It is a love story between England's King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. It seems that things are not going well, as it is this princess who cannot produce a male heir which leads to severe consequences in their lives.
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.
Bujold gives a sweet and creditable performance, though, and Burton adds some humanity to a character often portrayed simply as a monster. Yet they cannot salvage this sprawling mess.
One of those almost unbearably classy movies, like A Man for All Seasons and Becket, that have a way of elevating the reputations of moviemakers without doing much for the art.
Chicago Reader
January 01, 2000
It's about what you'd expect -- slow, dry, fleetingly intelligent.
The performances (by Burton and Bujold in the leads) are decent but the film is dull, overly long, and overwrought--the kind of Royalty picture that impresses Oscar voters.
