Anne, a Thousand Ways: 16th Century Passion Never Goes Out of Style

The opening of “The Other Boleyn Girl,” a lavish Hollywood production starring Natalie Portman as Anne Boleyn, Scarlett Johansson as her sister Mary and Eric Bana as King Henry VIII, has reminded us of how often the story of Henry, his wives and mistresses has stirred the passions of moviemakers and fans.

Based on Philippa Gregory’s novel, the new film proffers the idea that Henry, while still married to Queen Catherine of Aragon, took Mary Boleyn as his mistress and that she bore him an illegitimate child. Later, Mary was replaced in Henry’s affections by her own sister, Anne, who succeeded in getting the king to finally end his marriage to Catherine and marry Anne.

As we all know, Anne then suffered the similar fate of falling out of Henry’s favor.

Gregory’s novel, published in 2002, was an instant best-seller and put the spotlight on Mary Boleyn for the first time.

But according to Antonia Fraser, a historian and author of “The Wives of Henry VIII,” while Mary Boleyn had been one of King Henry’s mistresses, she never had a child with him.

The historical facts are that Henry schemed to get an annulment from his lengthy marriage to Spain’s Catherine of Aragon after she was unable to give birth to a son who could survive infancy. When Pope Clement VII refused to grant the annulment, Henry dissolved England’s ties to Rome and formed an English church, with himself as its head, in 1532.

He secretly married Anne Boleyn, an intelligent and ambitious commoner who had been one of Catherine’s ladies in waiting, in January 1533. But after she gave birth to a daughter (the future Elizabeth I) and had a miscarriage with a son, the king grew tired of Anne and began to pursue Jane Seymour. When Anne refused the king’s offer of an annulment, his henchmen cooked up bogus charges of adultery against her, and she was executed in 1536.

Mary Boleyn lived until about 1543, when she apparently died of natural causes.

Here are some movies and TV miniseries about the Boleyns and King Henry VIII.

_”The Private Life of Henry VIII” (1933)

Charles Laughton won the best actor Academy Award for his somewhat over-the-top portrayal of an expansive, pouty and emotional Henry in this big-budget British film directed by Alexander Korda. Merle Oberon’s Anne Boleyn receives less time on screen than some of Henry’s other wives _ the film actually begins with her execution _ particularly Anne of Cleves (played by Elsa Lanchester, Laughton’s spouse in real life).

(Available on DVD from Allied Artists Classics, $24.95)

_”A Man for All Seasons” (1966)

Although she’s on screen for only a few seconds and has no dialogue, Vanessa Redgrave is so gorgeous, so stunningly vivacious as Anne, that we see why Henry VIII (Robert Shaw) was so taken by her. As director Fred Zinnemann said: “For Anne we needed an actress who, in 45 seconds, could convince the audience that she was capable of changing the course of an empire …” Redgrave gives one of the great cameo performances in movie history in this multiple Oscar winner about Henry’s nemesis, Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield).

(Available on DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, $14.94)

_”Anne of the Thousand Days” (1969)

This big, lavish production received 10 Oscar nominations _ including ones for best picture and for stars Genevieve Bujold as Anne and Richard Burton as Henry VIII _ but won only for its costume design. Director Charles Jarrott’s film is quite accurate in its period detail yet way off the mark in depicting the relationship between Anne and King Henry. Historian Fraser (in an essay in the book “Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies”) describes the movie’s plot as “a totally unhistorical love affair between Henry and Anne in which somehow `The Taming of the Shrew’ meets `Gone With the Wind.’”

Still, it’s the only major film among the Henry VIII movies to focus largely on Anne. Some have noted that Bujold bore a striking resemblance to some famous portraits of Anne, and that Bujold’s French-accented English (the actress is a French Canadian from Montreal) was historically accurate, as Anne was educated in France.

(Available on DVD, packaged with “Mary, Queen of Scots,” from Universal Studios Home Entertainment, $19.98)

_”The Other Boleyn Girl” (2003)

This 2003 BBC version of Gregory’s novel _ to be released on DVD on March 4, four days after the new movie version debuts _ stars Natascha McElhone as Mary Boleyn, Jodhi May as Anne and Jared Harris as Henry VIII. Director Philippa Lowthorpe had her cast improvise much of the dialogue.

(Available Tuesday on DVD from BBC Video, $19.98)

_”Henry VIII” (2003)

A Granada TV-PBS “Masterpiece Theatre” production, this stars Ray Winstone as Henry VIII and Helena Bonham Carter as Anne Boleyn. Bonham Carter garnered excellent reviews as Anne (better than Winstone received for his Cockney-accented king), and her character comes across very favorably _ scheming to be sure, but also intelligent, warm and exceedingly noble at her execution.

(Available on DVD from HBO Video, $29.98)

_”The Tudors: The Complete First Season” (2007)

Relative newcomer Natalie Dormer stars as Anne Boleyn in this Showtime TV series, with Jonathan Rhys Meyers playing Henry VIII. Dormer gives a strong performance, emphasizing Anne’s conniving and independent spirit, but this is Rhys Meyers’ show. Season 2 begins March 30 with Henry’s marriage to Anne.

(Available on DVD from Paramount Home Entertainment, $42.99)

In addition, the BBC had a 1970 TV series, “The Six Wives of Henry VIII,” in which Dorothy Tutin portrayed Anne Boleyn opposite Keith Michell. When a 1972 movie version was adapted from it, Charlotte Rampling took over the role of Anne Boleyn. A PBS documentary series by David Starkey, also titled “The Six Wives of Henry VIII,” aired in 2001, with narration and re-enactments; Julia Marsen played Anne Boleyn.

Finally, on “The Simpsons,” in Season 15′s 11th episode, “Margical History Tour,” which aired on Feb. 8, 2004, Lindsey Naegle (voiced by Tress MacNeille) played Anne Boleyn opposite Homer’s Henry VIII (Dan Castellaneta).

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Bruce Dancis: bdancis@sacbee.com

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