Editorial Review:

Product Description:
The story of Lady Jane Grey, cousin to Henry the VIII, who found herself Queen of England for 9 days in 1553, at the age of 16.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 12-DEC-2003
Media Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video:
"I foresee a glittering future for your daughter," the conspiratorial Duke of Northumberland insidiously whispers to the mother of Lady Jane Grey, the woman who would be England's queen, albeit for only nine days. The same could be said for Helena Bonham Carter, who, in her screen debut, carries this historical drama with aplomb. Jane, a principled and precocious 15-year-old (she reads Plato in Greek) was a pawn in a plot to maintain Protestant rule in the wake of young King Edward's death. A dashing Cary Elwes, anticipating his swashbuckling role in The Princess Bride, costars as Northumberland's feckless, wastrel son, Guilford, whose arranged marriage to Jane unexpectedly blossoms into love and rebellion. Anglophiles will bask in this impeccably mounted production (featuring Patrick Stewart as Jane's bullying father), but swooning teens, too, may embrace these young lovers as did the youths who made Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 Romeo & Juliet a box-office smash in its day. --Donald Liebenson

Lady Jane, aside from the touching love story which no historian could realistically capture, appeared to be an accurate account of the girl who was manipulated into becoming one of the queens of England. It was well acted and entertaining and free from the usual phoniness of the movie industry.

Average Rating:

Rating: - Lady Jane
Lady Jane, aside from the touching love story which no historian could realistically capture, appeared to be an accurate account of the girl who was manipulated into becoming one of the queens of England. It was well acted and entertaining and free from the usual phoniness of the movie industry.

Rating: - A Great Movie with Some Historical Innaccuracies
"Lady Jane" tells the story of one of British histories tragic figures, Lady Jane Grey, who was forced onto the throne by her manipulative parents and the father of her husband John Dudley. Lady Jane was only queen of England for 9 days, but her story was a good one. The movie takes some liberties with the love of Jane and Guildford Dudley, but it does capture Jane's will and her faith, as well as her strength in the face of death.

Great performances are given by young Helena Bonham Carter and Cary Elwes. While this movie is not as flashy as more recent portrayals of the Tudor error (as seen in Elizabeth, The Tudors, and Shakespeare in Love) the movie has a lot of heart and accurately captures the trials of being a woman, even a royal one, in Tudor England. If you're a fan of the period this movie will not disappoint you.

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Rating: - Birthright and power after Hentry VIII's death
Well, we all more or less know the story of Henry VIII and his reign. Most of it is attributed to his many wives and his effort to separate England from the Catholic Church. But once King (Henry VIII and his son Edward) died, court had to deal with counry that is divided by church, religion and potential fight on who will inherit the throne. Lady Jane was Henry's nice, daughter of his siter Frances. Young and well educated, she is an idealist who is being used for political purposes by the court advisors and her own parents. Without being groomed for power and reign, she is ill equipped to lead the country that is in trouble politically, economically and spiritually. Newly married, she is deeply influenced by her husband and her own strong will. It does not take long before Mary, her cousin and Henry's daughter with his marriage with Catherine of Aragon of Spain takes action to regain her crown and her birthright to reign Englad, Ireland and France. With the help of the Spanish Army, Mary reclaims her throne and eventually executes her cousin Lady Jane, pretender to the throne. Young Helena Bonham Carter gives wonderful performance of a young woman (Lady Jane) from aristocratic family, ill prepared for the duties her family laid out for her in unprecedented political coup that lasted only 9 days and took lives of most of her family, including her father and her husband.

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Rating: - An enjoyable story although not entirely true to history
"Lady Jane" is a really enjoyable film; it features very bravo performances by the two leads as well as good work by Patrick Stewart as the Machiavellian father. The costumes are good, and the film does a very good job showing that people of this period really did consider controversies of religious dogma to be life or death matters for which people did indeed die. The love story between Jane Grey and her husband makes for a better story, but it is apparently bad history as in fact Jane was completely at the mercy of her father and forced in to what was, in reality, a loveless political marriage.

Nor were Jane and her husband the rebellious social reformers that the film depicts. Once again, this makes for a better story but is not true to history. No matter. This is an enjoyable film that captures the flavor of a tumultuous period in history during which time most Europeans lived in poverty without hope or liberty. Recommended for its entertainment value if not its fidelity to historical accuracy.

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Rating: - PRETTY BAD HISTORICAL DRAMA
This movie was SO awful, dreary and depressing that my friend and I stopped watching it about 1 hour into it - we couldn't take it anymore!! And we are both HUGE Tudor history fans. But this film was just awful in every way; it was a total waste of money and I wish I could return it!!!

If you want to see REAL Tudors drama with fabulous acting, great scenery and extraordinary costumes, check out The Tudors on Showtime - do yourself a favor and don't bother with "Lady Jane"!

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Henry VIII

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The Other Boleyn Girl (2003 BBC Version)