THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL
Year: 2008
USA: Focus Features
UK: Universal Pictures
UK DVD: Universal Pictures
Cast: Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana, Kristin Scott Thomas, Jim Sturgess, Juno Temple, Benedict Cumberbatch, Eddie Redmayne, Alfie Allen, Ana Torrent, Oliver Coleman, Jade Ramsey, Mark Rylance, Tiffany Freisberg, Christopher Fosh
Director: Justin Chadwick
Country: UK / USA
USA: 115 mins
UK: 115 mins
USA Rated: PG-13 for mature thematic elements, sexual content and some violent images
UK Certificate: 12A contains moderate sex and language
USA Release Date: 29 February 2008
UK Release Date: 7 March 2008
UK DVD Release Date: 30 June 2008
Synopsis
Based on the best selling novel by Philippa Gregory, THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL is an engrossing and sensual tale of two beautiful sisters, Anne and Mary Boleyn, driven by their family's blind ambition to compete for the love of the handsome and passionate King Henry VIII.
Anne (Natalie Portman - My Blueberry Nights, Star Wars Eps I, II & III) and Mary (Scarlett Johansson - Girl With A Pearl Earring, Lost In Translation) Boleyn, are driven by their ambitious father and uncle to advance the family's power and status by courting the attentions of the King of England (Eric Bana - Troy, Munich, Hulk). Leaving behind the simplicity of court life, the girls are thrust into the dangerous and thrilling world of life at court - and what begins as a bid to help their family develops into a rivalry between Anne and Mary for the love of the King.
Mary is little more than a child when she is presented to Henry, ordered by her scheming family to serve her King and country by offering herself to him whenever commanded, or doing anything else the great monarch desires. And while his loins are satisfied, life at court is sweet for the unofficial Queen and her pushy coterie. Mary wins King Henry's love and becomes his mistress, bearing him an illegitimate son.
But Anne, clever, conniving and fearless, edges aside both her sister and Henry's wife, Queen Katherine of Aragon, in her relentless pursuit of the King. Beguiled by her attentions, inevitably the King's eyes soon begin to wander and Mary is soon overlooked, helpless to do anything but aid her family's plot to advance their fortunes, as they toil to replace her with Anne and give Henry the greatest gift of all: a son and heir.
Anne proves relentless in her pursuit of the King's affection, despite Mary's genuine feelings for Henry. Anne has set her sights on the ultimate prize, and will stop at nothing until she is crowned Queen of England, no matter the cost to her sister, her King or country. As the Boleyn girls battle for the love of a King - one driven by ambition, the other by true affection - England is torn apart. Despite the dramatic consequences, the Boleyn girls ultimately find strength and loyalty in each other, and they remain forever connected by their bond as sisters.
THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL is an epic tale of lust, jealousy and betrayal as the Boleyn sisters find themselves at the mercy of their fiercely ambitious, conniving family as they use the girls as pawns to advance their own positions at the court of Henry VIII.
DVD EXTRAS
Feature Soundtrack: English 5.1
Subtitle Track: English SDH
1:85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen