Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Anne of the Thousand Days Blu-ray Movie Review

. . .but who's counting?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 24, 2018

As is discussed at least in passing in our Lost Horizon Blu-ray review, when that 1973 (perceived) debacle debuted to withering reviews and absolutely stagnant box office, a lot of the blame was placed on director Charles Jarrott, this despite the fact that even some of the musical’s most vociferous deriders mentioned that the first section of the remake was a virtual shot by shot recreation of Frank Capra’s iconic 1937 version of James Hilton’s legendary tale. What makes the disparagement of Jarrott perhaps even stranger is that he had at that point in his career relatively recently directed two films* which had garnered a bevy of Academy Award nominations, even if both of them had also been less than universally acclaimed by the critical class. In fact, Anne of the Thousand Days claimed the top spot in terms of number of Oscar nominations for films released in 1969, with a total of ten nods (They Shoot Horses, Don't They? came in second with nine, while Hello, Dolly!, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and eventual Best Picture winner Midnight Cowboy each scored “only” seven per film). Anne of the Thousand Days’ triumph with the nominating committees of the Academy evidently raised eyebrows even back in 1970, when the nominations were announced, with some claiming that Universal had literally wined and dined Academy members in order to help “persuade” them to vote for the film in various categories. As Oscar junkies may know, Anne of the Thousand Days only ended up bringing home one actual statuette, for Margaret Furse’s sumptuous costumes, but several of the other folks who garnered nominations for both performances and “below the line” technical contributions to the film certainly delivered professional, and perhaps even passionate, accountings of their work. Anne of the Thousand Days is a little stiff at times, and it certainly veers from the actual historical record, but Richard Burton tears into his portrayal of Henry VIII with some relish, and Genevieve Bujold, who won the Golden Globe that year in addition to receiving an Academy Award nomination, makes for a winsome if also incredibly steely Anne Boleyn.

Kind of interestingly, given the outsized emotions involved, the story of Henry VIII has evidently only been translated into the operatic sphere once, by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, but the over the top histrionics that often define opera are on display virtually from the get go in Anne of the Thousand Days, as King Henry VIII (Richard Burton) is informed by Thomas Cromwell (John Colicos) that Queen Anne Boleyn (Genevieve Bujold) has been convicted of adultery (among other crimes) and that the warrant for her execution is now needing a kingly signature in order for Anne’s head to be divorced from her body (sorry, couldn’t resist). Most of the rest of the film is an extended flashback detailing the relationship of Henry and Anne, a relationship fraught with intrigue from the very beginning due to the fact that Henry was of course already married to Catherine of Aragon (Irene Papas). While the adaptive screenplay (based on a play by Maxwell Anderson) keeps the focus squarely on the intimate (in more ways than one) story of Henry and Anne, there is a good deal of contextualizing also offered, as Henry attempts to navigate not just the rough waters of a kind of dysfunctional ménage à trois, but also the whole religious aspect that plays into things, since Henry initially attempts to receive a Papal annulment of his marriage to Catherine.

Anne of the Thousand Days is the kind of historical epic that frankly probably would have been more at home in the early to mid-sixties, rather than at the close of a very tumultuous decade. In fact, the film’s trailer makes a brief if fitful reference to producer Hal Wallis’ Becket, which of course also starred Richard Burton, and there’s the same attention to period detail in this film that helped to inform the 1964 opus. Performances are uniformly excellent throughout (I personally would have given John Colicos a Supporting Actor nomination in addition to the one granted Anthony Quayle, and Irene Papas also does fantastic work), and everything from the film’s cinematography to its score are tasteful and often even opulent.

But the “times” just didn’t seem to be right for this film in 1969, and in that regard it’s kind of interesting to contrast it with another then relatively recent film that, as different as it obviously is from Anne of the Thousand Days, also took over two decades to make it from its Broadway iteration to the big screen. Finian's Rainbow was a huge hit on the Great White Way in 1947, but by the time it made it to the screen in 1968, it seemed weirdly quaint and (to some, anyway) perhaps even objectionable given some of its underlying racial content. At least somewhat similarly, Anne of the Thousand Days enjoyed a respectable but hardly record breaking run in New York in 1948, and then, like Finian’s Rainbow, languished for around 21 years before it made it to film. While the “history” the play depicted obviously hadn’t changed, the cultural zeitgeist certainly had, and despite a treasure trove of Oscar nominations, audiences just seemed nonplussed by yet another big historical epic.

*Jarrott's other multi Oscar nominated pre-Lost Horizon entry is 1971's Mary, Queen of Scots, which doesn't look like it's been released yet domestically on Blu-ray. This might seem like an optimal time for some enterprising label to bring that one out, what with the "new, improved" (?) version that's currently hitting multiplexes.

Anne of the Thousand Days Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Anne of the Thousand Days is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.36:1. Culled from the Universal catalog, this release sports a generally very pleasing appearance, with some excellent fine detail noticeable in things like the fur collar on Henry's outfits or some of the sumptuous brocaded finery that some of the women wear. The palette is arguably just a bit faded, but really still pops with some considerable energy throughout, though I personally thought some of the reds looked a tad on the orange side. There is a noticeable and nicely resolved grain field throughout the presentation. Occasional establishing shots can look a bit rough, even divorced from any extenuating circumstances like optical dissolves. As perhaps should be expected, the outdoor scenes probably pop the best, and it's many of these scenes that the palette really looks most vivid. Arthur Ibbetson received a deserved Academy Award nomination for his work here, and the use of so many authentic locations really adds to the overall feel of the film.

Anne of the Thousand Days Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Anne of the Thousand Days features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix which capably supports Georges Delerue's lovely Oscar nominated score (which interpolates some authentic era specific music along with his original creations), as well as providing clear and problem free rendering of dialogue. Several of the outdoor sequences also benefit from realistic sounding ambient environmental effects.

Anne of the Thousand Days Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Theatrical Trailer (480p; 1:34) is kind of interesting in that it's narrated by producer Hal Wallis.


• Isolated Music Track is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, and sounds a bit brighter and fuller than the actual soundtrack iteration.

Anne of the Thousand Days Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If and when Kino Lorber releases Sweet Charity on Blu-ray, I'll share yet another salient example of what a complete geek I am, but suffice it to say the Fosse film was the only other Universal release from 1969 to garner any Academy Award nominations (how I know that is the subject of my geek "infirmity"). Sweet Charity attempted to market itself as "the musical film of the 1970s", this despite the fact that it was released in 1969, but Anne of the Thousand Days is definitely a throwback of sorts to the big historical epics that had helped define the earlier years of the sixties, as perhaps is documented by the trailer included on this Blu-ray, where the film is marketed with a reference to Becket. Anne of the Thousand Days is handsome and at least somewhat literary, but it's also a bit staid. I personally have really loved the film from the first time I saw it, despite its arguable overlength and occasional sluggishness, and for any other fans of the film, this release offers nice video and audio, even if supplements are sparse. Recommended.