Rating: - Grows on you
I used to really hate this one for all the inaccuracies it contained. Then, as the years went by, I mellowed out and also saw some truly terrible adaptations of this same material. Every time I see this one, I like it more. The story of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn is inherently melodramatic, and so easy to get wrong. This film hits the mark far more often than it misses. It looks great, is cast superbly and tells an engaging, well-paced story. Yes, some license is taken (Katharine of Aragon is once again a dark, accented Spaniard, Thomas More isn't permitted to make his famous scaffold speech, Mary Boleyn is portrayed as "fallen" and abandoned, divorce was in fact common among 16th century nobility, etc.), and I still say that what 20th century writers invent often isn't as interesting as the real thing. Still, there's enough here to make it well worth the full purchase price, and it even tugs at the ol' heartstrings in a way few historical dramas do. Recommended!