Natalie Portman Movie:

		List Price: $28.96		Label: Sony Pictures Salesrank: 506 Released: June 10, 2008
		Our Price: $9.47
		Used Price: $5.98
		MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
Based on the best-selling novel The Other Boleyn Girl is a captivating tale of intrigue romance and betrayal starring Natalie Portman Scarlett Johansson and Eric Bana. Two sisters Anne (Portman) and Mary (Johansson) are driven by their ambitious family to seduce the king of England (Bana) in order to advance their position in court. What starts as an opportunity for the girls to increase the family fortune becomes a deadly rivalry to capture the heart of a king and stay alive.System Requirements:Running Time: 115 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/CLASSICS Rating: PG-13 UPC: 043396214507 Manufacturer No: 21450

Description of The Other Boleyn Girl:
A tale of two sisters competing for the same king, The Other Boleyn Girl uses historical facts as window dressing for this work of fiction that is entertaining, if not wholly believable. Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) is the doe-eyed vixen ordered by her power-hungry uncle to bewitch King Henry VIII (Eric Bana). Her shy sister Mary (Scarlett Johansson) has always been in Anne's shadow; Anne is prettier, more accomplished, and desired by many men. So when the King picks Mary--the "other Boleyn girl"--as his mistress, Anne turns on her sister and schemes to become not only the King's consort, but his new queen. With a pair of American actresses in the lead roles and an Aussie portraying their hunky object of desire, the English accents are all over the place in this period piece with a modern feel. Though the Boleyn girls' mother points out that her "daughters are being traded like cattle for the advancement of men," it is Anne who ultimately throws her slight weight around to bully Henry into doing her bidding. When he begs her to give herself to him, Anne--wearing a Carrie Bradshaw-esque "B" pendant on her neck--counters, "Make me your Queen." Is the audience really supposed to believe that Henry the VIII--the most powerful man in the land--would divorce Catherine of Aragon, separate from the Catholic church, and put England in upheaval simply because Anne refused to sleep with him until he jumped through all her hoops? "I have torn this country apart for you," he hisses at her before finally getting his way. Based on Philippa Gregory's bestselling novel of the same name, The Other Boleyn Girl features an attractive cast and a familiar plot with some icky twists. Kieran McGuigan's cinematography is breathtaking and is as crucial to setting the film's tone as the dialogue. Actually, it fares better: Lines such as "Well? Did he have you?!" sound almost comical. But the sweeping shots of Henry's kingdom and the carefully framed close-ups of Portman and Johansson are breathtaking in their beauty and say what words simply cannot. --Jae-Ha Kim

Get to Know the Cast of The Other Boleyn Girl
(click on images to see more films from each actor)

Natalie Portman (Anne Boleyn)

Scarlett Johansson (Mary Boleyn)

Eric Bana (Henry Tudor)	Jim Sturgess (George Boleyn)	Kristin Scott Thomas (Lady Elizabeth Boleyn)

Beyond The Other Boleyn Girl

Paperback Book

On Blu-ray

The Soundtrack

Stills from The Other Boleyn Girl (click for larger image)

The Other Boleyn Girl Reviews:
Severely flawed period drama doesn't accomplish what it sets out to do
2008-10-11 - First of, I haven't read the book. So you won't be seeing me complaining about the differences between the two.

Boleyn Girl is a pretty movie. From the actors, to the setting and the cinematography, everything is put together in a way that pleases the eye.
But aesthetics isn't quite enough, and it doesn't make up for blatant flaws like the bad accents, the over the top story that resembles a soap opera and the script that manages to be uninteresting although dealing with a subject that can appeal to most audiences: two sisters on luxurious dresses and living in a castle fight for the same man, who happens to be a king. Deny it if you will, but everyone loves a little intrigue and cat fight especially if it comes from the absurdly beautiful main actresses.

Speaking of which, they both use to full extent their amazing acting skills, although not at all times. Portman manages to be stunning while acting alongside with Scarlett, which is quite an accomplish on her side.

Overall, the movie has a flawed script that isn't made up by the talented main actresses or the beauty of the movie itself. What amazes me about it is not what it is, but what could have been. With such a cast and story, it could have easily become one of the best period movie of the last few years. It didn't.

Too bad.

Book Translation Dissapointment
2008-10-05 - To begin with, let me say that I am a huge fan of Phillipa Gregory's. I read my paperback copy so many times that pages almost fell out. But after watching this movie I almost started hating the novel. Yes I understand that Hollywood has many difficulties in translating book to film, but this was basically a failure. So many literary AND historical inaccuracies it was laughable.
The mother was shown as too sympathetic and the father extremely weak, Mary and Anne became enemies much too quickly, Mary was married too late, and Stafford?! They should never have brought him into the movie so early; it ruins his future relationships and role with Mary. A major dislike for me was Mary's great reluctance to leave the country for court-mainly this was bad because in the book she BEGAN at court-as well, her loving the King came up really suddenly, she sleeps with him twice and BOOM! "Anne, I love him," a little fast even for this movie. And WHERE did William Carey go to?! Just "disappeared" and Mary starts leaning toward Stafford. Implausible, yet no one seemed to notice. But I felt pity for the character of Anne during her virtual rape by the King-that was NEVER even insinuated in by any historians. And George Boleyn, for a character with such a pivotal role in the story, he had very little screen time, though Jim Sturgess did a fine job.
Also, the basic premise of the story-two sisters' rivalry for a King's love and standing in court-is twisted by having Anne try to catch the King first, and getting him injured. Anne was shown as having an extraordinary amount of power over even her family, especially too much sway over her uncle. The debate over sending Queen Katherine away was cut too short, as was the furor over divorce. Showing Mary in the countryside and Anne in France would have also been nice touches.
I truly admired Katherine of Aragon's character-very regal and formidable and her quoted lines from the novel- and how the failed Henry Percy marriage was shown. Also, Mary's lying in and both sisters' birthing scenes were very adequately stifling and scary. This could definitely be shown as an "anti-teen pregnancy movie." Anne's coronation was suitably gaudy and brought to film well as did the people's ill reception of her as queen. Another well-done accuracy was Jane Boleyn's betrayal; almost all sources agree she began the family's downfall. But when the King decided to forgo Mary completely just to have the HOPE of getting with Anne I became utterly disgusted with the movie and could barely finish it. This is saying a lot for me since Scarlett Johannsen and Natalie Portman are two of my favorite actresses.
So maybe the author approved of the novel being dissected and stripped apart by this movie's portrayal, I as a fan, truly dislike this movie adaptation. I was all set to enjoy and revel in seeing some of my favorite characters and storylines brought to life, but this time Hollywood failed me.


If you like drama and twisted story lines you'll like it but...
2008-09-30 - When I first watched this movie, I had no knowledge of its historical context. I just thought that it was a fictional story set in 15th or 16th century England. As I watched it though I quickly realized that it is one of Henry VIII's many love stories. Before viewing the movie I had little knowledge about Henry VIII other than he had six wives whom he beheaded. I was intrigued by the plot of the story and decided to investigate into the history of his rule a bit further. I quickly found out though that the details of The Other Boleyn Girl are not entirely accurate.

I recommend this movie to anyone who is looking for over-the-top drama in a historical movie, rather than accurateness. I enjoyed watching the movie because I had little knowledge about the historical background beforehand and felt the tension unfold as the characters' relationships became more and more complex.

As far as the script and dialogue, don't expect to look for any deeper meaning beyond the text. Enjoy the movie for what it is rather than what you expect it to be. If you like complex soap-opera-like drama then you will definitely enjoy this movie.

disappointed
2008-09-29 - i was excited to hear that there was going to be a movie based on the other bolyen girl book. the book is from mary boleyn's point of view. the movie, however, follows the point of view of anne boleyn. the acting was good, and the costumes where great but i just wished that they had stuck to the book a little more closely.

This movie stunk
2008-09-28 - I usually like all things that have to do with the Tutors or Anne Boleyn, but this movie didn't cut it.
Most of the characters were miscast for one.
The way the story was told stunk.
I read the book "The Other Boleyn Girl" and enjoyed that, but this movie version was a waste.
Guess after seeing "Anne of the Thousand Days" so many times, I am spoiled. That is the best Henry 8/Anne Boleyn movie ever.
Only reason this movie gets 2 stars is the costumes and scenery were nice to look at.