished with “Elizabeth R”-my absolute FAVOURITE portrayal of the Tudor era! I especially love the clothing they were wearing and the music.
Laughing Cavalier, PLEASE, do this for ALL of the episodes.
Nearly finished writing the script for the Anne Boleyn episode review, might be a bit longer than this first episode!
Wonderful !! Can hardly wait.
21:14 Even though Anne Boleyn is my favorite, I still admire and respect Catherine of Aragon and everytime I watch The Six Wives of Henry VIII- and this scene comes up- I try not to laugh out of respect to the Queen's memory.
But I always do.
I LOVE this series! I found out about it, after I finished watching "Elizabeth R". I nearly shat myself when I noticed some of the actors from "Elizabeth R" were in this as well. And then again when I saw Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth in "Mary, Queen of Scots". That was a fun triple threat weekend. I have yet to watch "Henry VIII and His Six Wives".
I hope you finish reviewing the series. This video was amazing.
Thanks, I might have to delay the next part of it for a bit though since I had some copyright issues with this review (thankfully they are resolved now). I have a few more history videos on the way in the meantime including one on Henry's campaign in France.
Henry VIII and his Six Wives was not as good, and as a one shot movie, it was rather rushed. With the exception of the last two wives, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr, the portrayals of the Queens were nowhere near as accurate.
Tamika ED In the film remake that Keith made, The only thing I preferred was the portrayal of Katherine Howard by Lynne Frederick who was absolutely enchanting. I thought the Katherine Howard in the BBC series was not very sympathetic (played by Angela Pleasance).
Another great one, from the past few years - Wolf Hall, which focuses on Cromwell, although Henry is of course right in there, along with most of the wives. With all due respect to Mantel, waiting for this story to carry on is like waiting for Martin to cough up Game of Thrones chapters.
No reason to portray Arthur as sickly - there were no concerns about his health at the time.
I wish this drama & then film was put on tv , lots of 60’s 70’s films use to be regularly shown
My mom was a teenager at the time this series was made, but she had never heard of it until I showed it to her some years ago. My mom has always been fascinated by Henry VIII and his family (even when she was in college) and she was delighted when I stumbled across this and showed it to her. Although I adored Maria Doyle Kennedy’s wonderful performance in the Tudors, being a stickler for physical accuracy, I thought Annette Crosbie’s performance was truly magnificent and befitting of Katharine of Aragon. But then, I think both actresses did great credit to a truly fascinating and indomitable woman!
Annette Crosby's age didn't bother me at all. She doesn't quite look like a teenager, but she looks young enough in her early scenes. Unlike Catherine Howard. (Not to be mean to Angela Pleasence. I'm sure she's been great in other things. She was just... SO miscast.)
Excellent series. Would love to see it again. All of it
Thanks for reminding me of this series. I remember now watching a young girl screaming and taken away by guards, I didn't understand then. But it was the downfall of Katherine Howard.
I'm binging these in no logical order, but I'm so freaking happy I found your channel
I remember watching this as it was first aired on PBS in the states. This and the series about Queen Elizabeth I staring Glenda Jackson. They were both captivating.
Fully agree, hopefully one day I will cover Elizabeth R as well. Someone had uploaded the entirety of that series on TH-cam but it looks like it got taken down sadly although I think you can still find it on Dailymotion.
I'm interested in your opinion of the movie Is Paris Burning.
I haven't seen that one I am afraid, I am aware of it though, will have to add it to my watch list.
Let me explain. There is too much let me sum up. The Normandy invasion is a success. The Nazis still hold Paris. Hitler gives orders for Paris to be destroyed.
Meanwhile the People's Parisian Front and the Parisian People's Front are at odds with each other, nobody wants to be called Loretta, and the Bayeux Tapestry is at risk of falling onto Nazi hands.
Meanwhile Orson Welles helps Leslie Caron out with a problem.
Will the Allies reach Paris before Hitler's wish for Paris to go up in flames is a success?
Will the Bayeux Tapestry be saved?
Will Orson Welles save the day?
Can Patton be reached?
Will Westley marry Buttercup?
It's a serious and complex movie about the Nazi occupation of Paris that gets overlooked in WWII movies.
I love this adaptation so can’t see anything bad in it
Thanks for introducing me to this series. I've written to Britbox and suggested it to be added, along with "Elizabeth R". I hope others are doing the same!
One thing I had a problem with was Mary’s portrayal (Although Brief) Mary wasn’t a blonde. She had light-Dark brown hair with red undertones. Mary is my favorite Tudor and I would just like to see her portrayed correctly.
I thought the actress in this one though does have light red hair? I think Mary did have that sort of tone of hair colour at this point if this portrait is anything to go by: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/Mary_Tudor_by_Horenbout.jpg/220px-Mary_Tudor_by_Horenbout.jpg
Still, I seem to remember in the sequel to this, Elizabeth R, the actress playing Mary has darker hair.
At least we do see a bit of her in this series (mainly in the the Jane Seymour episode) and then in the first episode of Elizabeth R. Given the way Tudor dramas are going though, I fear we may have to wait a bit sadly.
As far as I remember, Mary’s household account showed she spend a lot on dye - so she could be dying her hair, even at this young an age. Whatever was “fashionable” at the time, perhaps, or to suit whomsoever she was betrothed too.
Got these for Christmas when I was around eleven, about thirteen years ago, from my dear father, and my brother and I constantly laughed at the honeymoon sequence which truly seemed to come out of nowhere.
Loved that 'insert 300 reference here' lol
If given this line, directors today would doubtless have Henry VII kicking de Puebla down a well or something....
:P
Please would it be possible to leave the 'factoid' titles up for a little longer? :)
In my more recent videos, I do try to leave them up, but at the same time I like to edit them in line with the footage, which is becoming more of a problem these days since I am now using much shorter clips to avoid copyright. My best advise is to pause it if it is a long bit. I know that can be a hassle, but quite often the text is expanding on or correcting something I have said. I will try to edit it better, but again, it will depend on how the video turns out!
@@The_Laughing_Cavalier of course - thanks for replying so quick :)
Henry Vll was indeed extremely mean to Katherine in her widowhood and deliberately kept her in penury in the hope that her distress would move her father to pay the whole of her dowry. But her widowed father didn't care about her and didn't have the money anyway, not for some years. Not until it was close to her marriage to Henry Vlll. He had been very sorrowful at her plight until he married her and became her rescuing hero, her gallant knight, while he married her and took her to live in "Camelot".
This series handles Anne to perfection during the course of the second part. Instead of making the viewers pitty Anne (which would be impossible, as we are bound to sympahise with Katherine), the writers of this series manage to enrage their viewers with all the injustices that Anne suffers during her downfall. After all, it was not she but Henry who chose to be unfaithful to his first wife.
Thank you very much for this reviews, they are magnificent.
I'm lucky to have this series on DVD. I watch them it very often, I don't get tired, it is impossible, since it is really, a great performance by absolutely all the actors.
Keith Michell is , of course, magnificent, I think he has been the best henry VIII in the history of film and television, his interpretation is second to none.
But I also believe that the great success of the series is precisely due to the queens, all of them are simply magnificent actresses.
The interpretation of Catherine of Aragon by Annette Crosbie and Dorothy Tutin as Anne Boleyn is truly, memorable. two magnificent actresses, magnificent ¡¡¡
I also want to highlight the great and sensational interpretation of Lady Rochford by Sheilla Burrell, she is really great as Lady Rochfor , I liked her interpretation so much that I wanted to know more about Lady Rochford as I knew alot about the Queen but less about Lady Rochford and all that due to her interpretation as is , and ignited my curiosity in that particular character so I started to read more about Lady Rochford. Of course, thanks to discovering her in Lady Rochford, I started looking for more films of Sheilla Burrell and I discovered that she filmed a lot of them and very good all of them , those movies of the 50's, oh, so great cinema, true art ¡¡¡ so thanks to this DVD I've discovered what a great performance means and also, great actors. definitely , this serie is a jewel.
Thank you again for your reviews¡¡¡ :-) I can't wait to watch your video dedicated to the 5th queen and of course, Lady Rochford :-) best regards.
Wonderful series , don't make. t .v anywhere as good these days .
I just discovered your review and so enjoyed it. I remember the series so fondly from the 1970s, and I was looking forward so much to the line I remember best from this episode, where Catherine says, "Bring your hundred learned men!" But you didn't include that line. Still it was thrilling to watch so many of the wonderful scenes you included. I can't believe ho well I remember it.
Thanks! Yeah I had to trim quite a bit of stuff out of the review, I got my DVD of it cheap off of Ebay or Amazon I think. Might be a little while before I get round to reviewing part 2 but I have started writing the script for it,
I would love to revisit this series and the Glenda Jackson Elizabeth R, series.
I recently got Elizabeth R quite cheaply on DVD and am finishing up a quick review of the first episode right now. I would also recommend 'Shadow of the Tower' as well, which was on TH-cam last I checked, and covered Henry VII.
@@The_Laughing_Cavalier It was on TH-cam a couple years ago. I LOVED IT.
Why can't other Tudor Dramas be this good?
Because none of the others had Keith Michell as Henry VIII.
@@sandranorman5469 Sad but true
Maybe one day we'll get someone who's serious about making a serious about the Tudor Dynasty from Henry VII to Elizabeth I that actually strives to be as historically accurate as possible.
One that treats history as the key to telling a good story and not an obstacle.
Imagine, what England would've been like if Arthur had lived longer ?
There’s a theory that Catherine had so many miscarriages and stillbirths because she had a negative blood type. If Arthur had positive blood like Henry, then there’s a good chance he and Katherine wouldn’t have passed on an heir and the throne would have gone to Henry later (with him becoming a priest first). Still, it’s fun to wonder what if.
@@frostychocolatemilkshakes2944 There's an excellent book by Kyra Cornelius Kramer called "Blood Will Tell: A Medical Explanation of the Tyranny of Henry VIII" that posits two linked illnesses, Kell positive blood and McLeod syndrome, led to both Henry's production of male heirs that were stillborn and his later madness.
I remember watching this on PBS. Great series!
Like many others in these comments I watched this brilliant series on PBS as a kid. This sparked a life long love of PBS and all things British. The Tudors is okay but the costumes unrealistic and mostly fiction / fantasy. This BBC series was very accurate compared to what I have read about the Tudors.
Poor Catherine thought if she said it enough times that she would remain queen...and that Henry would come back.
Catherine of Aragon was really brave. She lead the English armies to fight against Scottish armies who were invading England. She was more than a woman, and more than a queen. She was a Trastámara.
Catherine was beloved by the people, and many women beheld her as the wronged wife! As she was dying, she refused the Imperial offer to invade England to bring
back from England to Rome. I am surprised that she has never been considered for canonization; since, as a Catholic, she seemed a fitting candidate!
Thank you for this review. I saw this series in the early seventies on PBS and fell in love with it. I also read its companion book which gave a lot more information so I learned about the Tudors.
I would so love it ,if I could watch the full series of Henry the Viii played by Keith Michell🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼😊pretty 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼😊😄
It is on DVD (I got it off of Ebay for about £5 I think). I got copyright striked for just using clips so I doubt anyone would risk upload the whole thing to TH-cam.
I am in the middle of doing the first part of the Anne Boleyn episode review, which I am aiming to have out within a few weeks fingers crossed.
Needa Norto, it is a wonderful series. Saw it as a fifteen year old kid,and have never forgotten it. Saw Keith in many things after that but nothing matched his work here.
21:16 catarine crying omg it's like when your mom says no to you when you want a toy 😂😂😂😂😂 and it's like godzilla trying to roar
Good points -- even if every unnecessary second had been conserved, there wouldn't have begun to be enough time to deal with the Field of the Cloth of Gold, the birth of Mary, Flodden, Sir Thomas More, etc. It's interesting to learn about Eustace Chapuys.
Seriously dude, more please
Have no fear, plenty more on the way. I have recorded part 2 of Cromwell, just need to edit it all.
+ The Laughing Cavalier That is excellent news. Your Cromwell Part One made me start digging through my collection of biographies looking for the one on him I know I have.
And made me go through all the websites I'd booked marked about the War of the Three Kingdoms.
Still need to watch that Cromwell film at somepoint.
+ Thomas Brady Despite its flaws it's still an entertaining film-particularly for the performances. Alec Guinness is easily the best thing in it, although Harris does a credible job. There aren't all that many versions of this character on film to compare it to however.
My thoughts exactly. As I have mentioned in part 1, a few characters do suffer from being made to look like stereotypes. Prince Rupert would be one who is made out to be a fopish English aristocrat when he was actually born and raised in the HRE. I'll go into it a bit more in part 2.
I just watch all six episodes of Henry 8th and six wives and I must say when I saw Catherine to start crying I didn't realize how long it went on
I just finished watching this series for the ? time. It is just excellent.
Great movie. What is the name of this film?
It's a TV series from 1970, "The Six Wives of Henry VIII". As far as I am aware, the only way to watch it is on DVD, but a fair few copies are floating around places like eBay and Amazon.
@@The_Laughing_Cavalier oh Nice! I was watching one vídeo of Catherine of Aragon on a Spanish TV show and your video appeared on recomended.
th-cam.com/video/k4nELOMqhck/w-d-xo.html
This is more accurate and more believable than the modern American version the Tudors.
I loved this series when I first saw it, and have watched it several times since. Absolutely brilliant. The historical accuracy was on point for the time.
The young Henry did used to break into the queens rooms with his merry band of friends all in disguise - one as Robin Hood and his merry men. They were all masked and forced the ladies to dance with them. Henry was full of spontaneity and fun in those days and wanted to please his wife. He did also fancy himself as a poet and would break out in poetry for his sycophants to admire.
He did the same with Anne of Cleaves, but it backfired (because Anne didn´t recogniced him). He was hurt by this and was determined to dislike her.
@@vilwarin5635 He should have understood that she came from a very different culture and had a very strict upbringing. She knew nothing about the games of courtly love, and didn't even know she was still a virgin after the wedding night, and ever after. She thought Henry holding her hand and kissing her goodnight and good morning was enough to get her pregnant.
@@juanitarichards1074 But the thing was Henry had very hight feelings about himself and was a true fan of knight and princesses tales (you know, those tales where the lady ALWAYS recogniced their true love because of their pure heart). He was trying to live his own fairy tale... as he always did.
You are right, she came from a different culture, but Henry didn´t care, when did he?. In his mind, he was right and the rest of the world mistaken, and if Anne of Cleves didn´t played by his rules, then it was HER fault, not his, and she wasn´t worthy of his affection. He did the same with the rest of his mistresses/wifes, it was always their fault, not Henry´s. Plus, I believe Henry was forced to marry this time because England needed foreign help against Spain and France, so that could add more pain to the injury. "Oh, I sacrificed my royal ass to marry this foreign princess and now she dares to look down at me *cries in Tudor*".
About the fact that Anne though she was still a virgin without a clue, some people think she was playing dumb (she probably knew about Anne Bolein execution, and Katherine of Aragon shameful end, and could imagine HER head on a spike). Anne knew Henry was looking for a divorce, so when people asked her about being a virgin... wouldn´t it be safer for her acting as if she was stupid and naive? (I´m open to both versions though)
@@vilwarin5635 He was a narcissist who had unrealistic fantasies of perfect love......and God help anyone who disillusioned him.
This series is a true gem. I am watching and re-watching it everey second year or so and never grow tired of it ...
I have always believed that if Henry had waited he would have gotten what he wanted. He just did not want to wait, what he wanted he wanted NOW. So, marrying Anne in secret, he defied God and he punished Henry by not giving him the son he wanted. Cause after Katherine died, and she was already ill when he banished her from court. He ridded himself of Anne cause she didn't give him his son. He marries Jane Seymour and their marriage was truly legal since Katherine was dead, she gave him his much longed for son. But to punish Henry, God took Jane who probably would have given Henry more sons if she had lived. But because of his actions when Katherine was still alive he had to now suffer and that he did. And also, after his accident where he was unconscious for 2 hours or so. His personality changed....for the worse. I am sure he suffered brain damage to the frontal lobe of the brain which caused this drastic change in him. I am also glad you mention the Shadow of the Tower series. I know it too by heart, excellently done. Especially since the actor playing Henry Tudor was from Worchester MA, U..S.A.. History tells us that he became a tyrant and who could blame him. He tried very hard to bring peace and prosperity to England. Only the nobles who were not being richly rewarded by the King as they had been before wanted to get rid of him. only because of their own greed. I could go on, but for now will just say a heart felt Thank you for your uploads, you really do them justice and I thank you for that. Your faithful Fan.
The series overall is great, but it has two serious flaws. One is, as you mention, budget. It doesn't date well because we've seen far more extravagant and lush historical dramas filmed on location, with fairly accurate historical costumes. The second is the structure of the series itself, in giving all the wives equal time. This makes Katherine of Aragon's and Anne Boleyn's segments too rushed and sparse, only focusing on one or two key events (mainly, their downfalls), and the others drag on with very little substance, because his relationships with his last four wives were comparatively shorter and far less dramatic (okay, a woman dying just days after childbirth and another being beheaded IS dramatic, but the stories can be told much faster). Adding the 6-7 years of Katherine in England before she marries Henry would count her story to almost 30 years before her death, and his history-making relationship with Anne Boleyn from courtship to her execution is about 10 years. Jane Seymour died less than two years after her marriage, Anne of Cleves was only 'married' to Henry for a few months, Kathryn Howard was married to Henry for about 1.5 years I think, and Catherine Parr about 3. It's silly, therefore, to give someone who was a mere blip in Henry's life like Anne of Cleves the same amount of time to tell her story as the woman who was married to him for over 20 years.
Fully agree, they also had a different writer for each episode I believe which lead to some inconsistencies between episodes.
The Laughing Cavalier do you plan on reviewing the other segments? I agree there are inconsistencies in the story, mainly with Anne Boleyn, because her story is covered in two episodes, and even then it doesn’t give the whole story. We see her briefly in episode one basically being a harpie secure in her love from the king, then as a strong willed bye principled woman in episode two. In a way, it makes sense. Anne is the most complex woman who has been interpreted in history as either a saint or the devil, and from the perspective of Katherine in her story, Anne is going to come off badly. In her own episode, we can take more time getting to know her, and Tutin plays her as cunning, fearful, loving, jealous, proud and fierce, all qualities I can believe of her, especially after seven years of fighting and waiting for Henry to marry her. What we never see in Anne’s story is how she was trapped in her situation from the beginning. She was raised to be highly intelligent and cultured with the main goal of marrying well to further her family’s ambitions. She wanted to marry Henry Percy, future Duke of Northumberland, but her plans were thwarted by Wolsey and possibly Henry as well. Two married men then seriously pursue her, Wyatt, then Henry, but she is looking for her own husband, not someone else’s. Her sister behaved wantonly (perhaps not by choice) and she was not interested in being anyone’s mistress, especially to the man who already slept with her sister. I believe she turned him down initially out of principle, and not ambition or calculation. It was only after it was clear Henry would never give her up that she consented to waiting for him to annul his marriage to Katherine. In that regard, I think Anne is as innocent or even more so than Katherine, who possibly lied about her marriage to Arthur which very likely was actually consummated. When Anne becomes more difficult is after years of strain, humiliation and defamation of her character, and her frustration in her situation before marriage and insecurity afterwards as Henry’s eye wanders. I don’t excuse Anne’s behaviour at times, but I do understand it, recognize she was in a situation not of her choosing, and see that almost anyone at court was at times ruthless and with questionable morals and motives. Clearly she was innocent of the charges brought against her, but it’s hard to sort out who wanted her dead. I think the blame mainly sits with Cromwell, who saw an opportunity to bring down someone he was fearful of and ruthlessly slandered and framed her. But Henry signed that warrant. Did he really want her dead? Was he tired of her? Did he genuinely believe she was guilty and felt betrayed because he was tricked by Cromwell? He turned on her very quickly. He was planning to further honour her brother with titles and to travel to France with her weeks before her death. He insisted Chapuys acknowledge her as queen days before that. It seems strange that he turned on her so quickly after that. But he had also had his accident which some say caused brain damage and could have made him wildly unpredictable and Anne recently miscarried, so she was likely very emotional, and possibly more difficult out of fear and insecurity. At any rate, what a tragic end to what was one of the world’s greatest love affairs.
Yeah I an currently writing the script for the review of the Anne Boleyn episode, will be a while before it is out though (probably a few months). I am definitely going to go into a bit more detail about her marriage particularly since as you said the series does kind of miss out a huge chunk of her marriage and goes straight to her downfall.
The Laughing Cavalier great. I look forward to watching it
Well.. that's the text!
The 6 wives...THE best BBC series ever. Too bad it's not available.
Somebody did try to upload it on TH-cam I saw but they had copyright trouble (hell I get copyright claimed for just uploading clips with commentary!). It is on DVD though so you might be able to get it off of Ebay like I did.
You talk too fast and your captions are unreadable
Love your stuff
Love this series so much ❤ hope you cover all the other episodes one day.
Slow down
no
I remember what a phenomenon this series was. In my English Lit class, we talked about this movie every Monday for six weeks. I was 13 and this series brought me to an interest in English history to this day.
Great review! I still need to check this out. I hope you review the rest of the series.
I'm trying, literally just uploaded the Anne Boleyn review but it got claimed by the BBC and they took their time to release the claim on this one!
Keith Michelle also did an excellent job of portraying James Cook...
I've loved this series since I was a young girl. It inspired my love of English history and I learned a lot. Thank you for your review of these episodes! Would love to see your review of the remaining four wives
Glenda Jackson also played Queen Victoria in the 1970s TV series 'Edward VII'.
Sorry, I meant Annette Crosby!
I was 12 when this came out here in the US
Like....how many times did he play King Henry??
At least four off the top of my head. Once in a play in the 60's, then he was in this series, then the 1972 film and finally he was in an adaptation of 'The Prince and the Pauper'.
Did you ever see Charlton Heston as Henry VIII in the movie "The Prince and the Pauper". He was every impressive! A shame he did not get the chance to play Henry VIII in a movie about Henry VIII. Or on stage.
I haven't seen that version I am afraid although I have heard of it. Wasn't he in a version of 'A Man for All Seasons' as Sir Thomas More as well or am I imagining that?
Heston directed the TV-movie of "A Man For All Seasons" and played Sir Thomas More - after he and same cast had done the play in London. Saw him in London in 1985 in the play "The Caine Munity". A very impressive stage actor,. The Henry VIII-part was in the movie - with Oliver Reed, George , Rex Harrison, among others. www.imdb.com/title/tt0077381/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_53
Brilliant series
THE SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII was done 54 years ago. You indicated the budget was small. The stage was small. Many of the actors didn't even have a costume change. Make-up and prosthetics weren't what they are nowadays. I wouldn't even be surprised if they took a bit of license in their storytelling. Even with all this, I still think it was a masterful accomplishment. The same is true for their next project ELIZABETH R.
The lighting of the interior shots is super unrealistic, seeing as they depended either on sunlight or candles indoors (castles, Hampton Court, wherever.)
True, although do remember they were shot effectively as a series of plays at the BBC Studios with an absolutely minuscule budget compared to some of today's shows. Elizabeth R did a bit better with lighting and stuff when that aired the following year.
This series is back on Amazon's BritBox, and I've re-watched it for the first time since childhood. Back then, while I knew the broad strokes of the history and enjoyed watching for confirmation of what I knew, I was mostly blind to the acting quality and discussion of politics.
My conclusion now is that the Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn episodes--while both filled with good acting--are actually the worst episodes of the six. My favorite is the Anne of Cleves episode; it's funny, sophisticated in its political analysis, and the character of Anne is so charming. It's an excellent self-contained play. The Catherine Parr episode is probably my second favorite. And the Jane Seymour episode is just delightfully odd and off-putting, almost as if David Lynch wrote that one.
Thanks for these two delightful reviews you've done; I wish you'd reviewed the others, too.
NOT A GREAT DEAL OF
NIK--PICKING.........
GOOD......
YOUR LEARNING.....
AND I AGREE THE
ACTOR PLAYING
HENRY THE 8TH....
IS THE BEST I HAVE
EVER SEEN......
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I just LOVE Annette Crosbie, both as Catherine AND as Victoria in the later series about Edward VII.