Continuing On from the previous three season of Michael Hirst’s (Elizabeth: The Golden Age) epic series The Tudors, The Tudors: Season Four continues to chronicle the life and times of a man who is probably the most famous monarch in the world; the Tudor King, Henry VIII; finishing off not only the season, but the entire series, with the latter part of Henry’s life.
As with previous seasons, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (Shelter) returns to play the charismatic King in another season that mainly revolves around the issue for which Henry is best remembered; his six marriages; beginning this series with his marriage to his fifth wife, Katherine Howard (played by relative newcomer Tamzin Merchant, Pride & Prejudice); who was introduced near the close of season three, and enters the Tudor King’s court after a secret marriage to him; much to the distain on many onlookers.
The main source of contention for Henry’s latest wife comes from his eldest daughter Mary (Sarah Bolger, The Spiderwick Chronicles); who makes no bones about the fact that she doesn’t approve of the young queen’s childish nature (especially given that her father’s new bride is even younger than she is, and her own attempts to find love have been thwarted by circumstance and politics at every turn); hating the way in which Katherine conducts herself both in public and private; with no decorum, sense of status, majesty, or manners; as she seems to do nothing but dance and receive extremely lavish gifts from the besotted King.
It’s inevitable that things are going to go wrong for the newlyweds at some point down the road, and even anyone who doesn’t know their 16th Century Tudor history can see exactly what’s going to happen extremely quickly; given not only Katherine’s youthful and, frankly stupidly naïve, outlook on life, coupled with her less than savoury past, and the fact that over time Henry is forced to spend less and less time with her (due to his ever worsening leg troubles; which provide a few nasty sights throughout the series), but the issue of Henry’s chief servant Thomas Culpeper (Torrance Coombs, jPod) becoming obsessed with the new Queen as soon as he first lays eyes on her.
But despite knowing how the relationship is going to play out, it’s not only the backdrop of medieval European politics (featuring alliances, betrayals, and near unlimited potential for war and sabotage, as well as deep seeded religious malcontent and confusion) that makes it interesting, but the strong performances of the actors, and The Tudors ability to continue presenting everything the Showtime series has become famous for; intrigue, mystery, sex, tension, violence, affairs, betrayal, corruption, and more sex.
The Tudor’s final season is therefore just as gripping from the beginning as it has been from the outset of the entire series, and while the relationship with his fifth wife lasts a mere half season, it’s extremely engrossing (especially when things begin to dissemble, revelations are had, and witnesses need to not only be ‘questioned’ but properly punished), and plays nicely into the second half of the series; which concerns a rather large and important war with France, Henry’s sixth and final marriage, and continues the dynamic between him and his closest friends and advisors, as they begin to grow old, look back upon their lives, and once again attempt to reclaim their youth whilst finding a way to leave a long-lasting legacy.
Conducting a war with France provides a nice break to the series (which is generally limited in location to only a handful of rooms at the King’s court) by taking the King, his closest advisors, friends, and generals, as well as literally thousands of peasants, away from England to Boulogne for Henry’s famous siege on the city (which was supposedly invulnerable to his siege weapons), and is played out with some suitably impressive visuals; illustrating not only the frustration of conducting siege warfare and the problems of disease and starvation that accompany it, but featuring a number of clashes between the various forces, an impressive use of cannons and underground explosives, and a high degree of tension.
Katherine Parr (Joely Richardson, Nip/Tick) is introduced in the latter half of the series; as Henry’s sixth and final wife; and has a fairly interesting dynamic with not only the King and his children, but a few members of the court, but as there’s isn’t too much drama surrounding Henry’s final queen, she comes across as fairly dull; not having all that much to do or say, other than whine that a couple of things aren’t exactly how she’d like within the realm, and try to become closer with Henry’s children.
Richardson also puts forth a fairly bland performance as Katherine Parr; elevating the feeling of indifference that most viewers will feel towards her; as she neither clashes nor grows close with anyone in the series, and often seems too false; as if she’s consistently, and unsuccessfully, trying to force a sense of majesty on screen; which is juxtaposed completely by the efforts of Sarah Bolger; who’s turn as Princess Mary is flawless, compelling, and simply brilliant; as she doesn’t have to force a screen presence or sense of majesty, because she is effortlessly and completely regal; being prim, proper, strong, commanding, and undeniably tough and hardened; yet can effortlessly and instantly switch to showing a slightly vulnerable side when needs be.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers portrays the second Tudor King with all the vigour, anger, and traditional hot-blooded emotion we have come to expect, and turns in another performance that is always compelling, realistically fractured, often heartbreaking, and near impossible to turn away from; with his only real problems (discounting the sometimes pantomime way in which he conducts himself; as that should be expected by now) coming from the makeup department (who seem to age him very differently to other cast members, and seem to make him older then younger at regular intervals, until the final episode), and the fact that the voice he puts on in the season finale (to sound old) is frankly awful, and severely hinders his acting ability, and distracts everyone watching from what’s going on.
As with previous season the supporting cast tend to be of a very high calibre; with Henry Cavill (The Count of Monte Cristo star who has recently been cast as the next Superman) reappearing as Henry’s long-time friend and confidant Charles Brandon (a role he once again pulls off with ease; commanding an easy admiration with his likeable charm and strong principals, that serve him well into his aged, decrepit, and reflective state), Anthony Brophy (The Devil’s Own) reprising his role as ambassador Eustace Chapuys (who becomes less influential within the court as time goes on, and serves simply as a close friend to the Lady Mary), and numerous others such as David O’Hara (who’s at first a little hard to stomach, but becomes an influential player and a strangely compelling character within the court, as Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey).
In many ways the fourth and final season of The Tudors is just like those that have preceded it, and although it’s a compelling and easy watch from no matter where you began watching, a fan who has been invested from the start will get much more out of this season than any newcomer; by finally getting to see the real fate that finally befell the characters we have watched, loved, hated, and tolerated; seeing if the historical figures we have accompanied for the past four years lived to a ripe old age, grew bitter, died happy, or had their lives cut short in any of this season’s numerous battles, by the many virulent diseases of the time, or a brutal execution.
It’s similarities mean that any fan of The Tudors is guaranteed to thoroughly enjoy the fourth series (dubbed ‘the final seduction’); which comes with a number of special effects larger than anything we’ve previously seen (with not only battles, but torture and execution scenes looking amazing); despite the finale itself feeling just a little flat; as the entire episode is spent waiting for Henry’s inevitable demise, and grows just a little too fantastical for some viewers pleasure (with visions of past wives appearing, and other-worldly delusions proving to be a slight distraction, and severely altering the tone of everything that has come before); although it does a good job of not only reminding viewers of Henry’s entire reign (using numerous flashbacks that show just how good the ageing process really was), but instilling a sense of pride, admiration, and loss, for the world’s most famous monarch, and as any good series does, leaves you craving more.
Picture:
Having been filmed in high definition, and coming to Blu-ray via a full 1080p transfer, one would expect The Tudors final outing to look as strong, or stronger than it ever has before, and thankfully it doesn’t disappoint; as while the image may appear somewhat soft overall, and still be slightly spotty in the darker scenes (especially where fire exists off-screen) it’s far less noticeable that it ever has been before, and is accompanied by a stirring level of fine detail that more than holds up to scrutiny.
Textures are strong, colours and contrast are both excellent and perfectly suit the tone of the show, and even the thin veneer of noise simply serves to add a more film-like quality to the image; which sports generally natural and lifelike skin-tones, and does come with a few negligible inconsistencies between episodes or scenes (and contain one or two instances of severe ghosting), but nevertheless looks more than strong enough to serve its purpose, is miles ahead of the DVD quality, and is the best Tudors transfer to date.
Audio:
Coming by way of 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix, the soundtrack for The Tudors Season Four Blu-ray is also fairly strong, and while it’s unlikely to blow any listeners socks off, or completely astound a true audiophile, it contains plenty of appropriate ambience; nicely filling outdoor scenes with the sounds of nature, battle scenes with the screams of peasants and chaos of war, and Henry’s court with music and chatter; as well as some well levelled, clear, and always intelligible dialogue.
The series’ score does a good job of filling the soundfield, and while there are few pans or other similar effects to talk of, and only fairly weak and rare bass (which excels in the final events of the Siege of Boulogne, but feels oddly flat elsewhere; including times when you would expect it to be better; including scenes with cannon and gunfire), it’s still easy to listen to, never distracting, and gets the point across.
Extras:
Consisting of a mere three featurettes, the bonus features for The Tudors final season may seem a little slim, but contain a wealth of information and interesting factoids that are bound to both inform and entertain any fan of the show; beginning with a featurette entitled Illicit Affairs: Secret Romance in Henry’s Court, which features leading historical experts explaining the truth behind the relationships, affairs, and sexual antics, showcased in the series (beginning with a thorough explanation of the relationship between Culpeper and Katherine howard; illuminating a few highly intriguing facts the series left out; before explaining the social acceptability of males and females sleeping around, and what a number of other characters got up to in real life).
A further historically based featurette (featuring the same historical experts); entitled The Tudors After Henry: The Royal Children of Henry VIII; is just as interesting and informative, and lays out the basic history of the rest of the Tudor Dynasty (throwing in a few very interesting facts along the way), explaining what happened to each of Henry’s children, and how long they reigned for; while the final featurette sees series creator Michael Hirst is slightly less interesting, but explains what the show meant to him, and why he chose to make a number of decisions regarding the show’s direction, and the series’ closing episode.
While at first glance it may not seem like the fourth season of The Tudors comes to Blu-ray with a great range of special features (and it doesn’t), the features that do come bundled with the series are all extremely worthwhile inclusions that any fan of the show should watch; as they not only provide background on the show, but provide an amazingly interesting (yet brief) look at the real Tudor history and what happened after the death of Henry VIII; making for a fairly solid range of extras overall.
The Bottom Line:
While the fourth and final season of The Tudors may not be the ideal place for newcomers to enter the series, it’s still easy enough to pick up and contains all the sex, politics, betrayal, and backstabbing that fans expect from the show; continuing with the same formula that fans have come to know and love, it’s once again supported by strong and appropriate acting, racy story-lines, and a high degree of sex and tension that’s bound to thrill any viewer; as while history experts (who may quibble with the condensed timeline and slight historical divergences) will see what’s coming they will undoubtedly be entertained by the drama, and anyone who doesn’t know what’s coming will be shocked and amazed by the many plot twists and surprises that await them.
The picture and audio quality is of as high, or higher, a standard than any previous Tudors Blu-ray release (making for a great watch and listen that proves to be far superior to the DVD version), and while there may not be an abundance of special features, those that are included are all extremely worthy watches, and should not only entertain fans of the show, but as they actually enhance the experience of the show, should be watched by every Tudors fan.
As with any series The Tudors has its issues, but thankfully they are all minor here, and are ones that are not only forgivable but have been come to be expected by anyone who has enjoyed the show up until now; The Tudors Season Four might not contain the ending that everyone has been picturing up until now (and many a fan would have loved to have seen the series continue past the Henry VIII years, onto the reign of both Mary, and eventually Elizabeth) but it’s a suitably strong and elegant finish that simply has to be seen by fans of the series, is just as compelling as ever, continues to surprise, and was a truly gripping piece of television that comes highly recommended, is a great Blu-ray buy, and will be enjoyed by not only history buffs, but anyone who loves a good drama.
