If you’re anything like me, school history lessons left you yawning and, with a faint mouldy scent in your nostrils. English history especially always seemed so tedious with its endless supply of royal Charles’ and James’. The one English king who stood out from the rest was Henry VIII – the rather portly man with the neat red beard, elaborate clothing, and a penchant for chopping off his wives heads!
It’s good to be king and in Showtime’s Golden Globe-nominated series The Tudors, prepare to see King Henry VIII as never before. The handsome, athletic, virile Henry (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is in a loveless marriage to his brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon (Maria Doyle Kennedy). The young, hot-blooded Henry delights in combat sports and chasing women. His obvious philandering doesn’t seem to make much of an impact until he falls desperately in love with Catherine’s lady-in-waiting Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer). Henry didn’t happen to meet Anne by chance; she was “pimped” by her father Thomas Boleyn (Nick Dunning) so that he and the Duke of Norfolk (Henry Czerny) could gain favour with the king.
Will Henry get the jewel he desires? More after the jump.
Henry eagerly wants to marry Anne but requires special permission from the Pope to divorce Catherine and he orders his trusted advisor Cardinal Wolsey (Sam Neill) to make it happen. Whilst he does everything that his king commands, Wolsey also furthers his own agenda – to gain a higher-ranking position in the church. Political scheming is rife and there are plenty of others plotting against Wolsey, hoping to remove him from the king’s side. It quickly becomes apparent that something significant will unravel if Henry does not get what he wants, and the world as the English court knows it, may never be the same ever again…
The Tudors is a series that brings history to life with breathtaking costumes, large dollops of sex, nudity, and intrigue around every corner. The series has a total run time of 537 minutes and is spread over three discs. It is rated 16 (SV).
This Blu-ray release presents the series re-mastered in High Definition (HD) and comes with special features including:
- Interviews with Jonathan Rhys Meyers — A king’s passion, Becoming Henry VIII, The king’s court, and Making of the Tudors
- Interviews with Michael Hirst — Creating the Tudors, Words Coming to Life, Casting Henry’s Advisors & the Queen
- Interview with Natalie Dormer — Anne Boleyn & Henry VIII
- Interview with Jeremy Northam — The King’s Best Friend
- Interview with Henry Cavill — The King’s Best Friend
- Interview with Sam Neill — Henry’s Advisors
- Trailers
The Tudors was kindly supplied for review by Nelmari Claassens, SterKinekor Home Entertainment Marketing Manager for Sony Pictures. Go to www.bluraydisc.co.za to view the latest Blu-ray news, reviews and competitions featured on SterKinekor Home Entertainment’s newsletter. Sony Pictures can be found on the Web at www.sonypictures.com.
