Anne of the Thousand Days
Anne of the Thousand Days is a 1969 British historical drama film based on the life of Anne Boleyn, directed by Charles Jarrott and produced by Hal B. Wallis. The screenplay by Bridget Boland and John Hale is an adaptation of the 1948 play of the same name by Maxwell Anderson.
| Anne of the Thousand Days | |
|---|---|
Original theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Charles Jarrott |
| Screenplay by | Bridget Boland John Hale |
| Story by | Richard Sokolove |
| Based on | Anne of the Thousand Days by Maxwell Anderson |
| Produced by | Hal B. Wallis |
| Starring | Richard Burton Geneviève Bujold Irene Papas Anthony Quayle John Colicos |
| Cinematography | Arthur Ibbetson |
| Edited by | Richard Marden |
| Music by | Georges Delerue |
Production company | Hal Wallis Productions |
| Distributed by | The Rank Organisation (UK) Universal Pictures (US) |
Release dates |
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Running time | 145 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $4.5 million |
| Box office | $6,134,264 (US/Canada rentals) or $15-20 million (world gross) |
The film stars Richard Burton as King Henry VIII and Canadian actress Geneviève Bujold as Anne Boleyn. Irene Papas plays Catherine of Aragon, Anthony Quayle plays Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, and John Colicos plays Thomas Cromwell. Others in the cast include Michael Hordern, Katharine Blake, Peter Jeffrey, Joseph O'Conor, William Squire, Vernon Dobtcheff, Denis Quilley, Esmond Knight, and T. P. McKenna, who later played Henry VIII in Monarch. Burton's wife Elizabeth Taylor makes a brief, uncredited appearance.
Despite receiving some negative reviews and mixed reviews from The New York Times and Pauline Kael, the film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won the award for best costumes. Geneviève Bujold's portrayal of Anne, her first in an English language film, was very highly praised, even by Time magazine, which otherwise skewered the movie. According to the Academy Awards exposé Inside Oscar, an expensive advertising campaign was mounted by Universal Studios that included serving champagne and filet mignon to members of the Academy following each screening.