|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product Details
|
Product Description
Amazon.com
A tale of two sisters competing for the same king, The Other Boleyn Girl uses historical facts as window dressing for this work of fiction that is entertaining, if not wholly believable. Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) is the doe-eyed vixen ordered by her power-hungry uncle to bewitch King Henry VIII (Eric Bana). Her shy sister Mary (Scarlett Johansson) has always been in Anne's shadow; Anne is prettier, more accomplished, and desired by many men. So when the King picks Mary--the "other Boleyn girl"--as his mistress, Anne turns on her sister and schemes to become not only the King's consort, but his new queen. With a pair of American actresses in the lead roles and an Aussie portraying their hunky object of desire, the English accents are all over the place in this period piece with a modern feel. Though the Boleyn girls' mother points out that her "daughters are being traded like cattle for the advancement of men," it is Anne who ultimately throws her slight weight around to bully Henry into doing her bidding. When he begs her to give herself to him, Anne--wearing a Carrie Bradshaw-esque "B" pendant on her neck--counters, "Make me your Queen." Is the audience really supposed to believe that Henry the VIII--the most powerful man in the land--would divorce Catherine of Aragon, separate from the Catholic church, and put England in upheaval simply because Anne refused to sleep with him until he jumped through all her hoops? "I have torn this country apart for you," he hisses at her before finally getting his way. Based on Philippa Gregory's bestselling novel of the same name, The Other Boleyn Girl features an attractive cast and a familiar plot with some icky twists. Kieran McGuigan's cinematography is breathtaking and is as crucial to setting the film's tone as the dialogue. Actually, it fares better: Lines such as "Well? Did he have you?!" sound almost comical. But the sweeping shots of Henry's kingdom and the carefully framed close-ups of Portman and Johansson are breathtaking in their beauty and say what words simply cannot. --Jae-Ha Kim
Beyond The Other Boleyn Girl
 Paperback Book |  On Blu-ray |  The Soundtrack |
Stills from The Other Boleyn Girl (click for larger image)
 | 
|  | |||
|  | 
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
a surprise take on Henry VIII,
By
This review is from: The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) (DVD)
Not only is this a pretty decent costume drama (check out the water wing sleeves on Henry VIII's clothes in some scenes) but it's amazingly a new take on arguably one of the England's most bizarre royals.
Now I don't quite understand how the entire nation of England cannot produce actors to play English historical figures but having an Australian (Eric Bana) and two Americans (Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johanssen) in the lead roles works out fine. The Other Boleyn Girl is about the Boleyn sisters and is an incredibly overlooked part of British history (even if a lot of the ideas on their relationship with each other and Henry may be more in the author's mind than what actually may have happened) but all the more fascinating. Who'd have thought there was anything more to mine from the Henry VIII vaults but there was in this movie. Needless to say you get all the court intrigue, backstabbing and sex on a stick. What makes it all the more fantastic are the elaborate detailed sets, the often Vermeer-like quality to the camera shots where we peer through doors, archways and any opening where light shines through to give a somewhat voyeuristic feel to many of the secrets of the court. It's also a look at how badly women were treated back then (pretty as chattel) and how men manipulated women for political gain. Throw in the DVD extras which are superb. They include a look at what life was like for women in the Tudor age as well, a rundown of each central character and some more nuggets in which the actors, producers, director, the author of the book the movie is based on and some noted scholars throw in their two farthings' worth. As far as reviews here that compare it to the book, these people need to watch the extras again as even the author says it would have been impossible to film the entire book and that the movie (which she loves) adds a bunch of necessary background needed prior to the Boleyn sisters entering court.
3.0 out of 5 stars
bad screen adaption of a great book,
By
This review is from: The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) (DVD)
The actors are good... its not their fault.. they did a good job of a bad screen adaption. The book was enjoyable the movie a dissapointment.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An intoxicating historical romance,
A Kid's Review
This review is from: The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) (DVD)
I had read the book, and now I had just seen the film with my mother and I thought BOTH book and film are very,very good. I did get confuse of the genre though; I mean is it an historical romance? or an historical drama? But I know the film is an historical romance because about the two sisters, Mary (Scarlett Johansson) and Anne (Natalie Portman) Boleyn pitting against each other. After King Henry (Troy's Eric Bana) VIII of England tires of the queen, Katherine of Aragon (Kristin Scott Thomas), he initially takes Mary as his mistress who bears him a bastard son. But Anne manipulates herself into the bedroom of the King forcing him finally to marry her on the promise that she will bear him a male heir to the throne. Mary is thus reduced to The Other Boleyn Girl.
You know throughout the film I couldn't believe that Mary & Anne were very close to each other; but after attending his majesty's wounds after an hunting accident; And at the palace he play "that's-not-belly-button-that's-not-my-finger" with her AND beared him a bastard son, AND she also "squeal" on her of her secret marriage to Henry Precy Anne now hates her now and become a rival of Henry's affection; Of course Mary was there for Anne as a Queen 'til the end of all that happen during her regin and...well let's not go there, you will to see the film for yourself,for those who love a historical romance like myself.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
