Product Details

• Actors: Helena Bonham Carter, Cary Elwes, John Wood, Michael Hordern, Jill Bennett
• Directors: Trevor Nunn
• Writers: Chris Bryant, David Edgar
• Producers: Peter Snell, Ted Lloyd
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Paramount
• VHS Release Date: June 27, 2000
• Run Time: 142 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (120 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300214559
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #142,482 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

"I foresee a glittering future for your daughter," the conspiratorial Duke of Northumberland insidiously whispers to the mother of Lady Jane Grey, the woman who would be England's queen, albeit for only nine days. The same could be said for Helena Bonham Carter, who, in her screen debut, carries this historical drama with aplomb. Jane, a principled and precocious 15-year-old (she reads Plato in Greek) was a pawn in a plot to maintain Protestant rule in the wake of young King Edward's death. A dashing Cary Elwes, anticipating his swashbuckling role in The Princess Bride, costars as Northumberland's feckless, wastrel son, Guilford, whose arranged marriage to Jane unexpectedly blossoms into love and rebellion. Anglophiles will bask in this impeccably mounted production (featuring Patrick Stewart as Jane's bullying father), but swooning teens, too, may embrace these young lovers as did the youths who made Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 Romeo & Juliet a box-office smash in its day. --Donald Liebenson

From the Back Cover

In 1553, England's idle rich were anything but idle. With the blessing of the royal family, they plundered the riches of the church, stole the finest farmlands, and generally took all of the best things the country had to offer. A cousin to the infamous Henry VIII, Lady Jane Grey disapproved of the way her fellow nobles behaved and disagreed with their religious beliefs. But as a sheltered sixteen-year-old, there wasn't much she could do about it. Then, through a strange turn of events, Lady Jane Grey was crowned Queen Jane, ruler of all England. Based on the true story of the girl who found herself Queen of England for nine days at age 16, Lady Jane is historical romance at its bittersweet best. Look for Patrick Stewart as Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fine movie about a very tragic young life, July 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Lady Jane [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Helena Bonham Carter does a superb job portraying one of the most tragic characters in history, Lady Jane Grey, otherwise known as "the Nine Days Queen". Her soft innocence and vulnerability are convincing and heart rendering. You also get to see a very very young Cary Elwes providing a fine supporting role as her doomed husband and Patrick Stewart (way before his Star Trek days) giving an equally fine performance as her scheming father.

The story itself would make for a great Shakesparean tragedy if history hadn't written it first. I was quite moved at the cruel twists of fate that were handed out to this young girl. It is also a testament to the cruelty of parents to their children in sixteenth century England. This was commonplace at these times, even if one was of royal blood as Jane was.

The moving and historically accurate execution scene, in which the blindfolded Jane cannot find the block to rest her neck is quite heart wrenching. You want her to survive the circumstances that her family placed her in, and the wretchedness of her miserable upbringing. However, life is not a fairy tale, even for princesses; this is a profound example of the misery that many Tudor woman, including Elizabeth I, went through. I subtract one star for some of the historical inaccuracies, but overall it is a wonderful and moving film. It also makes you grateful that you did not live in those precarious times.

174 of 190 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Why can't filmakers show real history?, October 13, 2000

By 

Constant Librarian "constantlibrarian" (Columbia, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lady Jane [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Let's start with what's good about this movie. The cast is wonderful, the costumes superb, etc.

And, they even got part of the history right. In the 16th century people did argue passionately (and die) over religion, poor innocent Jane was the puppet of ruthlessly ambitious adults.

Blast it! That dumb love story ruined the whoe movie. There is absolutely no evidence that Jane and Guilford Dudley ever loved each other. Nor did they attempt to reform the coinage, build public schools, redistribute income... I think Jane's story is even more tragic when you realize that her horrible parents forced her into a loveless marriage to further their own ends.

But yet, the execution scene was true to the historical accounts. Can you imagine the horror of watching a blinfolded sixteen year old groping for the executioner's block, and asking: "Where is it? What do I do?"

If you ever go to London, visit the British Library where Jane's prayerbook is on display. The night before she died, she wrote a letter to her sister on the endpapers. The handwriting never wavers. What courage this innocent child had.

46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not historically accurate, but a wonderful historical drama, December 28, 2003

By 

Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lady Jane (DVD)

I loved this film for the great drama of a mere sixteen-year old being used for machinations of her family to ascend to the British throne. There is a scene where Lady Jane is punished (by spanking with a paddle or something) for disobedience; this is a harbinger of the ultimate tragedy for the hapless teenager. While the details of this historical drama are not precise, the tale is well-told and the costumes and scenery are magnificent. This is a good, riveting historical drama despite the liberties the screenwriters have taken.