Offbeat Love Stories and More by Jennifer K. Lafferty

I would have liked information about the sets, locations, and logistics of filming, but you can see some of this online. There are a few black and white illustrations, an interesting bibliography and it is well researched. I enjoyed ‘Anne of the Thousand Days: The Making of an Epic’, very much and wish it had been longer.

The next few pages cover the costumes, information about the soundtrack, awards the film received, fact versus fiction and Anne Boleyn as a pop culture icon. He later went on to direct ‘Mary, Queen of Scots’, 1971, with Vanessa Redgrave. How the film was directed by Charles Jarrott is discussed in some detail, and it seems his calm nature was ideally suited to deal with the difficult Burton. Either way, Bujold took her role very seriously, doing a great deal of research so as to understand the character of Anne, whom she admired.Īfter the principal characters, the book takes a look at the other parts played and gives biographies on Anthony Quayle, Michael Horden, Irene Papas and others. But was this actually true? Since much of what is said in this book is taken from Richard Burton’s own diaries, we cannot be sure what was real and what was a smokescreen to hide a possible affair.Īs to Genevieve, she says nothing about Burton and we are left to wonder what her true opinion might have been. He also wanted Taylor to play the part of Anne, and appears to have not liked his leading lady, 27-year-old French Canadian, Genevieve Bujold. Apparently, he had to rely on his wife, Elizabeth Taylor, to motivate him into learning his lines. Ahead of her time, Richard Burton, however, was critical of the dialogue.Īs to the casting, Burton, although wanting the part of King Henry and enthusiastic at first, quickly became bored and difficult. Moving from stage to screenplay was interesting as a woman was chosen, Bridget Boland, to write from Anne’s perspective. However, it took twenty years before a Hollywood producer turned it into an epic movie. The book goes on to discuss how the original play, written by Maxwell Anderson, started life in a Broadway theatre, in 1948. This is useful for those who might not know the real story, making it clear that ‘Anne of the Thousand Days’ is not a documentary, but a mainly fictionalised love story. The first thirteen pages tell the historical background to the film, the truth about Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII. The book is not big – just 143 pages long – so it can be read pretty quickly.

So, any snippets of information I could get my hands on regarding the creation of this film would be eagerly read. I have always been a great fan of this film since it started my passion for the Tudors.

I came across this book by chance, at Christmas, on Amazon, and immediately bought it.

Offbeat Love Stories and More by Jennifer K. Lafferty