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brand new the tudor complete series (dvd)
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The First Season
The Tudors: The Complete First Season may cover the same subject
matter as the 1970 BBC series The Six Wives of Henry VIII, but in
every other respect it is a different idea of historical drama.
Sexy and violent, The Tudors envisions Henry VIII (Jonathan Rhys
Meyers) as a young man of both passion and ambition, driven by
boundless sexual energy and the desire to establish a legacy
early in his monarchy. When he isn't ing with any available
beauty--heedless of whose daughter or wife a lover might be--he's
getting fired up about going to war with France. He is amenable,
however, to alternative ideas, including the counsel of his Lord
Chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey (Sam Neill), who wants his king to
sign a treaty of universal peace with all of Europe. Henry's
fiery temperament endangers such a move, but Wolsey persists in
hopes of gaining France's support for his own, possible
ascendance to the papacy. His ambitions are not to be, however,
and his fortunes go downhill as Henry's desire to wed Ann Boleyn
(Natalie Dormer) puts Wolsey in the position of petitioning Rome
for a hearing on the legitimacy of Henry's marriage to Queen
Katherine.
Henry's shrewd alliance with the king of Spain is also testament
to his desire to have more influence over European affairs. But
his even greater desire for another woman proves an obstacle
there, too. Over the course of the ten episodes on The Complete
First Season, Henry's confidence grows as a monarch while his
self-interest undercuts his better judgement about making a
difference to Europe's progress. While the series makes the
historical events rich and captivating, it also makes Henry's
love life a voyeuristic delight, full of candlelit and
romps in the royal bed. Some of the most fascinating characters
in the show are those who figure out the link between Henry's
libido and his exercise of power--including Boleyn's own her
(Nick Dunning), who encourages Ann to keep up the good work.
Sheesh. --Tom Keogh
The Second Season
Power, sex, delusion and tragedy were hallmarks of The Tudors:
The Complete First Season, and they are all the more so in The
Complete Second Season. The story of Britain's King Henry VIII
(Jonathan Rhys Meyers), The Tudors is a dynamic history of a
kingdom whose role on the 16th century world stage seems largely
defined by Henry's narcissistic whims. Season two is very much
taken up with Henry's determination to break free of papal
authority in Rome and establish himself as head of England's
church--all because he seeks to divorce Queen Catherine (Maria
Doyle Kennedy) and marry Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer). Meanwhile,
poor Catherine is kept locked away from court, unable to see her
daughter Mary (Sarah Bolger) but refusing to relinquish her
throne despite such punishment. As for Anne, she enjoys Henry's
passion and commitment, but only to a point. When Henry marries
her (in a union not recognized by Rome nor many British subjects)
and she does not produce a male heir, his fickle attentions begin
to wander, and a grand power play by Anne's her, Thomas Boleyn
(Nick Dunning) begins to unravel. In time, Henry's focus shifts
to soon-to-be third wife Jane Seymour (Anita Briem), whom the
king sees as a symbol of his own redemption after the
complications of his love life to date. Toward the end of The
Complete Second Season, all the hints that Henry's lack of
scruples is leading to a full-scale psychological breakdown begin
to show, manifest in his many cruelties and--at the last
minute--a clear sign of his notorious gluttony to come. Other
stories woven into the colorful, lustful, intrigue-driven season
two concern the e of Henry's one-time mentor Sir Thomas More
(Jeremy Northam), who refuses to cooperate with Henry's attempted
separation from the Catholic faith and pays dearly for it. The
pope himself (Peter O'Toole) turns up in sometimes near-comical
responses to the king's intransigence, and the untimely e of
many interesting characters during Henry's wrathful sweep of his
court proves a shocking development mid-season. All the actors
are first-rate, even down to the smallest roles, and the show's
spare but compelling use of nudity and sex scenes makes The
Tudors powerful adult entertainment. --Tom Keogh