Post by superjunior on Dec 29, 2009 3:16:48 GMT -5
The evolution of Showtime's grand costume drama, "The Tudors Seasons 1-3 DVD Box Set," has taken a remarkable turn in Season 2: It gets a whole lot better when it was already very good.
The familiar story of England's King Henry VIII (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and his all-encompassing, dangerous lust for Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer) was the jumping-off point for Season 1 of "The Tudors Seasons 1-3 DVD Box Set." It allowed screenwriter Michael Hirst to create a series based on the early years of Henry, much the way he did for both of his feature films,The Tudors On DVD "Elizabeth" and "Elizabeth: The Golden Age."
By catching Henry in his formative years, The Tudors 1-3 DVDHirst was able to make him virile and emotionally vibrant, breaking from the stereotype of the older, fatter, more vicious king. But it also allowed Hirst to deliver unto Showtime a mostly meaty, and deliciously sexy costume drama. And it worked. The Tudors DVD Box SetThe series was a huge audience draw for Showtime and it emboldened the channel to ask for more.The Tudors 1-3 DVD Box Set Once Rhys Meyers was onboard, despite a thriving film career, everything took off for Season 2.
Of course, there were still some critical snickers that "The Tudors Seasons 1-3 DVD Box Set" in Season 1 lacked gravitas, that it was devoted to the fashion and sexuality of the period and less to the dramatic heft and historical details. The Tudors On DVDNot that there's anything wrong with that - Rhys Meyers was absolutely riveting in every scene, The Tudors 1-3 DVDand Joan Bergin won an Emmy for costume design (a feat she's likely to repeat, given the magnificent, leap-off-the-screen costumes in Season 2).
Perhaps some revisionist criticism will come Hirst's way after Season 2, The Tudors On DVDbecause his efforts in the freshman season now have more clarity. Henry essentially stumbled into the crown when his brother died, which Hirst played up with sex and scandals, aptly using Rhys Meyers and Co. But it spoke to a less-serious Henry. The Tudors 1-3 DVDIn the early part of Season 1, the king is easily shaped by those in the court, particularly Cardinal Wolsey. The emphasis then was on Henry's much freer spirit. He and best friend Charles Brandon (Henry Cavill) are like two good-looking rich kids having the party of a lifetime:The Tudors 1-3 DVD Box Set booze, food and girls everywhere, with some jousting and other sports thrown in. The Tudors DVD Box SetAnd when things get a little slow, some rabble-rousing with neighboring countries.
Of course, what all that wrought - the end of Katherine and the Catholic faith in England, plus Anne, down the road - is a headier, more dramatic mix anyway.The Tudors DVD Box Set If Season 1 was Henry Lite,The Tudors On DVD then Season 2 is Henry Dark.
In a strange way, you can glimpse the creative parallels between the two seasons of "The Tudors" and the two "Elizabeth" films that Hirst wrote. Buy The Tudors 1-3 DVDThe first film is like the second season: focused, energized, committed to a clear story, The Tudors On DVDwell told, with plenty of opportunity to let great actors and wonderful costumes have the day. The film and actress Cate Blanchett were both nominated for an Academy Award.
The second film is like the first season: The Tudors 1-3 DVD Box Setmore artificial and unfocused, The Tudors DVDa better idea on paper than in execution (though to be fair to Hirst, that had something to do with the second film playing like a music video).
Right out of the gates on Sunday, the new season of "The Tudors Seasons 1-3 DVD Box Set" shows a tautness that's welcome and a maturing of all involved, echoing Henry's power grab and the quick succession of events that changed history. Cardinal Wolsey dies in 1530 and Anne Boleyn is beheaded six years later, as queen.Buy The Tudors 1-3 DVD In the meantime,The Tudors DVD the Reformation has begun as Henry's consolidation of power tears England away from Catholicism and the long arms of Pope Paul III (Peter O'Toole).
Spoiled brat
The tease that was Anne Boleyn last season is only kept in that state for a few episodes this season, as Henry presses the matter in Rome and at home. He wants his great matter dealt with, and done with. Buy The Tudors 1-3 DVDWhat works so well in Season 2 is the more serious and irritable Henry, making bigger decisions with almost no input other than Thomas Cromwell's (James Frain) throwing gas on the fire, The Tudors On DVDand his mercurial, impetuous personality.The Tudors 1-3 DVD Box Set Once he got Anne, his interest waned. Not that you could ever forget it, but after the birth of Elizabeth and Henry's rather sudden disinterest in her, you remember - oh, right, he's a spoiled child.
The religious angle is kept keen in Season 2 even without Wolsey (played by Sam Neill in Season 1), The Tudors DVD Box Setbecause Jeremy Northam, as Sir Thomas More, spearheads the movement to keep Henry accountable to God,The Tudors 1-3 DVD Box Set not the clergy accountable to Henry. The Tudors DVDIt's a nice counterbalance to the lustful pursuit of Anne Boleyn.
If Season 1 sometimes veered from considered drama to guilty pleasure, Hirst,The Tudors 1-3 DVD Rhys Meyers and the rest of the cast (and Bergin's costumes) make it all somehow meatier but no less entertaining in Season 2. It's as if the series matured along with the characters and capitalized on the chaotic, The Tudors DVD Box Seteventful period between Anne Boleyn's most fervent wish and the tragedy of what happens when it comes true.
The familiar story of England's King Henry VIII (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and his all-encompassing, dangerous lust for Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer) was the jumping-off point for Season 1 of "The Tudors Seasons 1-3 DVD Box Set." It allowed screenwriter Michael Hirst to create a series based on the early years of Henry, much the way he did for both of his feature films,The Tudors On DVD "Elizabeth" and "Elizabeth: The Golden Age."
By catching Henry in his formative years, The Tudors 1-3 DVDHirst was able to make him virile and emotionally vibrant, breaking from the stereotype of the older, fatter, more vicious king. But it also allowed Hirst to deliver unto Showtime a mostly meaty, and deliciously sexy costume drama. And it worked. The Tudors DVD Box SetThe series was a huge audience draw for Showtime and it emboldened the channel to ask for more.The Tudors 1-3 DVD Box Set Once Rhys Meyers was onboard, despite a thriving film career, everything took off for Season 2.
Of course, there were still some critical snickers that "The Tudors Seasons 1-3 DVD Box Set" in Season 1 lacked gravitas, that it was devoted to the fashion and sexuality of the period and less to the dramatic heft and historical details. The Tudors On DVDNot that there's anything wrong with that - Rhys Meyers was absolutely riveting in every scene, The Tudors 1-3 DVDand Joan Bergin won an Emmy for costume design (a feat she's likely to repeat, given the magnificent, leap-off-the-screen costumes in Season 2).
Perhaps some revisionist criticism will come Hirst's way after Season 2, The Tudors On DVDbecause his efforts in the freshman season now have more clarity. Henry essentially stumbled into the crown when his brother died, which Hirst played up with sex and scandals, aptly using Rhys Meyers and Co. But it spoke to a less-serious Henry. The Tudors 1-3 DVDIn the early part of Season 1, the king is easily shaped by those in the court, particularly Cardinal Wolsey. The emphasis then was on Henry's much freer spirit. He and best friend Charles Brandon (Henry Cavill) are like two good-looking rich kids having the party of a lifetime:The Tudors 1-3 DVD Box Set booze, food and girls everywhere, with some jousting and other sports thrown in. The Tudors DVD Box SetAnd when things get a little slow, some rabble-rousing with neighboring countries.
Of course, what all that wrought - the end of Katherine and the Catholic faith in England, plus Anne, down the road - is a headier, more dramatic mix anyway.The Tudors DVD Box Set If Season 1 was Henry Lite,The Tudors On DVD then Season 2 is Henry Dark.
In a strange way, you can glimpse the creative parallels between the two seasons of "The Tudors" and the two "Elizabeth" films that Hirst wrote. Buy The Tudors 1-3 DVDThe first film is like the second season: focused, energized, committed to a clear story, The Tudors On DVDwell told, with plenty of opportunity to let great actors and wonderful costumes have the day. The film and actress Cate Blanchett were both nominated for an Academy Award.
The second film is like the first season: The Tudors 1-3 DVD Box Setmore artificial and unfocused, The Tudors DVDa better idea on paper than in execution (though to be fair to Hirst, that had something to do with the second film playing like a music video).
Right out of the gates on Sunday, the new season of "The Tudors Seasons 1-3 DVD Box Set" shows a tautness that's welcome and a maturing of all involved, echoing Henry's power grab and the quick succession of events that changed history. Cardinal Wolsey dies in 1530 and Anne Boleyn is beheaded six years later, as queen.Buy The Tudors 1-3 DVD In the meantime,The Tudors DVD the Reformation has begun as Henry's consolidation of power tears England away from Catholicism and the long arms of Pope Paul III (Peter O'Toole).
Spoiled brat
The tease that was Anne Boleyn last season is only kept in that state for a few episodes this season, as Henry presses the matter in Rome and at home. He wants his great matter dealt with, and done with. Buy The Tudors 1-3 DVDWhat works so well in Season 2 is the more serious and irritable Henry, making bigger decisions with almost no input other than Thomas Cromwell's (James Frain) throwing gas on the fire, The Tudors On DVDand his mercurial, impetuous personality.The Tudors 1-3 DVD Box Set Once he got Anne, his interest waned. Not that you could ever forget it, but after the birth of Elizabeth and Henry's rather sudden disinterest in her, you remember - oh, right, he's a spoiled child.
The religious angle is kept keen in Season 2 even without Wolsey (played by Sam Neill in Season 1), The Tudors DVD Box Setbecause Jeremy Northam, as Sir Thomas More, spearheads the movement to keep Henry accountable to God,The Tudors 1-3 DVD Box Set not the clergy accountable to Henry. The Tudors DVDIt's a nice counterbalance to the lustful pursuit of Anne Boleyn.
If Season 1 sometimes veered from considered drama to guilty pleasure, Hirst,The Tudors 1-3 DVD Rhys Meyers and the rest of the cast (and Bergin's costumes) make it all somehow meatier but no less entertaining in Season 2. It's as if the series matured along with the characters and capitalized on the chaotic, The Tudors DVD Box Seteventful period between Anne Boleyn's most fervent wish and the tragedy of what happens when it comes true.