Anne of the Thousand Days Blu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Anne of a Thousand Days" )

directed by Charles Jarrott
UK 1969

Directed by Charles Jarrott and produced by veteran Hal Wallis, Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) is a superb costume drama starring Richard Burton as randy, wily King Henry VIII, and Genevieve Bujold as seductive young Anne Boleyn, the woman whose royal romance would change English history forever. As Henry tries to rid himself of his “barren” wife, Catherine of Aragon (Irene Papas), clever Anne keeps the shockingly needy king on a string through machination after political machination, eventually causing a final break with the Pope and the Church of Rome.

***

By the time Richard Burton had been signed by producer Hal B. Wallis to star in Anne of the Thousand Days (1969), the story of Henry VIII's marriage to his second wife, Anne Boleyn, the 44-year old star had already spent several years starring in period films with great success. Most recently, Burton had co-starred with Peter O'Toole in Becket (1964) for which he had earned his third Oscar nomination for the title role. Wallis, who had produced Becket, was an old hand at historical drama, with credits dating back to The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), and Burton was eager to work again with the producer, eventually convincing him to purchase the rights to the 1948 play by Maxwell Anderson, Anne of the Thousand Days.

Excerpt from TCM located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: 18 December 1969 (USA)

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Universal - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray

1) Universal - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT

Box Cover		There is also a German Blu-ray available: Available on Blu-ray in the UK, from Final Cut in February 2020
Distribution	Universal Studios Region 1 - NTSC	Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	2:25:05	2:25:18.751
Video	2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 7.17 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 39,081,698,489 bytes Feature: 38,926,159,872 bytes Video Bitrate: 29.98 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 2062 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2062 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Isolated Score: DTS-HD Master Audio English 1643 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1643 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	English, French, None	None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Universal Studios Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical Trailer (Full Screen) (1:35) DVD Release Date: September 18, 2007 Keep Case Chapters 18	Release Information: Studio: Twilight Time 2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 39,081,698,489 bytes Feature: 38,926,159,872 bytes Video Bitrate: 29.98 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Isolated Score • Theatrical Trailer (1:35) Liner Notes Blu-ray Release Date: December, 2018 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 24

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

Twilight Time put Anne of the Thousand Days on a highly attractive Blu-ray transfer. It's on a dual-layered Blu-ray in 1080P with a high bitrate. It is a vast upgrade compared to the 2007 DVD looking far more crisp, tighter, a touch of gloss and richer, fuller colors. No contest at all. It is in the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio and is very clean in-motion with appealing depth. This is a dynamic upgrade from the SD.

The film is presented in a 2.0 DTS-HD Master (24-bit) audio track in the original English as well as the option of listening to the isolated score by Georges Delerue (The High Commissioner, Silkwood, Mister Johnson, Jules et Jim, The Woman Next Door, The Last Metro, Day For Night) which sounds noble, regal and epic. The audio quality is very strong with depth and crisp dialogue. Surprisingly, there are no subtitles offered on this Region FREE Blu-ray that is limited to 3,000 units.

No extras save, the aforementioned isolated score, a trailer and the liner notes included in the case.

This is a wonderful historical period-piece of the Crown, politics and love. I enjoyed it immensely in the new Blu-ray transfer. A commentary would have been nice but the 2.5 hour epic is satisfying on its own. This is an easy recommendation - the film has a lot of value and the transfer is impressive.