AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Nonureva Really Surprised!

Konterr Brilliant and touching

Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

mmabruzzo-988-281485 I am a huge History buff, and when I saw an ad for this on TV two years ago, I thought "What a cool topic!" But then I saw the PBS logo and grew disheartened. From my experience, PBS documentaries often show the only good bits of the show in the trailer, and the rest is boring. This was FAR, FAR from the truth in this case! But fast forward two years, and I am sitting at home with nothing to do. I am scrolling through the IMDb pages of my favorite actors, trying to find something new to watch. On Tom Holland's page, I found Wolf Hall and remembered back to the ad from two years ago. I thought I'd give it a whirl. And boy was it fantastic. I will admit, all of the jumps in time were confusing at first, and Thomas' daughters looked like the daughters of his sister-in-law, adding to my confusion in some of the scenes. But once you get the hang of the time jumps, the show really shines. The acting was fantastic, Mark Rylance's performance especially. The political drama was not at all boring, and it was very satisfying to watch all of the pieces come together and to watch Cromwell's "playing of the game," as Petyr Baelish from Game of Thrones would call it. This is a must watch for all history buffs out there, as well as for anyone into a good political drama with relatable characters and a good plot. As a side note, I love to play a little game where I try to spot as many familiar actors as I can in a new show. Careful viewers might be able to spot King Theoden, Tycho Nestoris of the Iron Bank of Braavos, Qyburn, Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Captain Winters, the brother of the actor who plays Stannis Baratheon, and if you are really careful, Shireen Baratheon. Happy hunting!

qcloes09 I've seen all of the episodes of Wolf Hall so far, and I absolutely love Mark Rylance's performance! I rarely have the opportunity to see one program that shows a character from history played so well. Rylance takes us through it all with his subtle acting. At the beginning he's heart-breaking when almost all of his family dies from disease. Then we see his conniving in the background to work with the powers that be. We see him shift from quiet "toady" to a conniving, creepy and dangerous man. The series goes slowly through the politics of Henry III and Anne Boleyn with all the backstabbing in the shadows.We loved this series and hope to see it continue to the end of Thomas Cramner's life.

Prismark10 Peter Straughan condenses Hilary Mantel's award winning historical fiction novels for television. Peter Kominsky gets all the candles he needs for gloomily lit interiors but more importantly gets out great performances from his actors and a wonderful paced drama. There is little here that is stuffy or po faced.Damian Lewis is a thinner, youthful and more athletic Henry VIII here. Claire Foy (Ann Boleyn) is the chancer who uses her body to enchant Henry when almost everyone is against her. Thomas More is portrayed as a religious zealot here happy to torture and kill in the name of Rome, far removed from 'A man of all seasons.'Holding everything together is an understated but riveting performance by Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell. A social climber, a fixer, the son of a Putney blacksmith adept in the shadowy world of political intrigue and planning. Cromwell literally lurks in the shadows helped with all that candlelight. Cromwell is loyal too as he is with Cardinal Wolsey even after his fall from grace.The kernel of the story is familiar although it is easy to forget that this is an adaptation of historical fiction. In short it is not all true.

fiona_r_lamb Just finished this series shown on PBS TV; I've had it on my pvr for a while and procrastinated for a while before switching it on. I also could not bring myself to binge-watch it. Instead it has taken me weeks. I struggled to get through it but I forced myself. It got better but there were times I fast-forwarded through bits, which is never a good sign. I did not find it that dark (lighting), as others have reported. But the pace felt glacial and I just didn't really believe/get behind any of the characters.This series was too dull/slow and "The Tudors" was the other extreme, too crazy, and both were unbelievable to me.However, I did cry during Anne Boleyn's last scene, realizing just how awful the King was. Cromwell being embraced by Henry just made me want to throw up.So, I'm glad I made myself watch until the bitter end but equally glad I'm done.