The Other Boleyn Girl

[jinx]

Like I said with The Tudors...Hang the historical inaccuracies...it's -entertaining!-

I've read three of Gregory's books, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Queen's Fool (actually, my favourite of hers, as there is less focus on the royals, and more on a life affected by theirs), and The Virgin's Lover.  She writes really well, as I see it, and makes her characters...well...a little believable and really intriguing at the same time.

I haven't managed to see the movie yet.  I might watch it On Demand or something on of these days.

[Capt Gabriela Fullpepper]

Granted there is no hisorical record that proves or disproves Anne as the elder or Mary as the elder. It is all based on time line events that occured and what few records exist. It is widely believed that Anne was the elder of the two Boleyn girls.

Granted Weir is a historical writer, she does also write some fiction. Maxwell and Gregory are indead fiction writers, but as a writer writing historical fiction, let us hope that they would hold to the facts and embellish that which is not known.

How would it look in a historical novel to say that Say Abe Linconln was NOT killed by John Wilkes Booth, but by Robert E Lee. This would not may hit historical fiction but Historical Fantasy instead. If you base things on rumor such as say the story of George Armstrong Custer and his Native American Wife and their half-breed son, then this is a wee bit differeant as it is based on historical rumor that has some bases of fact to it.

While Gregory and Maxwell were entertaining reads I personally was a little turned off by te historical in flaws. Does this mean I would not read their novels? No, But it just means I read them as I would any romance novel and that is based on a historical time frame and in this case historical characters.

Weir is one of the best writers of Tudor history. She tends to meander or jump around in her writings which makes her harder to read. But she has her facts down and this is what makes her a good writer. Starkey tends to get right to the point but also tends to put his view on things. But I also find that as I read his writings, he points out some interesting psycological details that make you have a better understanding of who these people where and why they did what they did. I have yet to read his version of the Six wives of Henry the VIII and I have read reviews that make me timid in wanting to, as he critiques Weir and another writer through out the book and compares his beliefs to theirs.

David Starkey was narrator to a PBS "The Six Wives of Henry the VII and it is based on his writings. I have not seen it, but would like to get a copy of the DVD.

[LadyMeg]

I enjoy Gregory's books a great deal (though I admit, Queen's Fool and Constant Princess were my favorites, Other Boleyn came close third) and personally don't mind the historical inaccuracies.  My philosophy is always that we didn't live back then, so how do we REALLY know what happened?  It lets me let go and just be entertained.  Besides, I did like her representation of the two girls, Anne in particular.  I didn't say I liked her (I get the feeling if I lived then, she and I would butt heads and probably both end up headless *sigh*).

The movie was enjoyable if I separate the two (realize that one is a book and another a movie and completely different entities).  There were elements in the book I would have liked to have seen in the movie and would have made some transitions smoother and some plotlines less confusing.  A friend of mine who had not read the book was rather confused about some things, but it didn't hinder her ability to comprehend or enjoy the movie.  I liked the performances and would have liked to have seen George Boleyn and Jane a bit more ('cause who wouldn't?  That would just be pure entertainment) and Eric Bana should have had better lines 'cause he's a decent actor.  He was just a pawn in this movie though (performance, script and screentime wise).  I liked it, will own it and enjoy it.

They tried to fit alot into the movie and I think that was the issue.  Would I see it again in the theatres and pay that price?  Sure.  But then again... I'm a big fan of the Tudors too.

[Miranda]

Honestly the issue that I had with the movie was they should have left most of the deleted scenes where they were.  The one's that explain William Carey's fate, expound on the Stafford/Mary relationship, etc.  Without them, people who did not read the book, were left wondering "Where did Mary's Husband Go?", "Why is she shacked up with her father's servant?"  The cut scenes added no more than 10 or 15 minutes, and would have made a huge difference.

A lot of movies these days seem to suffer from poor editing.

As far as adaptation goes, they took a very "Mary-centric" book, and turned it into a very "Anne-centric" movie.

[DuCoeur]

I just saw the movie the other day....

They also changed the Parents attitude from the book.  Making the Mother and Father more sympathetic. 

I had so many problems with the other Boelyn Girl (The Book and now the movie)  that i look at it as almost a seperate story...Kind of like they ruined the X-men FromBook to movies.  Ok maybe a bad example but those who are fans know what I mean.

[The Lady Mercedes]

I have all the books mentioned in these posts as well as others and I also have the OBG movie. I've read & reread the book several times and was so disappointed. I understand the movie can't have everything from the book in it, however the stuff they did was inacurate (in comparrison to the book) or mixed up timewise. As has been said it was visually stunning...

[ladylissame]

I was very disappointed in the movie. Still absolutely LOVE the book. I have read her entire Tudor series and The White Queen. There is something about the way she writes, it draws me into it. I have a very hard time putting down her books.

[anguissette]

Phillipa Gregory is a very talented writer, and I've enjoyed most of her other novels, but I have to say, the Other Boleyn Girl was very dissappointing to me in it's presentation of Anne Boleyn.

I just don't see what's so entertaining about a Madonna/Whore battle between sisters for pages and pages and pages, whether you call them Anne and Mary or anything else.  Neither one of them were fully developed characters ... Mary's name should have been Sue instead of Boleyn, and Anne, probably the brightest and most motivated of Henry's wives; is portrayed as a woman with no talent for, or interest in anything except husband stealing?  Stupid, dismissive and anti-woman imho, though I was relieved to see Gregory was more fair in later novels such as "The Boleyn Inheiritance" to some of the other stereotyped Tudor wives.   

Props to Gregory for the idea, but I didn't particularly care for the book, and movies from books are never as good as the original read, so I see no point in my seeing this one when the book was so awful from jump street. 

[tiberiusflynn]

By the end of the movie, I was screaming at the TV.......haven't read the book. I only saw the american version though....wonder if the BBC version was any better??

[Ambrosine]

I have to admit that I watched the movie again for the 3rd or 4Th time. As always lead me to wanting MORE! I am so disappointed in the amount of story that is left out from the book. I am in the middle of reading her newest book "The White Queen" which I'm glad to say I'm having a hard time putting down. I truly wish the could make another movie out of her books but just stick to the boo!