I first saw this movie when I was thirteen years old and I cried and cried and cried. I had no idea who Jane Grey was, I knew nothing about her history, very little about the Tudor Dynasty or England in the middle ages. This was my first foray into the world of the Tudors and one I have remained in ever since! This movie is everything the story of Lady Jane Grey, the eldest daughter of King Henry VIII's sister, is. It is poignant, frustrating, frightening, romantic and tragic. It shows the cold, hostile, manipulative court of the Tudors and within that world it shows a love that is pure, sweet, innocent and eternal. A very young Helena Bonham Carter plays the pious, devout, serious, studious Lady Jane Grey. Guildford Dudley, the youngest son of the Duke of Northumberland whom Jane marries is played by Cary Elwes (of Princess Bride fame). The essence of the movie is Guildford and Jane's love story against the backdrop of manipulation, greed, and the battle for power after King Henry VIII's son dies at just fifteen. With Princess Mary as the rightful queen the powers that be are terrified of a Catholic once more sitting on the English throne and thus we see Jane thrust into the role of Queen for just nine days before Mary's army arrives in London and Jane and Guildford are both charged with treason and sent to the Tower of London which never ended well for most people exiled there. There is so much to love about this movie - the costumes, the set, the music, the acting. In the years that passed since I first watched Lady Jane I have learned enough to know that the love between Jane and Guildford as portrayed in the movie might not have been as poignant and real as I would like to imagine. In fact, there is evidence to suggest they couldn't stand one another but it doesn't change the fact that this movie is one of my all time favorites. As much as the movie has altered some historical facts for creative license there is one scene that I understand they haven't altered and that is the scene of Jane on the scaffold before her beheading.....the fright, the words she spoke are exactly as eye witness accounts reported and oh so chilling. If you love romance, if you love history, if you love tales of first love I urge you to watch this movie! And please let me know what you think.
bye for now Wendy xx
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Four day long weekend seems so hopeful at the start. There were so many things I wanted to get done over the Easter Break whilst the rest of my family were off scouting including paint the house, writer quite a few words, do some craft research and learn how to convert word dox to html (there's online conversions for this - yay!)
Another thing was to find something really indulgent to watch and I did that with Flipped. I'd seen the movie come on Netflix recommendations quite a bit and it had a near five star rating so Friday afternoon, feeling a bit weary and exhausted already (just from watching my kids pack their bags for their camping weekend) so I snuggled up on the sofa to watch. OMG IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN FLIPPED YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS! I wrote that in capitals because if you were here in front of me I would have shouted it. Flipped is delightful, funny, heart warming and heart wrenching at the same time. It tells the story of Bryce and Juli who meet when they are about seven years old and Bryce moves into the house across the road. From the moment she lays on him Juli has decided that Bryce and his 'dazzling eyes' have her first kiss. But Bryce has immediately decided that Juli is annoying and pushy and spends the next few years avoiding her best as he can. Until of course they are teenagers, when things flip. This moving captures first love, first heartbreak, the angst of being a teenager and the role families and friends play in forming the people we become. It has lots of coming of age moments, including cringe worthy moments like a boys lunch auction (yes, auctioning off boys to have lunch with girls for a fundraiser) and the humiliating feeling of being caught in a lie. Flipped is a great movie for everyone and is cast beautifully. It's actually based on a novel which I am about to search Amazon for now. Thanks for stopping by, Wendy xx My current obsession. I vaguely remember watching the very long movie War and Peace staring Audrey Hepburn when I was a little girl and loving it (even if it was a bit much for an eight year old to take in). So when i came across the new BBC version of War and Peace I was excited - this show ticked all my boxes.
As well as romance there is scandal, there are those less desirable characters who seek to undermine the good in others - affairs, duels, gambling, seduction. Tolstoy wrote a wonderful novel that definitely had it all and so far it looks like BBC is bringing it all to the screens. So War and Peace - my must see watching tip for this week - if you are into all of the above! bye for now, Wendy xx |
Wendy GoddingWriter of young adult romance with a historical bent. Archives
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