Wolf Hall

3,740 Views | 21 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by Redstone
Wildcat
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AG
Anyone else taking this in?
Old School Rucking
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Great show!
Micah97
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Oh yeah. Very fascinating. Good bye Anne tomorrow.
MosesHallEnforcer
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Very PBSish
Gigem314
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It's a bit slow at times but we're enjoying it. I'm fascinated by the history so I like it the way I like Dowton and Selfridge.
Wildcat
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I'd say you need a pretty decent knowledge of the history to enjoy it.

They are definitely portraying Cranmer as more of a calculating politician than i have perceived him.

Edit 5/12: meant Cromwell here. Didn't realize I had a brain fart and typed Cranmer.
jkag89
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quote:
I'm fascinated by the history so I like it the way . . .
Too bad it gets so much of it completely wrong, and deliberately so.
ChipFTAC01
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I"m enjoying it (caught up a bit this afternoon) but my English wife is bored to tears with it. We actually happened to be at Penshurst Place where they filmed part of it on their last day of shooting last summer. We saw absolutely nothing interesting with regards to the shooting other than occassionally we would have to stop and be quiet.
Wildcat
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The best part of historical fiction is the fact checking. It's pretty damned funny if you are intellectually capable.
jkag89
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It is one thing to fudge on the facts some to make a more concise story, create tension, etc., it is quite another to present it 180° out of whack simply for an agenda.
ChipFTAC01
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From reading online last night it looks like the lady that wrote the books is a big-time anti-Catholic now, so she wrote the books from a Cromwell was great/More was terrible angle.
jkag89
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History shows More was the noble figure and Cromwell the self-serving prig. The fact this image of More is prevalent in English history despite the rancor of the Reformation there is quite telling IMO.
ChipFTAC01
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I will say that I'd wish that they'd do a better job of helping me know who everyone is. It's worse than Season 1 of Game of thrones as far as being lost sometimes. I can't even run to wikipedia to figure out more of the backstory because I'm not sure who is whom.
Producers_96
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Try watching with closed captioning on - when a character first speaks, it often leads with their name.
Wildcat
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It should be noted that I was poking fun at myself. I am no scholar of the English Reformation.

Have enjoyed the program, but like others find it a little hard to follow, Had no idea the author of the novel had been accused at making an attempt at revisionist history. A claim of which I am somewhat dubious only because it is the BBC/PBS. They typically do a reasonably good job with historical accuracy.
jkag89
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quote:
It should be noted that I was poking fun at myself. I am no scholar of the English Reformation.

Have enjoyed the program, but like others find it a little hard to follow, Had no idea the author of the novel had been accused at making an attempt at revisionist history. A claim of which I am somewhat dubious only because it is the BBC/PBS. They typically do a reasonably good job with historical accuracy.
From all accounts the author is a damn good writer and the books the series is based upon are excellent works of literature, they're just bad history driven by her agenda.
Old School Rucking
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The hit piece in the Washington Post was written by a Catholic and takes as many liberties as the show does. To hold up A Man for All Seasons as the definitive historical account of More is as foolish and biased as doing the same with Wolf Hall.

While I do object to the show's saintly depiction of Cromwell and demonization of More, Wolf Hall is still better than many works of "historical" fiction. It's certainly not a total historical abomination like Braveheart or Cate Blanchett's Elizabeth.

Much like Phillipa Gregory's novels, Wolf Hall is not meant as narrative history or a scholarly biography of Cromwell. Nevertheless, I find these types of works interesting because they add color to characters that we simply cannot assertain from historical record. All history is written from a point of view, and it is necessary to read all points of view to arrive at an understanding of a historical person, period, or event.

The real Sir Thomas More was not the devil in Wolf Hall or the saint in A Man for All Seasons, but somewhere in between. Both are wonderfully entertaining and worth watching.
Wildcat
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Just watched episode 6; Ann is dead. I gotta say, I am not seeing this portrayal of Cromwell as overly flattering. So I am questioning the criticisms raised earlier in this thread.
BigJim49 AustinNowDallas
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dull dull dull
Old School Rucking
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I'm disappointed that the series ended with Anne's execution. I really wanted to see how the show would've portrayed Cromwell's own fall from grace.
An Ag in CO
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quote:
I'm disappointed that the series ended with Anne's execution. I really wanted to see how the show would've portrayed Cromwell's own fall from grace.

Well, you can look forward to series 2.
VanZandt92
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This series was really great. Good recommendation.
Redstone
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Cromwell was a demented criminal and Mantel is deeply disturbed (and I mean this very literally). Do not watch this horrible show.

https://www.firstthings.com/article/2017/02/the-devil-and-hilary-mantel
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