Movie · 1969 · Drama, History, Romance · 2h 25m · PG · English
Curator score: 5.2/10 (13.2K ratings)
He was King. She was barely 18. And in their thousand days they played out the most passionate and shocking love story in history!
Overview
Henry VIII of England discards his wife, Katharine of Aragon, who has failed to produce a male heir, in favor of the young and beautiful Anne Boleyn.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.2/10
IMDb: 7.4/10
Letterboxd: 3.60/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 43%
TMDB: 7.1/10
Director
Charles Jarrott
Production
Hal Wallis Productions, Universal Pictures
Cast
Richard Burton, Geneviève Bujold, Irene Papas, Anthony Quayle, John Colicos, Michael Hordern, Katharine Blake, Peter Jeffrey, Joseph O'Conor, William Squire, Valerie Gearon, Vernon Dobtcheff, Gary Bond, Terence Wilton, Denis Quilley, Esmond Knight, Michael Johnson, Marne Maitland, Nora Swinburne, June Ellis
Curator Review
Verdict
A stately, sharply acted Tudor drama with real bite. It leans on performance, court politics, and the tragic mechanics of power rather than spectacle, and Geneviève Bujold and Richard Burton give it enough force to make the familiar history feel bruising and intimate.
Best for
viewers who like prestige historical dramas
fans of court intrigue and political maneuvering
people interested in Henry VIII/Tudor history
audiences who enjoy strong central performances and period dialogue
Skip if
you want fast pacing or modern-style editing
you prefer historically loose, swashbuckling spectacle
you need a deeply revisionist or overtly contemporary take on the material
you dislike old-school prestige drama and theatrical performance styles
Overview
Anne of the Thousand Days is a polished, emotionally severe Tudor drama that understands how much of history is made in private rooms. It treats Henry VIII less as a legend than as a volatile, insecure man whose appetite for control destroys everyone around him. The result is less pageant than power struggle, with the court as a machine that turns romance into state violence.
Worth noting
Geneviève Bujold gives Anne Boleyn a mix of intelligence, pride, and vulnerability that keeps the film from becoming a simple royal melodrama. Richard Burton, meanwhile, makes Henry both grand and grotesque, which is exactly the balance the film needs. Their scenes together carry the movie, and the dialogue has the crisp, fatalistic rhythm of classic prestige cinema.
Bottom line
It is not especially radical in form, but it is very effective in execution. The costumes, sets, and composed pacing all serve the same purpose: to make the collapse of a marriage feel like the collapse of a kingdom. For viewers who enjoy historical drama with strong performances and a tragic edge, it remains an easy recommendation.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Sam (3.5★) · 120 likes
Anne of the Thousand Days is a pretty great historical drama which follows Henry VIII and his pursuit of Anne Boleyn and the latter political and personal fallout that it leads to. It's just one of those great historical films in which the 60s seem to excel at, and that's down to a wonderful Richard Burton performance as the barbaric and deeply insecure Henry and who plays the tragic figure with such precision; it's just amazing stuff. The costumes and… more Anne of the Thousand Days is a pretty great historical drama which follows Henry VIII and his pursuit of Anne Boleyn and the latter political and personal fallout that it leads to. It's just one of those great historical films in which the 60s seem to excel at, and that's down to a wonderful Richard Burton performance as the barbaric and deeply insecure Henry and who plays the tragic figure with such precision; it's just amazing stuff. The costumes and… more
cait (4★) · 85 likes
as a kid my friend group would play as henry viii's wives and i would always be jane seymour — henry doesn't get rid of her, she's best choice, right? in hindsight i was sooo wrong. anne boleyn gives up on love and marries solely for the power and money…. miss anne of the thousands days we are kindred spirits. watch me project all my feelings on a women who's been dead for 500 years <3
panos75 (4★) · 69 likes
The story of the tumultuous relationship between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, his second wife and mother of Elizabeth I, which started as a torrid extramarital affair and ended with her beheading for failing to produce a male heir.
Engrossing historical drama that was unfairly maligned because it was nominated at the Oscars for Best Picture, taking the place of edgier films that better represented the new era dawning over Hollywood. This unrelated problem notwithstanding, it's a really good movie,… more
Brian Formo (3.5★) · 52 likes
Genevieve Bujold is ferocious as Anne Boleyn, the woman who forced a divorce of King Henry VIII (Richard Burton) and was executed for delivering the future Queen Elizabeth instead of a son, but it feels like there's one beat missing in Anne of the Thousand Days. And that's when she declares love for her matriarchal King. Anne is defiant from the get go, telling her actual lover that he should shed his British decency and take her before they're married,… more Genevieve Bujold is ferocious as Anne Boleyn, the woman who forced a divorce of King Henry VIII (Richard Burton) and was executed for delivering the future Queen Elizabeth instead of a son, but it feels like there's one beat missing in Anne of the Thousand Days. And that's when she declares love for her matriarchal King. Anne is defiant from the get go, telling her actual lover that he should shed his British decency and take her before they're married,… more
Mariah (4★) · 48 likes
Way more feminist then I was expecting a 60s movie to be. She did the best she could with the cards she was given and she fought to her very end and it was amazing to see. Bujold is just incredible to watch in this and really brought it in every single scene.
1933 · History, Drama · 1h 37m · NR · Curator 5.2/10 (10K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM Plus, Philo, Max, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A classic, more comedic portrait of Henry VIII that still captures the appetite and vanity of the king.
2021 · History, Drama, Action · 2h 33m · R · Curator 6.4/10 (550.5K ratings) · Where to watch: Hulu, fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
Shares the interest in gendered power, reputation, and the way institutions shape personal catastrophe.
Topics
historical drama, period piece, court politics, royalty, feminist subtext, tragic romance, prestige cinema, 1960s, costume drama