Posted: Wed., Dec. 31, 1969, 11:00pm PT

Anne of the Thousand Days

(UK)

By Variety Staff

Universal. Director Charles Jarrott; Producer Hal B. Wallis; Writer Bridget Boland, John Hale; Camera Arthur Ibbetson Editor Richard Marden; Music Georges Delerue Art Maurice Carter, Lionel Couch

Richard Burton Genevieve Bujold Irene Papas Anthony Quayle John Colicos Michael Hordern

With Richard Burton as Henry VIII and Genevieve Bujold in the title role of Anne Boleyn, Anne of the Thousand Days is a stunning-acted, sumptuous, grand-scale widescreen drama of the royal bed chamber and political intrigues that created the Church of England.

Although Burton's portrayal is sensitive, vivid and arresting, it is still basically an unsympathetic role.

The screenplay, as adapted by Richard Sokolove, based on Maxwell Anderson's stage play, bristles with sharp epigrammatic dialog.

In his first feature film, TV director Charles Jarrot frames his Renaissance pageant handsomely and handles the skilled cast to achieve an effective uniform period style. However, there is a basically stagey pace to the drama that makes it more static and less cinematic than it might have been.

1969: Best Costume Design.

Nominations: Best Picture, Actor (Richard Burton), Actress (Genevieve Bujold), Supp. Actor (Anthony Quayle), Screenplay, Cinematography, Art Direction, Original Score, Sound

(Color) Widescreen. Available on VHS. Extract of a review from 1970. Running time: 145 MIN.