Customer Reviews

Great Kings of England: King Henry VIII [VHS]

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If you are looking for a very simple overview of Henry VIII's reign and do not care at all about the visuals, this will do. The costuming is so poor that it is humorous, with a huge replica of the gable headdress on Kathrine, Elizabethan styles on Elizabeth I's mother, and other glaring errors and low-budget compromises. The background music gets irritating, and the dramatic facts of Henry's life are narrated in a uniform, almost upbeat manner which is a little disconcerting when the narrator is describing a death by beheading. The story is factual, but skips and leaves out lots of interesting information and important details. A sarcastic quote from Henry about being "taught" by his wife is misconstrued as an endorsement of his happiness with Kathrine Parr, rather than in it's context referring to the argument that almost got her beheaded too. The way that narration lines up with pictures is confusing and could mislead viewers who are not familiar with the standard Tudor portraits to think that they are of the wrong people. Overall, it would work fine as a reference material for an eighth-grade report, but anyone who wants something interesting, enlightening and dramatic to watch should skip this.