wolf hall

I was bored watching it for the first time, but was interrupted by a phone call, so I watched it again last night and enjoyed it. I hadn't read the books [most people I've spoken to have]. I was a bit distracted with so many characters being played by well know people [kept expecting Mark Gatiss to say 'are you local' etc] and thought that Anne Boleyn was totally lacking in charisma. I'm probably getting a bit fed up of dramatisations about that period of history and keep wondering what would have happened had Catherine had a boy who lived or Henry hadn't met Anne [what would people make films/write books/make tv series about?]. Often wonder what made men follow paths in those days that would most probably lead to execution when they could have had a comfortable life following their chosen career. It was interesting to read that Anne, who was not beloved by the people she was queen of, had wanted confiscated money from the monasteries to go to help the poor and not to the Kings coffers. I look forward to next weeks episode [it still isn't a patch on Game of Thrones, though!!]. Something else that interested me was that they said at the start that Anne had a verbal agreement with the Percy boy, because I'd seen another programme explaining that a marriage was legally binding in those days even if two people just announced that they were married with no paperwork [or even witnesses?] of any kind.
 
For me it was the performances but also the knowledge it's unwinding into quite a tale. I thought rylance and pryve were mesmerising. Im usually pretty cool on costume dramas but this is different class
 
I like it a lot.
The acting is superb. The production values are top class (instance, the night-time scenes are shot in real candlelight with special cameras for authenticity).
And the little pieces of humour lift it above the usual dryness of historical dramas.
Top marks from me.
 
I tried to read the book but had to stop, found it very hard going, and fell asleep watching the first episode but it's been a long week at work, but what I did see looked very good, and glad the language is not too far from realistic. Anne and Henry Percy, it is believed, went through a 'ceremony' where they pledged marriage to each other, and back then that would have been enough for grounds to divorce if Henry, the King, had wanted it. Wolsey warned both of them that it was never going to happen in reality, she being too low-born, him the opposite, and this has led to some believing that Anne had a 'campaign' against Wolsey once she had won the heart/ears of Henry V111. In one of those twists of fate in history, Percy was one of those who sat in judgement of Anne at her trial and some reports suggest he was visibly upset at the verdict. There was a really good documentary on two weeks ago about Anne's downfall and the rapidity of it with various historians giving facts about those fateful weeks, and what evidence survives pointing at who exactly was responsible for her ultimate demise.
 
clivex said:
For me it was the performances but also the knowledge it's unwinding into quite a tale. I thought rylance and pryve were mesmerising. Im usually pretty cool on costume dramas but this is different class
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An infrequent event. I agree 100% with Cx. Rylance has the most subtle and nuanced face of any actor alive. This is critical - in the books the world can turn on a raised eyebrow.
 
I enjoyed it the second time because I really concentrated; the devil is in the detail. Although, alas, I think all politics of it will confuse me.
 
I was looking forward to this, and wasn't disappointed. It was understated - slow if you like - but the slow burn nicely anticipates what I'm sure will be an intriguing and involved tale. The acting was first-class and Mr Rylance does indeed have a remarkable - and apt -physiognomy

A world away from that godawful series 'The Tudors' which was essentially 21st century in-yer-face machismo buttoned-up in 16th century doublet-and-hose aimed at those with minimal attention spans

If programmes of Wolf Hall's calibre foretell what else the BBC have in store for us in 2015 then the thinking couch potato is in for a jolly good time
 
True; however, in retrospect, Natalie Dormer was a far more convincing Anne Bolyn than the one in Wolf Hall [thus far, anyway...].
 
She got very good reviews and awards for it though, I think. Read a review last night by someone that has seen a few more episodes and they said the 'new' Anne Boleyn is, in fact, very good [they'd questioned the casting initially] so I'm hoping to change my mind over the course of the series.
 
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