Anne of the Thousand Days
Burton, who at the time was one of the biggest stars in the world, was paired with newcomer Genevieve Bujold as Boleyn. All the stuff is here: Burton has had enough of Queen Katharine (Irene Papas) who could not bear him a son. He looks to dump her, with the aid of his lawyer, Cromwell (John Colicos). At the time, divorce was impossible, so a petition of annulment is brought to the Pope by Cardinal Wolsey (Anthony Quayle). It doesn't work, though, so Burton just does what he wants anyway. This leads to the death of Sir Thomas More, who objects.
Burton has impregnated Bujold's older sister, but prefers the younger, and tries to win her over. She's bold and sassy, which in some ways turns him on (the older sister, Mary, was too acquiescent, which bored him). But Anne can't give him a living son, either, and is tried on trumped up charges of adultery and incest. But in an unhistorical speech, Bujold predicts that her daughter, Elizabeth, will reign in a greater England than Burton could ever conceive of. Of course she's right, but at the time, when no queen had ruled England, could anyone predict it.
The film was directed by Charles Jarrot, who would go on to make Mary, Queen of Scots. It's a sumptuous film, with all the trappings of historical drama, including castles and lovely costumes. It got mixed reviews at the time, but I found it engaging for a very long film, with a witty script and great performances by Burton, Bujold, and Quayle, who were all Oscar-nominated.
There are little moments, especially with Colicos, that stick out. After he proposes that Burton just declare himself head of the church, which would mean his excommunication, he leaves the room and exhales in relief. Later, he will say, when Henry wants to dump Anne, "We've already used incest. Best ot to make a habit of it." Cromwell has been vilified throughout history, and Hilary Mantel tried to better his reputation in the Wolf Hall books, but Colicos plays him as a slithering creature who admits he has no scruples. Viewers will be happy to know that eventually he was beheaded, too.
Burton plays Henry as a tyrant, a man who is accustomed to getting what he wants, despite the consequences (his lust for Anne changed the history of religion in England). If one squints, one can see similarities to certain leaders of today. Bujold, who won the Golden Globe for Best Actress for this film, is a fiery-eyed woman who, upon realizing she can't fight Henry, is determined to gain as much power as she can. Bujold, achingly beautiful, never repeated that success in her career. One wonders what happened--was she just not interested? She continues to act, but her next most famous role may be in the pot-boiler Coma.
In the days when studios could still wine and dine Academy voters, Anne of the Thousand Days (that's how many days, roughly, she was queen) earned ten Oscar nominations, but won only for Best Costumes. I think over the years it has been largely forgotten--it was some hubris to make another film of this subject three years after A Man For All Seasons won Best Picture--especially in light of the success of The Tudors and Mantel's books. For historical drama buffs, though, it is a very good film.
Watched this about 12 months ago. While it's relatively superficial about the subjects at hand, it's a pretty impressive entertainment and Burton is totally in his element in his role.
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