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Reviews
Malachi's Cove (1973)
Past its sell by date
Corny old film shot in North Cornwall and the pretty village of Clovelly in Devon, both places are somewhere in England as another reviewer astutely pointed out. Awful Cornish accents ranging from Cockney through to Yorkshire with a bit of Ooo Arrgghh, Robert Newton pirate speak thrown in for good measure. Embarrassingly awful, particularly for those of us with West County heritage. The poor old donkey looks as if it has mange, which tells us a lot about the care that went into this film generally. Adapted from a story for children by Anthony Trollope. Could be Disneyfied to update it but not really for today's audiences.
The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family (2021)
Spoilt by the costume drama
Historically this is absolutely accurate and very good. Just one small historical inaccuracy, Anne Boleyn was not known for her beauty as we are told in the series. It was her personality, her charm and sophistication that made her so attractive. Tracey Borman, Tudor historian and curator of Historic Royal Palaces, has been very clear on this. However, I found the re-enactment unnecessary and rather amateurish. History dumbed down again. People are not so silly that they need a half cocked play going on in the background. The BBC have previously produced wonderful history programmes with Mary Beard, Simon Schama, David Dimbleby and more, where the audience has not had to endure a hammy pretence of the period in question taking place every few minutes.
The costumes and the hair styles are terrible and inaccurate. Norfolk is wearing knickerbockers which were not popular until the Elizabethan age. Wolsey is not seen wearing the Great Seal, Anne's hoods are not always right for the era and all the men have wild unkempt hair except for George Boleyn who has a style straight from the 1980's. Did they do this on the cheap, because it certainly looks like it.