I like historical dramas as much as the next guy – well, actually, I like them a lot more than the next guy, for the most part. The only thing is, I like good historical dramas. It's not enough to have the costumes and the sets and a plot that incorporates a bunch of presumably interesting historical events; there has to be good acting and a good script. (Those latter requirements are so important, in fact, that if they're good enough they can make a lavish set and costumes unnecessary. Just watch I, Claudius – the gold standard of historical drama – to see what I mean.) Henry VIII does well enough in the first set of requirements, having a fascinating section of English history as its subject, and what looks like a decent budget for sets and costumes, but it doesn't measure up in the second set of requirements. Don't get me wrong: Henry VIII is watchable. It's just nothing to get particularly enthused about, and it's certainly not as good as it could have been.

This two-part, 200-minute made-for-television film chronicles the entire reign of King Henry VIII (Ray Winstone), he of the six wives, most of whom met rather nasty ends as Henry sought to get a male heir and keep the country under control. (For viewers who are familiar with the historical events, there's a nice irony in knowing that his daughter Elizabeth would end up as his real successor, ushering in one of the greatest eras in English history.)

Henry VIII tries to capture it all: the character of Henry as a passionate, troubled, impulsive man; the palace intrigues that led to so many people imprisoned in the Tower or led to the executioner's block; the different personalities of Henry's various wives, and the turmoil surrounding the ousting of each one. In that respect, Henry VIII is watchable, as it's certainly full of incident, and always keeps moving along at a brisk pace.

Watchable, yes... but never any more than that. The dialogue is completely modern in style, with no attempt to re-create the diction of the times, and I think that's one of the faults of the film; it never feels authentic in any way, never feels that we're actually there rather than watching actors play dress-up. I'm not arguing that the dialogue should have emulated Shakespeare (done badly, that can sound ridiculous, for one thing), but there is a middle ground that uses a slightly "neutral" style, not archaic but not casual and slangy either. Henry VIII is definitely on the slangy end of the scale, and combined with the soap-opera-style dialogue, the result is a somewhat cheesy feel to the production.

And then there's the cinematography and editing. Usually cinematography is one of those things that, when badly done, simply doesn't make the film any better, but here, it actively detracts from the overall experience. For one thing, the director appears to be obsessed with close-ups, with the camera zooming in to fill up the screen with large talking heads at any opportunity. A scene involving two people having a conversation becomes quite disconcerting when the camera cuts quickly from one tightly-zoomed-in head shot to the other, and then back again. It's like this all over the film, as if the filmmakers were afraid to show too much of the backgrounds in any of the scenes. That's not the only problem with the cinematography, though. Its other flaw is an attempt to be stylish, through the use of tricks like slow motion or tricky camera work. It never feels right, and always seems like out of place and obvious.

In the end, Henry VIII is a production that tries hard to be dramatic and exciting, and gets part of the way there. It has its good points, in terms of a interesting historical storyline and some decent actors (mostly in the first part, in which we get Helena Bonham Carter as Anne Boleyn and David Suchet as Cardinal Wolsey), but it's not polished or well-written enough to really be satisfying.

The DVD

Henry VIII is a two-disc set, with the 200-minute, two-part film split between the discs. It's packaged in a single-wide plastic keepcase.

Video

Henry VIII appears in its original widescreen aspect ratio, at 1.85:1, and is anamorphically enhanced. It's decent-looking but not outstanding. Colors and contrast are handled well, and the print seems free of flaws. There's a generally soft appearance to the image, though, compounded by the presence of some grain and edge enhancement.

Audio

The Dolby 2.0 soundtrack is a disappointment. The overall sound is flat and muddy-sounding. The dialogue doesn't stand out well from the background, and is often a little hard to understand. When voices are raised, the sound becomes noticeably harsh and tinny-sounding as well. This lackluster sound quality certainly makes it harder to enjoy the film.

Extras

The only special feature is a 31-minute set of cast and crew interviews. It sounds like a substantial piece, but it's really primarily promotional in nature, with the modestly interesting interview segments interspersed with generous amounts of footage from the film.

Final thoughts

Henry VIII is a passable but unexciting piece of historical fluff. It's watchable but it doesn't really have much substance to it; it's probably worth a rental if you find the historical period interesting and don't mind a somewhat soap-opera feel to the production. Rent it.