| The Other Boleyn Girl | 
 enlarge | Actor: Natalie Portman
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $28.96
Buy Used: $7.50
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Avg. Customer Rating:  138 reviews
Sales Rank: 223
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Running Time: 115 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.5
MPN: 21450
UPC: 043396214507
EAN: 0043396214507
ASIN: B0012QE4Q2
Theatrical Release Date: February 29, 2008
Release Date: June 10, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Entertaining soap opera August 21, 2008
The Other Boleyn Girl
This movie is about men who barter with women. Two sisters, close in age, are born to the Boleyn family. The mother, Elizabeth Howard, married Thomas Boleyn against her family's wishes, as she married "down" in society, but she was happy because she married for love. Unfortunately, her conniving brother and fame-seeking husband barter off her daughters for a place in the royal family.
The movie starts off with Mary's (Scarlett Johansson) wedding to the merchant's son. She could have married higher on the social scale, but like her mother, she married for love. Shortly after her marriage, her older sister Ann (Natalie Portman) is asked by both her father and uncle to "entertain" the king when he comes to visit. King Henry VIII (Eric Bana) and his wife have been unable to have a son (they're born stillborn). Ann's conniving father tells her it is important for her to impress the king on the stag hunt, so when the stag goes down a deep ravine, Ann is the only rider who follows (without getting injured, I might add). But the King, not to be outdone, follows and falls off his horse. After this embarrassment (of his own fault), the king is no longer interested in Ann. In fact, she proves to be an embarrassment to him, so Thomas Boleyn sends in his other daughter, Mary, to attend to the king's injuries. What follows are a series of disturbing acts by the men in this story, as well as the now extremely jealous Ann. Mary's husband offers her to the king in a moment of horrible betrayal and Mary's world suddenly crumbles as she's handed off like a piece of furniture. The only person on her side is her mother, who rages at the father who bartered off both daughters like cattle.
After Mary's first night with the king, she is interrogated by her uncle and father before her mother, the queen, and half a dozen people in the room. Shortly thereafter, Ann runs off and marries a noble, and the marriage is quickly "erased" while Ann is banished to the countryside. The way the uncle and father manipulate these two is terrible. The king is probably his most tender when he is with Mary and since her husband is so inadequate in the bedroom, it's easy to see how she enjoys the king's company. Ann, on the other hand, becomes more and more spiteful, starting a series of events that will eventually destroy her (and you won't be sympathetic either). Perhaps the most amusing point in this movie is when the girls' brother is forced to marry a woman he hates. Laughable, because he eagerly helped his father and uncle barter off his sisters.
Ann is finally brought back into the picture when Mary becomes pregnant with the king's child and is bedridden. Her task is to keep Mary foremost in the King's mind at all times (so he doesn't bed someone else), but that's about the furthest thing from Ann's mind. No surprise there. But don't worry, Ann gets exactly what she deserves (just like the real Ann).
The Other Boylen Girl August 16, 2008
This was really a disappointment. If I had not read the book, I'd have been totally confused, because so much was left out or just plain incorrect. The story jumped around-no continuity at all.
Great! But don't read the book first! August 16, 2008
I guess because I did not read the book first, I loved this movie.
I can see that many people rated their dissappointment based on reading the novel and comparing the movie. I find that unfair.
Although I know how they feel. It's impossible to reduce the breadth of a novel within the time restrictions of a feature film.
Satisfactory August 14, 2008
No matter what you believe is the "real" story regarding the Boleyn family, this movie was based on the book by Phillipa Gregory and followed very closely to it. The book is very dense and packed with various events and drama but the movie could only capture but so much in its two hour alotted timeframe and in my opinion it captured the main points of the book. I read the book before I saw the movie and I must say the actors did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life. I found it entertaining and well directed. Definitely not a five star movie, but it got the job done!
 Disapointment August 10, 2008
I love Phillipa Gregory's books, even the contraversial Wildacre Triology. I love Tudor-era books and movies. I'm a huge fan of Natlie Portman. But this movie is such an injustice to all three that I was forced to finish watching the moive by fast forwarding and stopping breifly at places that looked interesting. This from the first twenty minuites of 1x boredom.
This moive is a tragedy to a beautiful, captivating book, and is not only historically inaccurtate (which, had it been good, I could have lived with) but entirely false to the book it was based upon. DO NOT watch unless bound and gaged and with access to much distraction to prevent yourself from concentrating too much on the awfulness that lies within.
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