Greenes Please don't spend money on this.

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

ScoobyMint Disappointment for a huge fan!

George Kaplan At a time when special effects are king it is good to see some old fashioned story telling at work here. That's not to say the approach or the subject are in any way stale. This re telling of a final days of Henry VIII is done with much aplomb from director John Walsh. This is the first big screen outing for this director who was only twenty 26 when he wrote directed and produced this mini epic.The film had been lost for some time and recently it has be found, cleaned and given a modern HD rebirth, all to the good. This is one to watch late one night (stormy preferably to get the full effect.For many small budget first time efforts, it is a gore fest of young people bed hoping or gangsters swearing, spitting and fighting, so good to see John Walsh here making the effort and enlisting the considerable talents of the great T.P. McKenna playing a thunderous Henry and Jean Marsh playing an exquisitely restrained Queen, but which one?Suffice to say if you have any interest in this period, this is worth a look.

Josh Parsons It's not often you see a debut director take on something as vast as a costume drama epic about Henry VIII. Most goes the easy route of gangsters and modern day ghost stories. But this film is not epic, but is a costume drama and has an element of haunted house too. I read about the remastering of this relatively recent film, shot in 1996 and in cinemas in 2000. But after hearing the original negative was lost I felt I had to find out more. John Walsh shot this film in two weeks with a micro budget, but amazingly on 35mm film. This is the format that all major Hollywood movies shot on.Clever bloke as this has future-protected the film and now it is back this time in a 2k remaster looking as sharp as a new pin. Is it any good? Unfair to compare with multimillion pound Hollywood fare, but this worth the price of admission to see how John Walsh pulls of the impossible of shooting a costume drama with some heavy eight performances from Jean Marsh and legendary Irish thesp, the late great, TP McKenna.

gabrielcurrington I was lucky enough to see this film at the cinema when it was released and now have my DVD copy in this beautifully remastered version.Great performances by the late TP McKenna; Jean March and Peter Miles, of Doctor Who fame.The film which is shot at Charlton House, with its dark and sinister interiors which really lends itself to the nature of this broody and macabre film.There is also a small cast which I think has helped play with the uncomfortable feel you get of the surroundings.The soundtrack comprising of a chamber sized orchestra and I believe some crash cymbals all help enhance the mood of the film throughout.This movie is definitely a must have to go with your DVD collection.

Stephen McCartney No not Lord of the Rings, but an earlier telling of the story of Henry VIII. Not seen for nearly 20 years, Monarch is a good example of historical retelling. Set one night in an all but abandoned house, Henry VIII and his small court arrive unexpectedly during a thunder storm. I really enjoyed this film and despite all of it budget short comings it does hold the attention. An exquisite cast headed by Jean Marsh and the late great TP McKenna make this an essential master class for anyone who is thinking of playing a king. Young HBO pretenders to the crown take stock here, this is how to be a regent and not a hair gelled bed hopper. There is quiet desperation here and a metaphor about a monarchy in a modern society. Henry would never have survived the court of public opinion today. But then he was very much a product of his time, he flourished when it was a time of the tyrants. Well worth a look and yes a 10 out of 10, not because it's the most accomplished film ever made, but I wanted to give John Walsh a bog hand for his efforts on a shoe string. He shot at a location that was portrayed as an abandoned Jacobean manor house in a stormy night, when the harsh reality was this was a community centre in the daytime that was being used every day in the middle of a busy south London town, the magic of the movie eh?