Lady Jane (1985)

Birthright and power after Hentry VIII's death

Well, we all more or less know the story of Henry VIII and his reign. Most of it is attributed to his many wives and his effort to separate England from the Catholic Church. But once King (Henry VIII and his son Edward) died, court had to deal with counry that is divided by church, religion and potential fight on who will inherit the throne. Lady Jane was Henry's nice, daughter of his siter Frances. Young and well educated, she is an idealist who is being used for political purposes by the court advisors and her own parents. Without being groomed for power and reign, she is ill equipped to lead the country that is in trouble politically, economically and spiritually. Newly married, she is deeply influenced by her husband and her own strong will. It does not take long before Mary, her cousin and Henry's daughter with his marriage with Catherine of Aragon of Spain takes action to regain her crown and her birthright to reign Englad, Ireland and France. With the help of the Spanish Army, Mary reclaims her throne and eventually executes her cousin Lady Jane, pretender to the throne. Young Helena Bonham Carter gives wonderful performance of a young woman (Lady Jane) from aristocratic family, ill prepared for the duties her family laid out for her in unprecedented political coup that lasted only 9 days and took lives of most of her family, including her father and her husband. January 5, 2009

An enjoyable story although not entirely true to history

"Lady Jane" is a really enjoyable film; it features very bravo performances by the two leads as well as good work by Patrick Stewart as the Machiavellian father. The costumes are good, and the film does a very good job showing that people of this period really did consider controversies of religious dogma to be life or death matters for which people did indeed die. The love story between Jane Grey and her husband makes for a better story, but it is apparently bad history as in fact Jane was completely at the mercy of her father and forced in to what was, in reality, a loveless political marriage.

Nor were Jane and her husband the rebellious social reformers that the film depicts. Once again, this makes for a better story but is not true to history. No matter. This is an enjoyable film that captures the flavor of a tumultuous period in history during which time most Europeans lived in poverty without hope or liberty. Recommended for its entertainment value if not its fidelity to historical accuracy. December 28, 2008

PRETTY BAD HISTORICAL DRAMA

This movie was SO awful, dreary and depressing that my friend and I stopped watching it about 1 hour into it - we couldn't take it anymore!! And we are both HUGE Tudor history fans. But this film was just awful in every way; it was a total waste of money and I wish I could return it!!!

If you want to see REAL Tudors drama with fabulous acting, great scenery and extraordinary costumes, check out The Tudors on Showtime - do yourself a favor and don't bother with "Lady Jane"! November 14, 2008

Sweet movie

Lovely movie, wonderful acting, but the the love story between Lady Jane and Guilford is not historically correct. If your looking for a love story and just a little history, hollywood style, this is a good movie. September 15, 2008

Lady Jane

Lovely story with a fairytale style theme. It was a different look at what could have been in times where love was not the norm for people in the Tudor era. September 15, 2008

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