Fairaher
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Raymond Sierra
The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
Bob
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
mmabruzzo-988-281485
I am a huge History buff, and when I saw an ad for this on TV two years ago, I thought "What a cool topic!" But then I saw the PBS logo and grew disheartened. From my experience, PBS documentaries often show the only good bits of the show in the trailer, and the rest is boring. This was FAR, FAR from the truth in this case! But fast forward two years, and I am sitting at home with nothing to do. I am scrolling through the IMDb pages of my favorite actors, trying to find something new to watch. On Tom Holland's page, I found Wolf Hall and remembered back to the ad from two years ago. I thought I'd give it a whirl. And boy was it fantastic. I will admit, all of the jumps in time were confusing at first, and Thomas' daughters looked like the daughters of his sister-in-law, adding to my confusion in some of the scenes. But once you get the hang of the time jumps, the show really shines. The acting was fantastic, Mark Rylance's performance especially. The political drama was not at all boring, and it was very satisfying to watch all of the pieces come together and to watch Cromwell's "playing of the game," as Petyr Baelish from Game of Thrones would call it. This is a must watch for all history buffs out there, as well as for anyone into a good political drama with relatable characters and a good plot. As a side note, I love to play a little game where I try to spot as many familiar actors as I can in a new show. Careful viewers might be able to spot King Theoden, Tycho Nestoris of the Iron Bank of Braavos, Qyburn, Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Captain Winters, the brother of the actor who plays Stannis Baratheon, and if you are really careful, Shireen Baratheon. Happy hunting!
Cinefill1
-Wolf Hall is a British television serial first broadcast on BBC Two in January 2015. The six-part series is an adaptation of two of Hilary Mantel's novels, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, a highly fictionalised biography documenting the rapid rise to power of Thomas Cromwell in the court of Henry VIII through to the death of Sir Thomas More, followed by Cromwell's success in freeing the king of his marriage to Anne Boleyn. Wolf Hall was first broadcast in April in the United States on PBS and in Australia on BBC First.-The series was a critical success and received eight nominations at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards and three nominations at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards, winning for Best Miniseries or Television Film.--Reception:-Critics have been "almost unanimous" in their praise of the show with particular reference to the costumes, sets and direction, as well as the performances of Rylance as Cromwell and Foy as Anne Boleyn. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the show a 100% rating based on 29 reviews with an average rating of 8.6/10. The critical consensus reads: "Beautifully filmed and brilliantly acted, Wolf Hall masterfully brings Hilary Mantel's award-winning novels to life." Sam Wollaston in The Guardian called it "sumptuous, intelligent, event television." Will Dean, writing for The Independent, gave it four out of five stars. He did not believe it compared favourably with the stage adaptation of the book, yet predicted it would "secure a devoted following." James Walton in The Daily Telegraph gave the first episode five stars out of five, commenting: "it's hard to see how this one could have been done much better." Audience figures did not reflect this, however, with a substantial fall between the first and second episode and complaints about the slow pacing.--Discussions on historical accuracy or ideological bias:-There has been criticism by some Roman Catholics of bias and inaccuracy in the series (a similar claim made with the novels), particularly regarding a perceived favorable depiction of Thomas Cromwell and an unfavorable depiction of Thomas More. Among Catholics, George Weigel has referred to the series as "Upmarket Anti-Catholicism".-Gregory Wolfe wrote in The Washington Post that Wolf Hall "will entertain millions – and threaten to distort history in the process", and noted scholarly opinions on Cromwell, More, and Henry VIII in support of his argument. Several American Catholic bishops have been similarly critical. -Elsewhere, several historians (including non-Catholics) have expressed concerns about historical inaccuracy in the series. -Constitutional historian David Starkey has said: To reach such a conclusion about More and Cromwell from the very difficult and complicated 16th-century sources is just silly. Both men believed in the idea of enforcing ideas on others by persecution and execution. They only disagreed which ideas. When pressed, Starkey stated a slight preference for More for dying "nobly with magnificent insouciance".-Simon Schama has stated concerns about how it depicts historical figures.
fiona_r_lamb
Just finished this series shown on PBS TV; I've had it on my pvr for a while and procrastinated for a while before switching it on. I also could not bring myself to binge-watch it. Instead it has taken me weeks. I struggled to get through it but I forced myself. It got better but there were times I fast-forwarded through bits, which is never a good sign. I did not find it that dark (lighting), as others have reported. But the pace felt glacial and I just didn't really believe/get behind any of the characters.This series was too dull/slow and "The Tudors" was the other extreme, too crazy, and both were unbelievable to me.However, I did cry during Anne Boleyn's last scene, realizing just how awful the King was. Cromwell being embraced by Henry just made me want to throw up.So, I'm glad I made myself watch until the bitter end but equally glad I'm done.
jdandtex-338-717921
I really enjoy watching Mark Rylance. I haven't read the series of book, but I've read a lot about the Tudor period. However,it was more of the six wives and Elizabeth I. So, I can't really say if this portrayal is what Cromwell and Wolsey were really like. They seem more human in this series than say, Anne of the Thousand Days or A Man for All Seasons or the great 1971 series, The Six Wives of Henry VIII. I will say this though, in my opinion, the best Henry VIII was still Keith Michell in that series. Going from a young idealist to old age as a sick tyrant gives a better portrait of him. The make up was astonishing and the costuming as he grew so fat, was excellent. Damien Lewis, so-so. Robert Shaw, I couldn't see it. And, Richard Burton, that was a poor choice in 1969's Anne of the Thousand Days. He always was a bit of a scenery chewer. Genevieve Bujold was an excellent Anne. I think that Claire Foy will do a very good job as Anne as we see more of her in the series. I've always have felt that Anne was wrongly accused. For a woman to accomplish what she did in her time was pretty incredible.Anyway, back to Wolf Hall. I do find it a little slow. I'll keep watching just for Mark Rylance. John Colicos, Leo McKern and Wolf Morris have played Cromwell, but their portrayals were a little out of touch and I couldn't relate that well with them. Mark Rylance breaks that. I can understand what Cromwell's points of view maybe were as a lowly born commoner. I think that there is a lot of contemporary speech in this series. I don't know if that's a plus or a minus when considering the subject matter and when the story takes place. I do know that I won't care to read the books. It would be pretty ponderous. I know that I don't have the patience.We'll see what episode three brings.
