Audience Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Binding: DVD EAN: 5051561026812 Format: PAL Label: 2 Entertain Video Manufacturer: 2 Entertain Video Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: 2 Entertain Video Region Code: 2 Release Date: 2008-10-06 Running Time: 90 Studio: 2 Entertain Video Theatrical Release Date: 2003
Customer Rating: Summary: Feeble BBC version of intriguing Tudor sister relationship. Comment: The Other Boleyn Girl [2003]
I have not read the novel, but my impression is confirmed by other reviewers that a great deal of it has been cut in order to condense the plot into this jerky ninety minute BBC budget version, why on earth wasn't it dramatised as a mini series?
The most absurd aspect is the periodic appearances of the sisters Mary and Ann sitting down speaking direct to camera, further alienateing this viewer by creating a de facto narrative with two characters in first person; dialogue with a confidante would have been far more involving.
Lovers of the book may well find the film useful in providing a visual context, otherwise probably best avoided.
Customer Rating: Summary: A love or hate adaption - and I certainly don't love it. Comment: I found it very hard to follow the story line of this adaptation, even though I have already watched the film and read the book so know the story very well.
The grainy effect was probably added to create atmosphere, but it just makes the film look old and of poor quality. I never grew to like the characters in this film, possibly because the actors seemed disattached from their roles and because they seem to show hardly any emotion, but also the film doesn't let you get to know the characters.
Adding to that, the camera work was appalling. Quite frankly, even I could have done better.
If I had not seen the film and read the book first I would be left with a very bad opinion of the story after watching this adaptation. The book and film had me in tears, this just left me bored. I wouldn't recommend it - read the book instead! Customer Rating: Summary: Tense but slightly claustrophobic Comment: Having watched the more recent The Other Boleyn Girl and then this version again, I felt this version gave a more accurate portrayal of the tensions and infighting that were present at the Tudor court. Jodhi May, an outstanding actress, was superb as Anne Boleyn and you could feel her terror as the inevitable tragedy was unfolding around her. Also, having English actresses portraying the two central characters was a plus: no offence to Natalie Portman or Scarlett Johannsen, but their accents were all over the place, and this was a Hollywood production after all with "name" actresses in the lead roles.
Natasha McIlhone as Mary Boleyn was quietly effective as the "other" sister and I found Phil Glenister as William Stafford excellent. His character was played as it was depicted in the novel - a man who could see how events were being played out and how the Boleyn family would fall after Anne's execution. Mary was to keep her head - literally - and outlive her family.
I loved the cinematography of the 2008 The Other Boleyn Girl, one of its plus points, but this version was better on many other counts. Customer Rating: Summary: Stick to the book Comment: The novel of "The Other Boleyn Girl" is a bit of a guilty pleasure. I've re-read it many times and can see why it would make an excellent subject for dramatisation so why is it so difficult to get right? OK, so certain things may have to be altered to suit modern sensibilites. The fact that Mary was in her early teens when she started her affair with Henry wouldn't sit comfortably with your average cinema audience so I can understand that being altered.
I wanted to like this largely because I didn't like the Hollywood version. The chauvanist in me wanted to think that the BBC could do it better (it usually does after all.) Sadly, I was disapointed. The whole thing seemed colourless and lacking in the sense of drama and excitement that the book portrays so well. As for the shots to camera I half expected Davina McCall to say, "Mary Boleyn , you have been evicted. You have 3 minutes to leave the Big Brother House". Just didn't work for me. Neither did some of the casting. Unlike some of the other reviewers I'm not a fan of Jodhi May. Anne Boleyn needs to be played by someone with charisma, someone that you can imagine Henry VIII causing a schism with the Catholic Church over. For me, Jodhi May looks like a rather gormless wet lettuce and certainly not worth risking your eternal soul over. Maybe it's just her (she spoiled "Tipping the Velvet" for me as well) Steven MacIntosh was also miscast as George Boleyn. George needs to be a sensualist, a rogue. Steven McIntosh was....colourless (that word again.)
So, no I wouldn't recommend this any more than I would the Hollywood version. I would love to see the BBC do a decent serialised version of this. Spend some money on it and get the casting right. In the meantime I'll just re-read the book. Customer Rating: Summary: Was it really worth all those five stars? Comment: After I've read the book and fell in love with it, I had to see the Hollywood film and was of course disappointed. Then I found this film here at Amazon and read the reviews claiming it was much better than the US-version. Since I've lately been watching a lot of Jane Austen adaptations from BBC I was ready to believe that it was that good. But I was sorely disappointed. Not only were the actors not much better than Scarlett & Co, the staging was very abrupt, cutting from one scene to the next without any fluency in the story. If you had not read the book, I suppose you would have been lost. Many important persons were cut out from the script, such as Cardinal Wolsey and Lady Rochford (George Boleyn's wife). I suppose making a 90 min. film from this book is just not possible. But to add to the disappointment, the quality of the picture was extremely bad. I was wondering if it was one of those pirate copies from Asia, filmed at the theatre. So, even though the price was all right I still recommend not to buy it.
![The Other Boleyn Girl [2003]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51kMUPmFCmL._SL160_.jpg)
