Bella44 said:

It's hard to pick a favourite Anne!  I would have said Genevieve Bujold but now I see Natalie Dormer as the ultimate Anne.  Both are fantastic but perhaps because Natalie Dormer got to play her for longer she had the time to give a more nuanced performance.  I also really like Charlotte Rampling.  So those are my top three!

As for Henry I still don't think you can beat Keith Michell.  JRM was great but the fact that they didn't really age him up until the last couple of episodes really bugged me.  I like my historical movie character to at least have a passing resemblance to the real life individual!!!  Ray Winstone could have made a terrific Henry but for some reason the producers thought it a good idea to have Henry speak with an awful east-London sort of accent.  Why??????!!

As for worst Anne and Henry, I'm sorry but that would have to be Natalie Portman and Eric Bana.  Both are fine actors so why each are so dreadful is a complete mystery.  But then everything else about 'The Other Boleyn Girl' was dreadful so perhaps it sort of rubbed off on them!

I haven't seen a lot of the older movies set in Tudor times, and have always wondered about 'The Private Life of Henry Vlll'.  It's available on Amazon UK and was thinking of getting it so was wondering if it was any good?

'Anne of the Thousand Days' is also on Amazon UK for about four pounds fifty, which is where I got mine from earlier this year.  Hunted for the DVD for years so in the end I just gave in!

Hi Bella — I've only seen Charlotte Rampling's performance on YouTube and I'm not sure it's the entire movie. I'll have to try to go back and find it again; there seems to be loads of Anne Boleyn fans posting videos on there.

Is THAT what Ray Winstone was doing — an East London accent? I just knew that when he opened his mouth, what came out wasn't what I expected of Henry. LOL (Too spoiled by Michell and Burton I guess).

I may have to see about getting AOTTD over on Amazon UK. I'm not a big fan of 'Mary Queen of Scots' and having to buy it in a set, just to get AOTTD doesn't make a load of sense to me. (I'm not sure why the US can't sell it as a single anyway).

As for 'The Private Life of Henry VIII' — it was one of the first major movies to put British moviemaking on the map (according to the documentary 'Cinema Europe'). I saw it as a kid and liked it then although there were a few things about it that bothered me (but I was coming off Keith Michell's take as well). I'd say try to rent it first; I'm sure someone has a version on YouTube — see what you think. 

Okay…coming back after a few minutes…seems complete versions of the movie have been pulled, but there are a few excerpts including this version of Anne's execution:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…..re=related. It not only features Merle Oberon's overly brief performance, but a way too old Binne Barnes playing Catherine Howard (in their version she's already a lady at court), a likely too old Robert Donat as Culpepper, and a few moments of Henry — who can't WAIT to wed new bride Jane (with her 1930's bob). The best parts of the movie for me are Laughton's lines which thankfully make up for the movie's lapses in accuracy.

Hope this helps!

PS: I wish they HAD aged JRM more than they did so it'd be a tad more accurate, but considering accuracy was never the show's strong point  I guess they figured, why mess with “perfection.”

TeamAnne said:

TinaII2None, that is a good point about the movie not letting Bana give more.  We all agree he is a good actor and did well but the storyline had one point and that was showing him how the book percieved him … which was one dimensional … not saying much for the author of the book then huh!  The real Henry was no where near one dimensional!  At first I was thinking, ok, maybe it's because it just focuses on that one part of his life and the show focuses on his whole life but that's not it as Henry went through every f'n emotion while with Anne … I'm pretty sure writting love letters and beheading someone are two totally different dimensions, lol!

Bella44, I also like your point of Natalie having gotten to play Anne longer and therefore really emerse herself and grow right along with the character!

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Team Anne – just LOVE your line “I'm pretty sure writting love letters and beheading someone are two totally different dimensions, lol!” That is so true. And yes, I normally like Bana in most things I've seen him in, and had actually looked forward to his Henry — oh well…another lost moment I guess. Typical of Hollywood.

And Bella — you were right as well about Natalie. She had 2 seasons to develop her Anne, more than any of her predecessors which is part of why her performance still remains so memorable.

AnneTheQueene said:

I loved the movie Anne of a thousand days-its a classic to me.

but for Tv I would say Natalie Dormer-I am a huge fan-she didn't just play Anne it was like she became her almost. amazing work.

I have to say my least favorite was Natalie Portman – she is one of my favorite actresses but for some reason she didn't fit the character well-I could see myself referring to Natalie Dormer as Anne even if she was off set-but Natalie was just Natalie I saw no Anne there really.

I also didn't like the movie-The Other Boleyn Girl-and it was a disappointment, because I was looking forward to it but I ended up not liking it so much.  I think it was a combination between the actors which I didn't feel really embodied the parts and the bad historical inaccuracies-it was hard to follow??I guess…something in between the lines of those two-and I know the Tudors isn't exactly accurate either but I just was obsessed with that TV show!

For Henry I would have to say JRM did an excellent job in the attitude and tone of Henry but lacked in the physical aspect of Henry VII.

AnnetheQueene–

I agree with everything you had to say, and I think you may have hit on what bothered me about Ms. Portman's Anne and The Other Boleyn Girl in general. I know there hasn't been a historic movie that was told with complete authenicity — I don't even expect it as a movie buff, but I do at least want to believe my characters are who they say they are. (Which is why some actors/actresses cannot do period movies; they appear way too modern to even fit). I just never believed any of those people, people I normally enjoy watching in other movies (good grief, I've been watching Ms. Portman since she showed up in The Professional as a kid!) Putting on a costume doesn't necessarily mean you become that character.

So Eric Bana was wanting for the lack of a script and a chance at real character development; I'm not sure who Natalie Portman was but it sure wasn't the Anne Boleyn I've heard reports of (well, outside of PG I mean), and it's not good to come off watching a movie and wish that you could have slapped your heroine for simpering around with her doe eyes and mumbling voice. Even those scenes which should have elicited sadness on my part, just left me thinking “Thank God! This mess is almost over!” And if the bulk of the movie had me in a “just don't care” mood, the ending knocked me for such a loop I went into total hate mode. (Sorry — I shouldn't be that way ).

You're absolutely right about Ms. Dormer though. In that behind the scenes on The Tudors DVD, where she gets to visit St. Peter ad Vincula, there she is as a blonde, and yet she carried herself in such a way that I still thought tearfully of her as Anne, especially when she stands over the spot where the woman she played may be buried. I can't even imagine how I would feel, to have played the role of such an individual and then to visit their gravesite and I guess wonder if I did right by them.