Customer Reviews

National Geographic - The Madness of Henry the VIII

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a brilliant piece of documented work. The costumes and backgrounds were stunning. I've seen different movies depicting Henry, and (WHAT I've read) they never depict the real King that he was. Most movie versions of his life depict him as a a type of lovavle bulldog. As if he was nothing more then a grumpy uncle. That depiction resembles a half truth about Henry the 8th. In real life he was ruthless, a bully, and by the end of his life insane with power. This is a wonderful dvd. I don't know why it matters who was interviewed, like other reviewers have rambled on about. Whether from England or USA, both sides have had to pick a book up to learn their, and other nation's history. Who cares!
Personally, I've watched this dvd several times. This tops my favs. along with the History Channel's "The French Revolution" (both French and American historians were interviewed...hope no one finds out ;) )

This was a real-world representation of his monarchy. It concentrates on how the king started out as an excellent statesman and devout Catholic, but how his philandering and desire for a male heir (along with snubbing the church) led to his downfall. So what if the lady used the B- word? Get over it! This is the 21st century, and she was right. As for the reference to the fact that all of the people were interviewed were Americans again I say so what? I happen to think that some aspects of European histroy much more interesting that American history. Is the reviewer attempting to imply that Americans are not qualified to comment on British history?

Like I said, the story was pretty accurate, I have read many books on the subject. The tension between Boleyn and Wolsey was depicted very well. The only problem I have is the fact that they spent so much time on Katherine and how Henry was scheming to get rid of her that even the conflict with Ann (by far the most exciting) took a back seat, and his last four wives were crammed into about 30 minutes. Either the part with Katherine should have been shorter or the documentary should have been longer.

Just one American's opinion,

EW

I read the negative views on this doc, and they do not know what they are talking about. I am a grad student in social psychology and I happened to run into this doc on NGC looking for something to watch. I was glued to the set after 5 minutes after seeing the special effects and how the narrator's voice was excellent. A lot of dramtic re-enactments, but they are so well done and entertaining. I used to hate history and most of all the history documentaries (since they had boring voices and turned into sleep aids in class), but the Icons of power series which includes this DVD has gave me an interest in history now and I enjoy going on the internet and learning more about Henry 8 and the tudor dynasty. This DVD might confuse OLD fashioned "BORING" speaking history buffs, but I think NGC made this to tailor interest to young viewers to keep it from being boring and they did their job perfectly!!!!!! Be happy that for once in a long long time that younger people are interested in 14th century history with the help of NEW AGE history documentaries!!!

I was excited to watch this DVD due to the good reviews, but was quite disappointed. I should start by saying that I didn't make it past Anne Boleyn because I found it so dreadful, but here is my review of the first half.

The reviewer before me who said this documentary is "flashy" was spot on. The producers seemed to be too concerned with making it over-dramatic than informative. But I think what was worst about the documentary is that there were no well-known, respected TUDOR historians doing the commentary (not even the prominent American Tudor historian, Retha Warnicke). I don't count someone who wrote a book called "Sex with Kings" as an authority on the subject. I could maybe overlook this if these so-called "historians" even got the facts right. I think I turned it off shortly after two of them talked about the fact that Henry made Wolsey break up Anne Boleyn's engagement to "her true love" Henry Percy because Henry VIII wanted Anne for himself. They fail to mention the fact that this engagement was made in secret between Anne and Percy, much to the embarrassment of their families--rather, these "historians" act as if this was a planned betrothal. They also fail to mention that the reason the marriage was broken off was because Percy was already promised to Mary Talbot, and Anne was not highly ranked enough to marry a future Earl. I can only assume that the "historians" made this mistake because it dramatized the story even more.

To sum up, the documentary is inaccurate and over-dramatic.

Excellent source of factual history. I actually came to have an interest in King Henry the VIII from watching The Tudors but wanted a more credible source. This film provides information brought to life and certainly differs from The Tudors in information. lol an understatement.

Excellent and informative film. Puts a lot of emphasis on the kings "Great Matter." I would recommend as a research tool. Good for classrooms if you are studying Early Modern English history. I highly recommend. This is not your average boring documentary.

I got this documentary for Christmas because my parents know how obsessed with Tudor history I am. I have studied this family for a long time, I believe starting when I was in 6th grade. I understand this subject very well. That being said, this documentary was not what I thought it would be.

First, look at the cover. The cover itself should raise alarm bells. The stance of King Henry is over-exagerated. The cover is over-dramatic and ridiculous.

Second, the execution of the whole documentary is over-dramatic. Obviously this was a very dramatic and tense time in history, but it wasn't the soap opera nat geo made it out to be.

Third, a few parts of it were inaccurate. For example, the part about Anne and Henry Percy was missing a few key points. Their engagment was a secret because Percy was already betrothed to someone else at the time. Wolsey pulled the couple apart because of that, not because the King was jealous. The King at the time was sleeping with Mary Boleyn and other misstresses and hadn't been infatuated with Anne yet.

Fourth, the last four wives were squeezed into the last 15 minutes. If they were going to mention them, then the producers should have made the movie longer, or should have cut Anne and Katherine's part into 30 minutes or so, since, let's face it, hearing about Anne's part in Henry's life is kind of a broken record at this point. There is way too much spotlight on this one moment of King Henry's life.

That's really all that I can think of at the moment. I do not agree with the fact that other reviewers are complaining about how the interviewers were American. It really doesn't matter. History is history, no matter what country you are from.

I found this video to be both informative and entertaining--a rarity in the world of documentaries. Being forced to teach high school world history for the first time in my eight year career, has sent me on the hunt for worthwhile videos to supplement a bottomless curriculum. While a bit longer than I had hoped (ideally a video for class is in the 45-50 minute range--one class period), I found The Madness of Henry VIII to be very useful in the discussion of one of history's more "unique" individuals. The video does a great job of discussing the life of Henry VII, spending the majority of its time on his attempts to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, and marry Anne Boleyn. While pushing the envelope of appropriateness on a few occasion, the students were engaged and came away with a much better understanding of the man, the break with the Catholic Church, and his insatiable quest for a male heir, than if they had merely read their history books. To me, that makes a worthwhile history video.

Detailed, Engaging and informative. This piece is not romanticized at all - overall it's quite impressive.

one of the best documentarys i've ever seen! its epic and its detail is genius! IF YOU ARE A TEACHER THIS IS THE MOVIE YOU WANT!! ALL THE WAY!!!