Maybe you saw Six, the popular stage musical which features the six wives of Henry VIII. They dance, prance, sing. Each had an unfortunate ending, but audiences see the energetic side of each woman, not only her anguish. Not so in Anna Boleyn, the German silent film from 1920 by master filmmaker Ernst Lubitsch. This spectacular production was restored several years ago from a negative and is now available on Blu-ray from Kino-Lorber.
It’s interesting to note that this film was produced shortly after Germany lost World War I. It would not have been a surprise if its former foes refused to license it. But it had a successful international run, making a good profit even though its budget was quite high.
Two of Germany’s most acclaimed actors star. In the title role is Henny Porten, one of Germany’s first film stars. She played in her first motion picture in 1906, and her career as actor and producer spanned half a century. Appearing more intense than she is beautiful in the role of Ann Boleyn, Porten, at age thirty, exudes angst. According to this screenplay, Ann or Anna already has a beloved and is forced into a marriage to the portly, evil king. As history has it, Henry dumps his first wife Catherine because she has not provided a male heir. To divorce, he must go against the Pope and Catholicism. He leaves the church, and so begins the Reformation and the Church of England. And also begins Henry’s parade of unsatisfying marriages.
Henry VIII is a larger-than-life figure in history. Who better to play him than Emil Jannings, one of the most powerful actors of the silent era! Jannings was an international film star, and he even was the first actor to win the Academy Award in the U.S. His Henry is robust, right on target with audiences’ understanding of this man. He is huge, overbearing, a narcissist.
Aside from the opportunity to see two of the silent era’s most notable stars, what makes Anna Boleyn outstanding are its director and the expensive production values. The director, Ernst Lubitsch, was still in his twenties. He would go on to become one of Hollywood’s most accomplished directors, known for his witty comedies and his “Lubitsch Touch.” Among his American films are Trouble in Paradise, Angel, The Shop Around the Corner, and To Be or Not to Be. As I have mentioned occasionally, his favorite screenwriter was Samson Raphaelson, who was my mentor and like a grandfather to me.
When released, Anna Boleyn was an outstanding example of historical drama presented on a grand scale. Even more than one hundred years later, this film has a power and grandeur than makes it a standout. It was Mary Pickford’s favorite film, according to some sources, and it was she who first brought Lubitsch to America shortly after its release.
When I think of film people who were in Germany during the Nazi era, I wonder: Which side were they on? Emil Jannings was a confirmed Nazi. He starred in Nazi propaganda films. Henny Porten was married to a Jew and stayed loyal to her husband. They went through bad times.
Anna Boleyn is an important silent film, both for the significance of the people who created it and for its extraordinary production values. Seeing it in a 2K digital restoration on Blu-ray is a treat for those who appreciate our film history.
Audrey Kupferberg is a film and video archivist and retired appraiser. She is lecturer emeritus and the former director of Film Studies at the University at Albany and co-authored several entertainment biographies with her late husband and creative partner, Rob Edelman.
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