Lady Jane

Name: Lady Jane
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Released: February 7, 1986
Duration: 136 min
Rating: 64
Cast: Cary Elwes, Helena Bonham Carter, Jane Lapotaire, Jill Bennett, John Wood

1986

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Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Critic Reviews

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Lady Jane

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Movie Details & Credits

United International Pictures (UIP) | Release Date: February 7, 1986 | PG-13

Starring: Cary Elwes, Helena Bonham Carter, Jane Lapotaire, Jill Bennett, John Wood, Joss Ackland, Michael Hordern, Patrick Stewart, Sara Kestelman, Warren Saire

Summary: The death of King Henry VIII throws his kingdom into chaos because of succession disputes. His weak son King Edward VI is on his deathbed. Anxious to keep England true to the Reformation, a scheming minister John Dudley marries off his son, Guilford, to Lady Jane Grey, whom he places on the throne after Edward dies. At first hostile to eachThe death of King Henry VIII throws his kingdom into chaos because of succession disputes. His weak son King Edward VI is on his deathbed. Anxious to keep England true to the Reformation, a scheming minister John Dudley marries off his son, Guilford, to Lady Jane Grey, whom he places on the throne after Edward dies. At first hostile to each other, Guilford and Jane fall in love. But they cannot withstand the course of power which will lead to their ultimate downfall.… Expand

Director: Trevor Nunn

Genre(s): Biography, Drama, History, Romance

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 136 min

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Critic Reviews

Kevin Thomas

It’s not only poignant but also fun and unabashedly entertaining in the way that “The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex” still is. And it does have it all: authentic, sumptuous 16th-Century settings awash with warm Tudor brick, a splendid cast adorned with jewel-encrusted costumes, palace intrigue and, best of all, a pair of star-crossed young lovers who are irresistible. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

With its emphasis on youthful idealism despoiled by treacherous, manipulative adults, Lady Jane emerges as a tragic historical romance tinged with a strong 1960s feeling...Performances are all top-drawer, beginning with newcomer Helena Bonham Carter in the title role. Read full review

Rita Kempley

Despite these lapses in decorum, Jane makes an impressive Tudor "Romeo and Juliet," full of pomp and circumstance. [7 Feb 1986, p.N19]

Janet Maslin

At the very least, Lady Jane ought to summon more emotion than it does. But the early part of it is so reserved, and the latter part so incongruously fulsome, that it never manages to draw any deep response - not even when a beheading costs the hapless young Jane her luxuriant, Brooke Shields-like hair. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Staff (Not Credited)

Despite Trevor Nunn's direction, this gorgeously photographed travesty of history doesn't omit a single cliche of the costume genre and feels even longer than its 142-minute running time. Fans of RSC-style scenery-chewing will not, however, be disappointed. Read full review

Paul Attanasio

Overall, the movie is cloddishly composed, with awkward zooms and theatrical blocking. This is one of those movies where characters speak in asides to the audience; Nunn has reinvented the proscenium arch. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Despite its radical gloss, this over-long, lifeless epic of doomed true love falls into all the predictable traps: excessive pageantry, Monty Python-like peasants, dialogue that drips with sentiment, and even the sight of young lovers running through rural England. Read full review

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