Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

The White Princess Blu-ray Movie Review

The real life War of the Roses.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 12, 2017

In his The White Queen Blu-ray review, my colleague Martin Liebman pointed to a number of other properties that shared at least some elements in common with this series based on the devastating War of the Roses, shows like The Borgias: The Complete First Season, Da Vinci's Demons: The Complete First Season, The Pillars of the Earth, World Without End and Spartacus: Blood and Sand - The Complete First Season. While it doesn’t share the same (at times pseudo) historical ambience of some of the foregoing entries, I’d point to another insanely popular enterprise for a fitting analog to some of the palace intrigue that’s on display in both The White Queen and its kinda sorta sequel, The White Princess, namely Game of Thrones: The Complete Seasons 1-6. This particular comparison is perhaps even more apt since both Game of Thrones and The White Princess often focus on female characters trying to come to terms with their own tenuous grasp on power. Of course Game of Thrones posits females who supposedly do have power (at least in name), while The White Princess tends to deal with the female characters in its story as both the figurative and literal “powers behind the throne”. The White Queen gave a soap operatic tour through the War of the Roses, albeit from a decidedly gynocentric point of view, something that gave that series its distinctive if historically questionable perspective. The White Princess continues focusing on the female side of the power equation, with an emphasis on Elizabeth of York (Jodie Comer), who is betrothed to King Henry VII (Jacob Collins-Levy), this despite the fact that neither can stand the other and the fact that Elizabeth had been involved in a widely known dalliance with (not to mention also previously betrothed to) Henry’s nemesis at the Battle of Bosworth, Richard III.

I was a little shocked a couple of years ago when I found a bunch of old journals from my teen years and discovered I had handwritten a complete genealogy of the entire history of British royalty, something I assume I must have done in conjunction with a reading of some of Shakespeare’s histories. Interestingly, Shakespeare tends to gloss over some of the details that are covered in both The White Queen and The White Princess, and the Bard is certainly not as concerned with some of the power struggles experienced by the females in the Houses of York, Lancaster and Tudor, since Shakespeare is often focused squarely on the male side of the equation. There are a number of fascinating intersections between the White properties and the Shakespeare canon, however, and those with at least an acquaintance with Shakespeare’s recountings of what was for him relatively recent history will find some of this series’ rejiggerings intriguing if not always accurate feeling.

Hopefully without sounding too cheeky, I was reminded of the old sitcom The Mothers-In-Law while watching The White Princess, since a lot of the soap operatic turmoil that attends the story comes courtesy of the parents of the royal spouses. In a way, this more or less perfectly mirrors Janet McTeer’s towering performance in The White Queen as that show’s title character’s mother. Here Elizabeth’s mother is that erstwhile White Queen, Elizabeth Woodville (played in this series by Essie Davis), scheming as best she can to provide for her daughter while also trying to keep the rest of her family safe. One of this series’ most fascinating sidebars is the story of Perkin Warbeck, a pretender to the throne whose story is woven into that of Teddy Plantagenet, Elizabeth’s cousin. This story actually intersects with some scheming on the part of Henry's mother, who is understandably concerned about what seems to be her son's at times tenuous grasp on the reins of power.

The White Princess exploits the same sort of steamy ambience that has informed a number of other florid cable television outings (including most if not all of the many entertainment offerings linked to above). As such it often tends to forsake historical accuracy for salaciously themed sequences that revolve around passions (not necessarily sexual, but, well, often sexual) out of control. The series caps every episode with a bit of a disclaimer warning folks not to take the “history” as fact (in so many words, anyway), and as such the series is probably best enjoyed as a fanciful diversion rather than an insightful dissection of what was actually going on as the Tudors took over control of British governance.

One thing the series does exceedingly well is show how the women of this time managed to eke out their own power even as societal morés kept them ostensibly powerless. Elizabeth is a particularly compelling heroine in this regard, forced into complying with certain aspects of her newly married life while also refusing to bend to other demands. The physical production here is generally opulent, especially with regard to costumes and sets, though some of the CGI, especially in a few outdoor establishing shots, doesn’t quite have the ring of authenticity.

The White Princess Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The White Princess is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate, Starz and Anchor Bay with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. I haven't been able to track down definitive technical information on the shoot, other than that director of photography Chris Seager seems to like shooting with Arri Alexa cameras, and my hunch is this production may have been digitally captured that way, as well. This presentation offers generally robust detail and fine detail levels in elements like the opulent costumes or appointments in the castles and other housing environments. Fine detail is also excellent on items like the roughhewn stone interior walls of the dreaded Tower of London. The palette is just a bit on the restrained side to my eyes, though some rich burgundies and other hues toward the purple end of things look nicely rich. Outdoor scenes have considerable depth and good detail even in some wide shots, and most interior shots have decent and at times quite excellent shadow definition. There are no issues with compression anomalies or image instability.

The White Princess Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The White Princess features a great sounding Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track, one which regularly utilizes the surround channels to create a lifelike recreation of elements like the echo filled halls of the cavernous corridors of power where Henry and Elizabeth often walk through gargantuan interior spaces, or, alternatively, nicely placed ambient environmental effects when the courtiers venture out of doors into one of the gorgeously appointed greenspaces surrounding their fortresses. The series' score is also splayed nicely throughout the surrounds. While dialogue tends to be anchored front and center, it's always clearly delivered and well prioritized on this problem free track.

The White Princess Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unfortunately, neither of the discs in this two disc set feature any supplementary material. I would have loved some kind of historical featurette looking into some of the actual characters from a more factual standpoint.

The White Princess Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The War of the Roses whimsically borrowed one of history's best known skirmishes for its title, though that film's depiction of a roiling marriage could itself be used as a description for some of the elements informing The White Princess. One thing this series did was make me highly interested in what "really" happened, and in fact I spent a good deal of time reading various online articles about various characters, especially Perkin Warbeck, who really deserves a standalone miniseries of his own. English history buffs may roll their eyes at some of the fanciful reinventions The White Princess employs, but it often feels accurate, especially in its portrayal of the female perspective on its epochal events. The production qualities are generally quite high throughout the series, and the performances, while occasionally overheated in true soap operatic fashion, also are enjoyable. Technical merits are strong, and even without supplements The White Princess comes Recommended.