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Title: A ghastly mistake
Review: I have little to add to the other reviewers, who categorize this production's inadequacies most effectively. I merely want to emphasize the abysmal casting and mis-casting; take one example -- Emilia Fox was fine in "The Pianist." She just doesn't belong here. And as for Winstone? Well, Henry VIII had his vulgar side but he was profoundly concerned with the stature and dignity of his office and was not inclined to let his guard down in public. He was every inch a king, not every inch the bouncer down the pub.Fortunately, relief is at hand in the form of the 1969 BBC 6-parter which towers over this travesty and manages to get pretty much all of the details right. That legendary production is a miracle of fine writing, careful thought, superb acting, and judicious casting (Bernard Hepton was born to play Cranmer, and don't forget Basil Dignam as the awful Gardiner). It's as fresh and vivid as the day it was released!
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