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I've been occupying my mind at work with costume flicks lately. I just finished "The Other Boleyn Girl" a day or two ago. (So much gorgeous velvet, omg. and Natalie Portman does 'ambitious and evil' better than I'd imagined she could.)
One quote from the movie struck me so much that I went looking on the internet to find it. Alas, I could not.
It was a conversation between Anne's parents. Her father was upset because the daughters weren't putting out for King Henry.
Anne's mother said something like "He'll burn our daughter for treason!"
Her father said "Treason? What do you mean? Our daughter hasn't done anything treasonous!"
Her mother replied something to the effect of "What is treason? Treason is whatever displeases the king!"...wow.
I did, however, find this one on IMDB. I also like it very much.
King Henry VIII: [during a supper in the banquet hall, to Anne] What's so amusing?
Anne Boleyn: I was merely offering my thoughts on the new French king. With such great power, yet such meager authority as a man.
King Henry VIII: [intrigued] Continue.
Anne Boleyn: [slowly walking forward] His pettiness is astounding. He will bear a mortal grudge at the mildest of slights. Spoiled cub with a spike in his paw. Riveted with resentment. Unable to forgive or forget. A great king, a great man rises above such things.
It's interesting (and sad) that King Henry VIII started life as a scholar, a poet, a musician, an athlete--a promising, creative and intelligent young man. But his unbridled authority as king left him at the end of his life a diseased, bloated, stinking tyrant, despised and feared, having bankrupted his kingdom and destroyed lives simply because it pleased him to do so. Someone disagreed with him, someone told him no, and someone was destroyed for it. Sad. It seems that power is sometimes more punishment than reward. I wonder why some people continue to pursue things that end up ruining their souls.
As ever, Spock said it best: "Sometimes having a thing is not so pleasant as wanting."
One quote from the movie struck me so much that I went looking on the internet to find it. Alas, I could not.
It was a conversation between Anne's parents. Her father was upset because the daughters weren't putting out for King Henry.
Anne's mother said something like "He'll burn our daughter for treason!"
Her father said "Treason? What do you mean? Our daughter hasn't done anything treasonous!"
Her mother replied something to the effect of "What is treason? Treason is whatever displeases the king!"...wow.
I did, however, find this one on IMDB. I also like it very much.
King Henry VIII: [during a supper in the banquet hall, to Anne] What's so amusing?
Anne Boleyn: I was merely offering my thoughts on the new French king. With such great power, yet such meager authority as a man.
King Henry VIII: [intrigued] Continue.
Anne Boleyn: [slowly walking forward] His pettiness is astounding. He will bear a mortal grudge at the mildest of slights. Spoiled cub with a spike in his paw. Riveted with resentment. Unable to forgive or forget. A great king, a great man rises above such things.
It's interesting (and sad) that King Henry VIII started life as a scholar, a poet, a musician, an athlete--a promising, creative and intelligent young man. But his unbridled authority as king left him at the end of his life a diseased, bloated, stinking tyrant, despised and feared, having bankrupted his kingdom and destroyed lives simply because it pleased him to do so. Someone disagreed with him, someone told him no, and someone was destroyed for it. Sad. It seems that power is sometimes more punishment than reward. I wonder why some people continue to pursue things that end up ruining their souls.
As ever, Spock said it best: "Sometimes having a thing is not so pleasant as wanting."
