Product Details

• Actors: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Henry Cavill, Anthony Brophy, James Frain, Sarah Bolger
• Writers: Michael Hirst
• Format: AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Showtime / Paramount
• DVD Release Date: October 12, 2010
• Run Time: 533 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (127 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B003FSTN7U
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,548 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Tudors: The Final Season" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Henry VIII is not in a very good humor in the final season of The Tudors, despite the fact that much of England and Western Europe has been bent to his will. But that means only that this season of The Tudors is just as captivating and engrossing as the three preceding it. By this time, King Henry (the always excellent Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is restive, facing ongoing rebellion in the north of England, and fissures in his own family and among his own children. Well, that's what you get when you have multiple children from different wives, and new declarations of who's the rightful heir and who's banished to the Tower. Season four focuses on Henry's declining health--and while Rhys Meyers has been padded a bit in a nod to reality, he still looks handsome and fetching, nothing like the squat, obese martinet depicted in official royal portraits. This season of The Tudors also focuses on King Henry's final two wives, and the actors who play them are among the best thing in the entire season. Young vixen Catherine Howard (Tamzin Merchant) probably never stood a chance, and was outwitted in court and played like a pawn by the king's advisers. Ultimately, Howard pays the ultimate price for having had the indecency to have had a bit of a past well before she wed the king. Enter wife No. 6, Catherine Parr (the truly regal Joely Richardson), who is perhaps finally the king's match intellectually and politically. Twice widowed when she captured the eye of the king at age 31, Parr was originally asked to marry by Thomas Seymour (Andrew McNair), the brother of the king's earlier wife Jane Seymour. But when King Henry proposed, Parr agrees--and, because of her earnest intellectual curiosity and embracing of the new Church of England, sets in motion the final dramas of Henry's life. The conniving and plotting are never over for The Tudors, though King Henry, after a pretty good run, finally meets his end. The Tudors is so satisfying, however, that one wishes it would continue and follow the lives of Henry's daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. There could be many more entrancing years of history writ large. The Tudors: The Final Season includes several episodes from other Showtime series, including United States of Tara, Dexter, and Episodes, but alas, no extras related specifically to The Tudors. --A.T. Hurley

Product Description

The Tudors presents the rarely dramatized, tumultuous early years of King Henry VIII’s nearly 40 year, omnipotent reign (1509-1547). In addition to his famous female consorts and 20+ year marriage to Catherine of Aragon to the infamous dalliance with Anne Boleyn, the series delves in to Henry’s most notable political relationship and the deconstruction of the Roman Catholic Church in England.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

193 of 215 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars And so Henry's reign ends..., July 6, 2010

By 

Amanda (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Tudors: The Final Season (DVD)

Ironically enough, I've had a tumultuous relationship with The Tudors ever since it first started. It was an odd, kind of on-again, off-again relationship that ranged from near-fanatic fandom to downright apathy. I was a fan of Tudor historical fiction novels before the show began, and was more than ecstatic when I heard that Showtime was bringing the infamous Henry VIII to the screen with his many wives.

Sadly, the series didn't always deliver for me. The biggest issue for me, especially in the first season, was the incredible number of historical inaccuracies. Even though this always bugged me throughout the entire series' run, I had to just put it aside and accept the fact that this show is a Hollywood-ized version of Henry VIII's reign. Perhaps the aspect that got me through were the lush sets, impeccable art direction and absolutely gorgeous period costumes and accessories (especially on all of Henry's queens) -even though the costumes were more like Tudor style mixed with modern couture influences (okay, they looked cool).

In season four -titled by Showtime as "The Final Seduction" -Henry deals with war with France, lingering religious issues, his own fading health and of course, wives five and six -Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr, respectively. By this point, of course, Henry should be very rotund (300 pounds) and nearing the end of his life. Even though Jonathan Rhys Myers does get the aging treatment in the final episodes and they try to dress him up in large, heavy clothing to make him look a little bigger it's doesn't quite work-though it's at least something.

The season, overall, is relatively entertaining, though some episodes are better than others. The first half deals primarily with the young Katherine Howard, her affair with Thomas Culpepper (and Lady Rochford's well-documented involvement), the oddly included misadventures of Lord Surrey (a supposed distant relative of Katherine, who is a boring and pointless character) and Henry's continued political troubles. While I didn't find Kitty Howard particularly likable, Tamzin Merchant brings a strong liveliness to the character and emphasizes her age, her questionable moral character, and the fact that she is a completely inept queen.

After beheading poor Katherine Howard, the married Lady Latimer (Catherine Parr) grabs Henry's attention. Once her husband dies, she reluctantly marries Henry, and decides to use her new position to advance her strongly Protestant beliefs. Henry, meanwhile, departs to France for war and Catherine dodges accusations of heresy. After the war is over, Henry's health starts to decline until he dies.

The highlight of this season should have been the much-anticipated and strongly rumored "dream sequence" in the final episode that would feature Henry's deceased wives. Though this ended up being somewhat disappointing (only three of the wives appeared), it was good to see some of the ladies return to Henry's life at the end, but it just wasn't enough. The fact that I felt let down by this, as well as the somewhat anti-climatic ending, left me with an unsatisfied feeling at the end that even made me wonder why I had spent all of my time watching the show. You know what would have made this finale better? More Anne Boleyn -okay, maybe not, but I've seriously missed Natalie Dormer since she was knocked off at the end of season two. Not only was she a wonderful actress, but she portrayed a strong and compelling Anne who stands as the strongest and more interesting of Henry's wives, stealing the show in every scene she was in.

Thus ended my strange relationship with Showtime's The Tudors. Even though I had my doubts, I kept with it until the very end, and, unfortunately, wasn't satisfied but have to admit -journey getting there was entertaining and wonderfully done.

89 of 99 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars anything that spurs interest in real history, June 7, 2010

By 

Robert Hardaway - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Tudors: The Final Season (DVD)

I agree with the reviewer who noted the historical innacuracies in the Tudors series. While some of these innacuracies can be condoned on grounds of poetic license, some appear to be egregiously gratuitous (i.e., having Henry's sister Margaret not only marry the King of Protugal--which never happned--but then have her murder him!) There appears to be no dramatic reason for that kind of historical innacuracy which is truly unforgiveable. On the other hand, I am more forgiving of the Series having Wolsey committ suicide rather than dying of natural causes inasmuch as there was some speculation at the time of his death that he did indeed commit suicide given that he was facing the curel justice of a vengeful Henry.(And certainly if Wolsey did committ suicide, Henry would have every reason to cover it up in a way that the historians could not access). A more serious criticism is that the Series apparently made no effort whatssoever to represent Henry even close to how the paintings of the day depicted him. Arguably the "young" Henry--depictions of which are quite rare--could have looked something like the actor in the Series, though the dark slicked back hair of the actor is hard to reconcile with the descriptions of Henry as more blond and stocky. And certainly the marine crewcut styles are even more difficult to reconcile with the images available. But perhaps the worst failure is to not have Henry age at all over his entire reign, especially given the numerous historical sources which all agree on his ballooning obesity and deterioration in his health. This failure is all the more stark given the near perfect depictions of Ann Boleyn and Katherine of Aragon by the actresses.(Especially the depictions of Anne Boleyn which is so nearly on the money that it's almost scary). So why, given these obvious deficiencies do I give this Series four stars? Because I applaud every attempt by the dramatic arts to make history interesting enough to inspire an interest in history. Many of those who watch this series will go to the history books and read the real stuff (and hopefully discover that Margaret never married the Kind of Portugal, and never in fact murdered him). Indeed, had the Series at least made a half-hearted attempt to depict Henry according to the sources available, and not engaged in the most egregious of it's historical innacuracies (the marriage of Margaret to the Kind of Portugal), I would have given this polished, entertaining, and addicitive production a full five stars. (I appreciate very much the use of candlelight in the indoor night scenes).

49 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Oh, Henry..., June 20, 2010

By 

Melissa Niksic (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Tudors: The Final Season (DVD)

My biggest complaint about "The Tudors" is that it ended after only four seasons. The Tudor dynasty didn't end with Henry VIII. Showtime had an amazing opportunity to continue this show with the short-lived reigns of Edward and Mary, followed by the lengthy Golden Age commandeered by Queen Elizabeth I. The network chose not to go that route, which is a major bummer.

As for the fourth and final season of "The Tudors," it definitely had its moments. I've been a fan of the show since Season 1, realizing that the series is completely historically inaccurate and a blatant depiction of nothing but sex, violence, and more sex...however, I love it for what it is! By far the best parts of this season were the appearances of Henry's final wives, the flighty Catherine Howard (perfectly portrayed by Tamzin Merchant) and the strong-willed Catherine Parr (Joley Richardson). I won't go into the plot details because I'm assuming that anyone who ever took a history class knows how Henry's story ends. I will say that I think the show took a downward spiral during the final two episodes. Jonathan Rhys Meyers began speaking in a "sickly old Henry" voice that sounded identical to Dick Van Dyke's portrayal of the old banker, Mr Dawes Sr., in "Mary Poppins." Obviously, instead of coming across as ominous and grave, that awful voice was severely comical to me, which kind of took away from the serious events leading up to Henry's demise.

Also, the season finale itself was a huge disappointment. I was thrilled that the show brought back three of Henry's former wives, who I assumed were going to haunt him, but their appearances were both short and uneventful. Had I the opportunity to write the final episode of this show, I think I could have done a heck of a better job. It was a real shame to watch what used to be such a powerful show go out with a whimper instead of a roar.

Still, the majority of Season 4 is filled with more good scenes than bad. I am sad the series is over and look forward to re-watching it on DVD (especially the Anne Boleyn episodes, which were by far the best).