How others will see it. In our "politically correct" age, it is usual to regard King Henry VIII as a murderous, selfish, spoiled monster, while Anne Boleyn is regarded as an innocent and tragic figure. Of course, reality is more complex, and to its credit, Anne of the Thousand Days does not present English history as feminists or idealists would have it. Henry's post-Katherine wives presumably gleefully seized their opportunity. Think of all the handmaidens, jewelry, fine clothes, and power they would obtain.
As English history, the movie is suspect, as are all such endeavors. The important thing is that it is credible, and aside from minor compacting of the story and a few ridiculous Royal conversations, it appears to be so. Most viewers won't raise their eyebrows when Henry appears in Anne's jail cell to ask if she's guilty, and to give her an escape from beheading merely by signing a document to annul the marriage. This is obvious artistic license, but again, few will care.
This is a dramatization of an important moment in English history - the end of Catholicism as a state-sponsored religion in England - will educate most viewers, and alert them that historical events happened even before 1776. Power and its use always fascinates, and the soap opera-like saga of Henry's attempts to ensure a legitimate male heir are also interesting. Most people of education and intelligence will favor this movie, although some will recognize its limitations.
How I felt about it. The story has been compacted. Thirteen years passed between the end of Anne's engagement to Percy in 1523, and her execution in 1536. Anne was queen for only a thousand days, but the King had ardently pursued her since 1525, some eleven years prior. So, Anne at the end was older than Bujold, the actress that plays her.
The key characters are those of Anne and Henry. Henry is not a tyrant here. He is eloquent more often than temperamental. He seeks a male heir to avert a succession crisis (and a possible civil war) after his demise. He orders people to their execution, but he is goaded into these murders of state, partly by Anne herself, and later by ambitious men such as Thomas Cromwell (John Colicos), an ancestor of the Lord Protector who would not be king. Immense, long-standing power has corrupted him less than expected, perhaps less than it would most men. And our heroine? Anne is proud, lovely, and determined. But she can be impossibly rude, and (as present here) is unpleasantly obsessed with her daughter Elizabeth's chances of succession to the English throne. At the time of Anne's death, Elizabeth had minimal chance of eventually ruling England, with three monarchs (Edward, Jane, Mary) having to meet their demise before her reign. This fact makes much of the film's later dialogue suspect.