source: Deception

Having started the Masters of Cinema Lubitsch in Berlin box set on the day that the 2015 UK General Election took place, and recently watching again a number of the movies in the set (all also reviewed),I felt it was time to see the last remaining un-watched title in the set, which led to me meeting Boleyn. View on the film: Perfectly matching the other movies in the set, Masters of Cinema present a great transfer,with the original inter-titles being retained, and the print having a great level of detail. Stomping round his kingdom, Emil Jannings (the very first actor to win Best Actor at the Oscars) gives an excellent turn as Henry VIII, a big baby who bounces with glee when he gets what he wants, which is brushed aside with a furious temper tantrum, when Henry wants to throw away people he regards as mere playthings. Contrasting Jannings performance, Henny Porten gives a delicate performance as Boleyn, sparkling with youthful enthusiasm when she meet cute with Henry, which Porten gradually dims, as Boleyn confronts the reality of her marriage, and life facing the axe. Spanning aross a run time of over 2 hours, the screenplay by Hanns Kraly & Norbert Falk sadly struggles to build a real sense of the declining state of Henry and Boleyn's relationship, instead going for a stop/start approach, leading to awkward moments of lightness appearing straight after serious sequences of a marriage falling apart. Following from making Madame Dubarry a year earlier with another Costume Drama epic, direting auteur Ernst Lubitsch is joined by cinematographer Theodor Sparkuhl in bringing The Lubitsch Touch to the vast wide-shots of the glittering, richly detailed costumes and sets, expertly captured by Lubitsch with an inventive, stylish use of iris effects, emphasizing the physical, and psychologically imposing figure of Henry on Boleyn.

The Tudors come across as an unattractive bunch of schemers in this lavishly costumed but otherwise empty pageant played out in Germanic-looking settings in which the Lubitsch touch is little in evidence. Top-billed Henny Porten is too old and plain for the title role, while Emil Jannings makes King Henry a cold-eyed sexual predator.

1920's 'Anna Boleyn' was hardly one of those films doomed from the get go or anything. Ernst Lubitsch was a great director, whose best work in the 30s and 40s in principally comedy and romantic comedy is truly fantastic. Also think very highly of Emil Jannings, a silent film great and a regular of FW Murnau primarily. Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn were two of the most interesting historical figures and monarchs, Anne Boleyn is the most well known of his six wives and it's no wonder. So actually there was a good deal that 'Anna Boleyn' had going for it. My conclusions after seeing it fairly recently was that it was pretty decent with a lot of things working in its favour, it is an interesting film and worth seeing if you want to see Lubitsch early on in his career when he was doing silent films. Yet considering the director and subject, 'Anna Boleyn' also could have been better and there are far better representations of Lubitsch overall and even during this period. Will start with the not so good things about 'Anna Boleyn'. The pace can be erratic, a lot of things are covered and the handling of all the events covered read of depict this event, do a little with it but not deeply enough and then suddenly go onto the next event in a jumpy way, which made some of the storytelling choppy. It is slightly bland at times, the sophistication is there but that is pretty much it when it comes to how Lubitsch's style comes across here. This was at a point where he was still properly finding his style and his strengths and experimenting instead, and while his direction is actually pretty good there's not an awful lot that's distinct. 'Anna Boleyn' has a good deal of great things though. It looks mighty impressive, even now, with very lavish costumes and sets. Captured intimately, while keeping it simple, and fluidly on camera. Lubitsch's direction may not be distinct yet but it's hardly indifferent or ill at ease and handles the big moments quite well. Although Henny Porten is agreed too old for the title role, she is still regal and affecting and doesn't make Anne stock or a caricature (even if she does overdo it at times). Jannings is suitably imposing, one watches him in awe and fear portraying this fascinating yet difficult monarch. They work beautifully together in regard to their chemistry. The acting didn't seem too histrionic or static and interaction seemed natural. The story is far from perfect by any stretch, but it compels enough and kept me entertained and moved enough. It's played straight which is appropriate for the subject. The outcome is not in doubt for anybody that knows anything about Anne Boleyn, but that doesn't stop the final moments leaving me misty-eyed. The music could have had more breathing space but did appreciate that it didn't go over the top in instrumentation or mood. Overall, not great but worth a look for anybody interested in seeing early Lubitsch. 6.5/10

This movie earns a 7--because, for its time, it was a heck of a movie. The sets and costumes (mostly which were from the proper period--though some, to the trained eye, were not) are quite impressive. It's obvious that director Ernst Lubitsch was given a huge budget to create this film--and it's better looking than the Hollywood productions of the same period. In fact, today few would realize that the some of the most incredibly complex and expensive productions of this time were German--not American. It was only in the mid to late 1920s that the American films became the best-known and best made. You just can't find a film from 1920 or so that looks better. Unfortunately, looks alone do NOT make a great film. For someone who wants the truth behind the second marriage of Henry VIII, this is NOT a great film--as many of the facts were clearly wrong. Despite what the movie shows, Anne was Henry's mistress for some time before he got around to marrying her AND the process by which the English separated from the authority of the Pope was NOT the quick process you see in the film--it took years. As a history teacher, this film isn't terrible historically--but it still should have been a lot better. And, if you are going to play fast and loose with the facts, then why not at least make the film more interesting? Overall, the film lumbers during its two hour air time and more recent films (NOT "The Other Bolyne Girl"--which was also a mess historically-speaking) such as "Anne of the Thousand Days" and "The Six Wives of Henry the Eighth" are more accurate and interesting. Decent but far from as good as it could have been its sumptuous treatment. Plus, while a Lubitsch film, there's little trace of his famed "Lubitsch touch" here in this pretty but rather dull film.

Silent historical drama based on the story of Anne Boleyn, newly arrived lady-in-waiting to the Queen who catches the lustful eye of Henry VIII, bad-tempered King of England who loves to feast, drink, hunt, be entertained by his court jester, watch jousts, and chase around after young beauties who jump out of cakes and assorted attractive females around the castle. Well, he's soon annulled his marriage, married Anne, and telling her it is her holy duty to produce a male heir. She fails on that score and he soon has his eye on yet another lady-in-waiting. Meanwhile, Anne spends pretty much the entire film looking hesitant, perturbed, or downright ready to burst into tears. She just doesn't come across as a happy camper (or is it just bad acting?!). This film is a solid piece of entertainment, with an absorbing story that held my interest for two hours - plus I enjoyed seeing the very lavish medieval costuming featured here on a gorgeous sepia tinted print. Emil Jannings is quite striking and memorable in his well-done portrayal of King Henry the Eighth - he really seemed like he WAS Henry the Eighth. I am not so sure about the performance given by the actress who plays Anne, seemed a bit over the top. The DVD of this film features an appropriate, nicely done piano score that perfectly suits this story. Quite a good film.

I am sure most readers here have already heard of the character of "Anna Boleyn" and this film here is early German filmmaker Ernst Lubitsch's take on her story. This is a silent black-and-white film and was made before Lubitsch's (and Kräly's" breakthrough in Hollywood. Unfortunately, I was not too impressed watching this one. In the current DVD version, it runs for a couple seconds under 2 hours, which is really long and painful to watch almost, especially for a silent film. Apart from that, the film needed definitely a lot more intertitles. I personally thought from a visual perspective this was a decent film, but the lack of color of course hurts in the way we perceive the pompous sets, art direction and costumes. All in all, I personally definitely enjoy Lubitsch's comedies when it comes to his earlier works and not even the presence of Emil Jannings could make this one worth watching for me. I do not recommend it. Thumbs down

I must admit that I fell asleep while watching this movie. It is simply too long. People who are interested in Ernst Lubitsch's work before he went to Hollywood might find it interesting, though. As a matter of fact, it is a well directed movie. Maybe there are no classical Lubitsch touches to be found. Nonetheless, I found the way the story was presented original and engrossing. There are many superbly choreographed mass scenes on stage sets as well as in outdoor settings. There can be no doubt that the makers of Anna Boleyn wanted to accomplish an artistic achievement. The set design and especially the wardrobe are fantastic. The people responsible for that must have made a thorough study of period paintings. I had the impression that many poses of the actors were also derived from Renaissance painting. Lubitsch's task might have been to lighten the whole thing up, and I could not say he did a bad job. My favorite scene is a kind of a summer entertainment for the king. On a large meadow a group of people play something like badminton, but they are evenly distributed over the whole area, and the balls fly in all directions. It happens what must happen, Anne Boleyn's ball lands at the feet of the king who already had an eye on her and seizes a racket to challenge her. The next ball lands in a grotesquely artificial copse with high weeds into which both the king and Anna plunge, together with the court jester. An interesting detail: the movie has on several occasions shots of people with different aspect ratios from the other shots. The aim seems to be to highlight certain bodies or poses by framing them. This intensifies the reference to classical artwork but also irritates when there are quick cuts between a special focus and a more general aspects.

In those years when the cinema had no voice it was truly an international medium. Stories from other lands could be brought to the screen by the movie industry of another country. One of Greta Garbo's sound films for MGM had her playing an English lady. And here Emil Jannings whose inability to speak the King's English and forced him to return to Germany plays that most English of monarchs Henry VIII. In this Jannings joined a great pantheon of English speaking players like Charles Laughton, Montagu Love, Charlton Heston, and Robert Shaw who all played the monarch who changed wives like some change underwear. Jannings is an impressive looking and acting Henry VIII. A man whose pleasures mingled with his impassioned search for a woman to bear him a male heir and the politics of Europe. Henny Polen whose career spanned five decades in the German cinema plays the luckless Anne. By the way another reviewer thought her not sexy enough to leave a king panting. In fact director Ernst Lubitsch must have seen Tudor era portraits of Anne because Polen look a lot like Boleyn. The Lubitsch touch which everyone talks about in his talkie Hollywood films is not here as such. But Lubitsch was quite detailed in his sets and costumes in what must have cost many marks in post war Germany. They look very much Tudor England and compare them with those of Warner Brothers The Prince And The Pauper where Montagu Love was Henry VIII. This is worth a look.

Continuing with the exclusive film programme about complicated relationships in some European courts, last night in the Schloss theatre was shown "Anna Boleyn", a film directed by the great Teutonic film director Herr Ernst Lubitsch. The film depicts the terrible story of the Queen consort of the British King Henry VIII. She was executed by her husband ( well, not exactly, the King ordered the executioners to do his dirty work) not to mention that this marriage caused an important political and religious historical event, the English Reformation. The film stars Dame Henny Porten, Germany's first screen superstar during those early years and Herr Emil Jannings, Germany's fattest actor in that silent era. Both play their characters in a suitable way; Dame Porten as an innocent aristocrat who becomes progressively interested in the power that the court offers her and Herr Jannings as the unscrupulous, whimsical and womanizing British monarch, a character very suitable for this German actor who overacts appropriately, given the extravagance and excessive personality of the character himself. In the early film period Herr Lubitsch was known for his outstanding costume films, colossal productions with big budgets ( "Anna Boleyn" cost about 8 million marks, a fortune even for this German count ) taking great care in magnificent decors as can be seen during the coronation procession in Westminster Abbey scene which employed 4.000 extras ( idle Germans of that time were used, causing revolutionary workers to create a fuss when German President Friedrich Ebert visited the set during filming). Besides the spectacle, one of the most important aspect of this and every film of Herr Lubitsch, even during his epic period, is the complex relationship between the main characters. We experience a game of different interests, double meanings, and the complicated art of flirting but what is treated lightly at first ends in tragedy. The importance of those historical facts is brought to bear in an effective way but Lubitsch is really more interested in the changing relationship between Henry VIII and Anna Boleyn. And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must take care that one of his fat and rich heiress doesn't lose her head for this Teutonic aristocrat. Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/