Cinema
The Private Life of Henry VIII
Alexander Korda · 1933
Synopsis
An opening title card dismisses Henry VIII's first wife, too respectable to dwell on. The film begins on the morning of the execution of the second, Anne Boleyn: ladies-in-waiting come to sniff the king's bed, the crowd settles in before the scaffold, and the English executioner grumbles about the swordsman brought in from Calais. Anne prepares herself and asks whether the net will hold her hair when her head falls. Elsewhere, Jane Seymour makes ready for her wedding.
Context
Shooting began before the financing was in place, against the received idea that the costume film did not sell: several studios had turned the project down, and performers agreed to reduce their fee or to wait until the end of shooting to be paid. The film opened in New York on 12 October 1933, two weeks before London. The king eats as much as he marries in it, and it is from this film that the image of a gluttonous Henry VIII comes. Charles Laughton was awarded by the American academy for it; he was appearing that season on a London stage.
Who it is for
Ninety-seven minutes, in English with subtitles or in a French version. The film covers the last eleven years of the reign.
Prizes and reception
The first foreign film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and the first British film to see an actor crowned with the award; English production prospered afterwards.
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