Starring Charles Laughton, this 1933 classic was my introduction to the history of Tudor England when I first saw it at the age of seven or eight. As you might guess from the British Board of Film Censorship title card at the beginning, it is not scintillating like the 2007-2010 Showtime cable series The Tudors — but it is more artful, and comedic rather than tragic. Laughton’s take on Henry’s eating habits is also one of the funniest moments in cinematic history.
Presented here as part of a Saturday series on films for our time, the story of Henry VIII’s private life is actually the beginning of the story of Western concepts of sexual and personal freedom. The right for which Henry broke away from Rome and risked invasion — to decide to whom one was married, and when that relationship might end — has become every person’s right.
Post edit 3/3/2012: The Criterion Collection has had the video pulled from YouTube, claiming copyright on a 79-year old piece of culture that is supposed to be public domain. A smart company would rather advertise its wares on YouTube copies of its “property” so as to leverage the power of bloggers sharing culture. Content companies are really dumb about the internet.
