Curious how a Documentary Drama has been compared to a Movie with the latter pronounced the "better". Just to remind the forgetful - movies are MADE UP and facts are twisted to enhance the drama of the piece. Is all history to be learned from movies? Why not appreciate both and recognize the difference?
This epic period in English history started the religious split of England from Rome - just so a monarch could get a divorce - and thereby changing the balance of control in the whole of Europe. Henry VIII changed the world by creating a separate religion of which he became the titular head. The current Royal Family has inherited this responsibility and even though the Church of England is sometimes confused with Protestantism it is very different from that German religion.
Recognize these facts and you can begin to appreciate the subtleties of the politicking and scheming of the Tudor period that everyday people as well as royalty had to employ just to stay off the rack. Catholics and non-Catholics had to play a delicate and dangerous game of allegiances.
Dr. David Starkey does a wonderful job making this series come to life. I found some of the dramatizations a little histrionic but Dr. Starkey keeps bringing us back to a plane of reality that allows us to understand the harshness, complexities and uncertainties of Tudor life. Henry VIII was not the last absolute monarch but he was the one we remember.
Imagine your own life condensed into edited highlights - how many seconds of film time did it take? Try it.
This epic period in English history started the religious split of England from Rome - just so a monarch could get a divorce - and thereby changing the balance of control in the whole of Europe. Henry VIII changed the world by creating a separate religion of which he became the titular head. The current Royal Family has inherited this responsibility and even though the Church of England is sometimes confused with Protestantism it is very different from that German religion.
Recognize these facts and you can begin to appreciate the subtleties of the politicking and scheming of the Tudor period that everyday people as well as royalty had to employ just to stay off the rack. Catholics and non-Catholics had to play a delicate and dangerous game of allegiances.
Dr. David Starkey does a wonderful job making this series come to life. I found some of the dramatizations a little histrionic but Dr. Starkey keeps bringing us back to a plane of reality that allows us to understand the harshness, complexities and uncertainties of Tudor life. Henry VIII was not the last absolute monarch but he was the one we remember.
Imagine your own life condensed into edited highlights - how many seconds of film time did it take? Try it.