Queen Mary I, Mary Tudor, History of England, Catholic Heritage - a film

Queen Mary I of England

Mary Tudor, History of England, Catholic Heritage

 

 

Last year (2016) saw the release of our film 'Mary Tudor - The Catholic Queen' on DVD.

The film is a historical, biographical journey with Queen Mary I of England told in her own words.

 

 

Film Production

 

We had wanted to have a film about Queen Mary Tudor in our collection since we founded Mary's Dowry Productions. She was the last Catholic Queen of England and remains the most maligned. It was a heavy task to research and write the narrative. While we did not want to be too biased we wanted to provide a film that is Queen Mary friendly because there is a lot of Queen Mary unfriendly out there. Interestingly, the actual historical documents, facts and information are all Queen Mary friendly, it is pretty much the interpretation and presentation of Queen Mary since the Reformation that has always taken a specific tone. So the first step in our production was to work very carefully on the facts, details and information in history and write our narrative presentation.

Next step was to find locations for our visuals, as well as the image that we wanted Queen Mary to have on screen.

 

FIRE!

 

 

Obviously we were going to include Queen Mary's most famous association with 'burning heretics' and that is how we open our film. For the imagery we drew upon footage we had captured while on location in Gosport in 2009 at the Living History Village. We open up the film with the Revival of the Heresy Acts, a fascinating part of England's history that goes back to 1382 and places Tudor governmental sentencing within the correct and whole historical context. The narration opens over the sound of the crackling of fire and the visual of the official written text of the 'Revival of the Heresy Acts' document of November 1554 - this is a very fascinating look at history linked to Queen Mary I.

 

 

BEDHAM RUINS

 

We had to present our own visuals of Queen Mary I to run throughout the film, so we decided to film outside and chose two locations local to us. The first was in the ruins of a missionary church and school located in a forest in Bedham near Petworth. We liked the idea of having the form of Queen Mary Tudor walking through a ruined building. The structure is very atmospheric and seemed to capture history. We spent a couple of hours in the eerie silence acquiring footage of Queen Mary I for specific segments of her biography.

 

 

BEGINNINGS

 

After the opening of the film with the Revival of the Heresy Acts, we go back to the very beginning of Mary Tudor's life, to her birth. In the context of history this is very fascinating and often moving and tragic. We made good use of portraits and paintings of the Princess Mary, following her through her infant and childhood years to specific events and circumstances in the life of her father, King Henry VIII, that shaped history and Princess Mary's life and future reign.

 

 

Of particular interest to us in Mary's private life was Mary's love of music and reading and later, when she sent cucumbers from her own garden to the pregnant Jane Seymour, showing her human and personal qualities and interests.

 

RACTON RUINS

 

For additional visuals we travelled to Racton Ruins outside of Chichester. This was a very eerie place with some beautiful views. We wanted Queen Mary I to have a structure behind her and this worked very well in the background. The various images and locations are interspersed throughout the film and give an overall effective presentation of Queen Mary I as a person, a living form, that we were able to run beneath the narrative of her life and reign.

 

 

FINISHING TOUCHES

 

To complete a film by Mary's Dowry Productions, the final edit is given colour effects and any special effects required. It is then sent as an AVI file over to our composer, Bernadette. Bernadette has her own music blog where she often writes about her inspirations and experience writing each film score. It can be visited here:

 

BERN'S MUSIC CORNER

 

This is the most important finishing touch because the original music score flows alongside the narrative and visuals to complete our unique filmmaking style. In the music for our film about Queen Mary Tudor, Bernadette used a lot of Gregorian Monks in the segments about the Church in England, the dismantling of Catholic culture and the Mass. This is beautifully effective and spiritual.

Overall, the music score for 'Queen Mary I of England' draws the viewer and listener into the journey of the Queen, with special touches of instruments from the Tudor Era fused with several modern instruments. Some of the instruments used in our film score include:

 

STRINGS

EARLY RENAISSANCE HARP

LUTE

NYLON GUITAR

TRADITIONAL WOODEN FLUTE

SHEVANNAI

CANTUS

TENOR VIOLA DA GAMBA

ALTO RECORDER

SMALL PSALTRY 

 

 CONCLUSION

 

'Queen Mary I of England' by Mary's Dowry Productions was a journey through faith and history in England for ourselves too and one that we are now pleased to have available on DVD worldwide. Having wanted to present her life and reign for so many years, we are pleased to be able to offer another source for anyone interested in the life of the daughter of King Henry VIII and Queen Katherine of Aragon. It is a film that delves into the history of England and England's Catholic heritage.

 

Our film runs for 55 minutes and very carefully and thoroughly presents the life, reign and death of Queen Mary I of England with our trademark style and approach.

We are pleased to be able to offer this DVD worldwide in all region formats in our online shop which can be viewed by following the link below.

 

MARY TUDOR DVD

 

Coming soon from

Mary's Dowry Productions

to DVD

'Queen Katherine of Aragon'

 

 

www.marysdowryproductions.org



Saint John Bosco and his dreams - Catholic Film News - a new DVD now available, 40 dreams, priest, teacher, friend.

'Saint John Bosco and his dreams'

CATHOLIC FILM NEWS - June 2017

 

 

NEW FILM RELEASE

NEW from Mary's Dowry Productions is our 50 minute film exploring the life and dreams of Italian priest, educator, writer and friend, Saint John Bosco, produced in 2017 and now available on DVD worldwide through:

 

AMAZON UK

 

and

 

Mary's Dowry Productions ORG

 

FILM PRODUCTION INFORMATION

 

Saint John Bosco is one of 80 original films on the lives of the Saints produced by Mary's Dowry Productions, and is one of our new releases in 2017, the 10th year of the founding of our film production apostolate. Saint John Bosco has a run length of 50 minutes and takes the viewer on an informative, prayerful and very atmospheric journey through the life and dreams of this Italian Saint.

A book called 'The 40 dreams of Saint John Bosco' first came into our hands about 20 years ago. It presents a selection of dream/visions that Saint John Bosco had, beginning as a small boy, as recorded by the Saint in his journals and diaries. The dreams made a great impression upon us and have often been the subject of our conversations.

 

 

In 2016 we had one of our conference/discussions about Saints and films and thought how amazing it would be to have not only a biographical film about Saint John Bosco's life and missions, but a presentation of some of his dreams. His dreams were given not only as lessons, warnings and instructions for his Oratory boys, but for all Christians, and they are especially relevant today.

Of course, recreating such vivid and descriptive dreams would be a challenge, especially for a film apostolate that functions on the tiniest of budgets. But when we feel that a subject is inspired, we simply go for it. So, at the end of 2016 we booked a couple of filming days in the 'barn' (our 'studio') next to our church and set about planning our film.

 

VISUALS

 

Saint John Bosco's Oratory Boys
© 2017 Mary's Dowry Productions

© 2017 Mary's Dowry Productions

Casting was the first step in the production process. We like to have a variety of imagery in our films, sometimes they only show a Saint in an abstract way, distant shots out and about. Other times we call upon our eager and willing team of 'actors' to portray specific Saints and characters associated with them. This requires backdrops and a filming day especially set aside.

For the portrayal of Saint John Bosco we asked a parishioner friend who had portrayed Saint Maximilian Kolbe for us in 2015. For Don Bosco's story we needed a selection of visuals to run beneath our narrative that would include Saint John Bosco's Oratory boys. Among the boys would be Saint Dominic Savio. The boys would feature in the Oratory scenes as well as the dreams we chose to present in our film. As well as boys, we needed a few girls to work with Saint Mary Mazzarello, co-foundress with Saint Don Bosco of the Salesian Sisters. We also needed characters who would feature in Saint Don Bosco's dreams, such as the devil, Death's Messenger, the 'man in the cap' - Don Bosco's guide - and others. We called upon a cast of about 20 parishioners, local Catholic school children, teachers and friends to portray these various people.

 

Death's Messenger
© 2017 Mary's Dowry Productions

The Devil
© 2017 Mary's Dowry Productions

The dreams that we chose to portray also include 'To Hell and Back', one of Saint John Bosco's most vivid and sobering dream involving a long journey with his guide into hell. We kept things simple but this turned out to be visually very effective in the end result.

The filming day took place in January 2017 in the 'barn' and its courtyard and garden with simple sets to serve as backdrops. The visuals that we acquired were perfect. It was a difficult day, lots of things go wrong and there is always the sense of oppression whenever we film (always a good sign), but lots of things happen that make us stop and think 'wow that is so guided'. We acquired some wonderful images. The next step saw us finalising narrative, acquiring paintings, photographs and images over the next few months so that in May we were able to work on the editing process.

 

Editing process
© 2017 Mary's Dowry Productions

Editing Saint Don Bosco
© 2017 Mary's Dowry Productions

Finally, at the end of May, despite numerous obstacles (again, always a good sign) the film was complete with effects and credits and ready for the music. Music composition on our films is the most important part because it creates such a specific atmosphere for the film. Our films are prayerful encounters and journeys as well as informative tools. Bernadette wrote a beautiful and powerful score for Saint Don Bosco while Emily finalised the DVD cover. The film was ready for release on June 2nd and is now available in our online shops and through Amazon.

 

© 2017 Mary's Dowry Productions

© 2017 Mary's Dowry Productions

© 2017 Mary's Dowry Productions

© 2017 Mary's Dowry Productions

Our film 'Saint John Bosco and his dreams' takes a look at some serious topics such as the tragic consequence of sin and the reality of hell. Some of the imagery in Saint John Bosco's dreams is powerful and shows some of his Oratory boys fleeing the Justice of God into hell. Saint John Bosco's visit to hell, its chambers and viewing platform as well as the inscriptions shown to him by his guide, are also sobering.

We were pleased to be able to present these important messages and images through film and our own experience watching the final DVD left us truly feeling as though we had journeyed with Saint Don Bosco through the places God wished for him to see and share with us.

 

© 2017 Mary's Dowry Productions

© 2017 Mary's Dowry Productions

© 2017 Mary's Dowry Productions

© 2017 Mary's Dowry Productions

© 2017 Mary's Dowry Productions

 

Our film is available NOW through our online shops and Amazon UK.

 

Coming soon:

 

Saint Dominic Savio

Saint Mary Mazzarello

 

as well as

 

Saint Faustina

Saint Margaret Mary

Blessed Bartolo Longo

Saint Claude de la Columbiere

and many more.

 

www.marysdowryproductions.org

 

 

Why venerate the martyrs? "Our forefathers in the faith are indeed exceedingly honourable" - The Martyrs of England and Wales

The Faith of our Fathers in England and Wales

4th May 2017

The Martyrs

Mass in a forest - the life of an English Martyr

Our film production apostolate, Mary's Dowry Productions, was founded in 2007 because of an English Martyr. Saint Philip Howard, the Earl of Arundel.

Since then, we have managed to present the accounts of several English Martyrs in film biographies as a way of making their heroic witnesses, missions and love for the Catholic Faith in England, more well known. Many of these have been broadcast on EWTN, thus reaching people all over the globe. We have had many letters and emails from people, especially in the USA, who have been amazed to learn the history of the English Martyrs, and the history of the Catholic Faith in England especially during penal times.

As a daily remembrance of our forefathers in the faith, we recall the historical records of their lives and times as well as their own writings.

The claims of the martyrs on our devotion need hardly be expressed. If the apostle of every country is specially venerated as the means by which the faith was first received, what honour is due to this goodly company of our own race and speech which at so great a cost preserved the faith for us?

Its members are our patrons, then, by the double tie of nature and grace.

 

Saint Henry Morse in prison © 2014 Mary's Dowry Productions

"Look," says the Prophet, "to the rock whence you are hewn, to the hole of the pit whence you were dug out." And our forefathers in the faith are indeed "exceedingly honourable." Fisher, the saintly cardinal; More, the illustrious chancellor; Campion, the "golden-mouthed"; Southwell, the priest poet; Margaret Pole, the last of the Plantagenets; Margaret Clitherow, in the "winepress alone", Ralph Milner, the sturdy yeoman; Philip Howard, the victim of Herodias; Swithun Wells, a "hunter before the Lord"; Horner the tailor, with his vestments of salvation; Mason, the serving-man; Plunketh, last in time, not least in dignity or holiness. All these, high or humble, with the sons of SS. Augustine, Benedict, Bridget, Bruno, Francis, Ignatius, and the crowd of secular priests, bear the same palm and shine with the same aureole, for they confessed una voce the same faith and sealed it with their blood, and for this land of ours.

(From the Preface of the Mementoes of the Martyrs and Confessors of England and Wales by Henry Sebastian Bowden)

 

Protomartyr Saint John Houghton, who was executed on 4th May 1535

Some of our films about the English Martyrs are available to watch on Youtube, thus reaching a different audience as well as being shown to classes.

All of our films are available on DVD worldwide in all region formats from:

 

www.marysdowryproductions.org

 

 



3rd May 1606 - an English Martyr - The execution of Father Henry Garnet, Jesuit

THE EXECUTION OF FATHER HENRY GARNET

3rd May 1606

 

 

On this day in England in 1606, Father Henry Garnet was executed at Tyburn, London.

For some centuries, a second feast, the Invention of the Cross, was celebrated on May 3 in the Roman and Gallican churches, following a tradition that marked that date as the day on which Saint Helena discovered the True Cross. In Jerusalem, however, the finding of the Cross was celebrated from the beginning on September 14.  Pope Saint John XXIII removed this duplication in 1960, so that the General Roman Calendar now celebrates the Holy Cross only on September 14.

 

At the time of Father Henry Garnet's execution, he highlighted the date of the Feast of the Holy Cross and reaffirmed his innocence of the crimes of which he was charged.

Father Henry Garnet was an important figure in England during the time of the Martyrs, as the head of the Jesuits in England and a deeply holy priest.

 

We have included Father Henry Garnet in several of our film biographies of the English Martyrs, especially in our film SAINT NICHOLAS OWEN: THE PRIEST HOLE MAKER.

 

Here is an account of this day in 1606:

 

3rd May 1606 - Father Henry Garnet's execution

 

After about three months spent in the Tower, on Saturday 3 May 1606 Garnet was strapped to a wooden hurdle and taken by three horses to the churchyard of St Paul's. He wore a black cloak over his clothes and hat, and spent much of the journey with his hands together and eyes closed. Present in the churchyard were the Sheriff of London, Sir Henry Montague, George Abbot and John Overal. When asked if he had knowledge of any further treasons, Garnet replied that he had nothing to say. He rejected any entreatments to abandon his faith for Protestantism, and said that he had committed no offence against the king. The only thing he thought he might be condemned for was for abiding by the terms of the confessional, and if by that action he had offended the king or state, he asked for forgiveness. The recorder announced that this was an admission of guilt, but Garnet reiterated his not guilty plea and continued to argue the point.

 

3rd May, a second FEAST OF THE CROSS - SAINT HELEN

 

 

 

Garnet highlighted the date of his execution, 3 May, the Feast of the Cross, and reaffirmed his innocence. He defended Anne Vaux against claims that their relationship had been inappropriate. He then prayed at the base of the ladder, disrobed down to his long, sewn-up shirt, "that the wind might not blow it up", and mounted the ladder. He ignored a Protestant minister who came forward, replying to an objectionable member of the audience that he "ever meant to die a true but perfect Catholic". Bishop Overal protested that "we are all Catholics", although Garnet disagreed with this. He once again said his prayers, and was then thrown off the ladder. Before the executioner could cut him down alive, many in the crowd pulled on his legs, and as a result, Garnet did not suffer the remainder of his grim sentence.

 

Henry Garnet conceals St. Nicholas Owen in one of
St. Nicholas Owen's own priest holes before he and
his fellow Jesuits hide themselves
Screenshot © 2010 St. Nicholas Owen DVD

 There was no applause when the executioner held Garnet's heart aloft and said the traditional words, "Behold the heart of a traitor". His head was set on a pole on London Bridge, but crowds of onlookers fascinated by its pallid appearance eventually forced the government to turn the head upwards, so its face was no longer visible.

A bloodstained straw husk saved from the scene of the execution and said to bear Garnet's image became an object of curiosity. It was smuggled out of the country into the possession of the Society of Jesus, before being lost during the French Revolution (from Wikipedia)

 

Henry Garnet features in several of our films.

Visit us online for a full listing of films including

Saint Nicholas Owen and Saint Helen:

 

www.marysdowryproductions.org 

A meditation on the English Martyrs, Mary's Dowry Productions, Feast Day May 4th

 

Here is a meditation on the

ENGLISH MARTYRS

for their feast day on May 4th

 

For films about individual English Martyrs visit:

 

www.marysdowryproductions.org

 

In this video you will see some new footage of 'St. Thomas Garnet' which we filmed for in March. A new film biography of his life and martyrdom will be available this year (2017).

Meanwhile, we have a variety of films of the English Martyrs in stock, shipped worldwide in all region formats, some of which have been broadcast on EWTN.





THE WITNESS OF TRADITION - St Richard Reynold, English Martyr, May 2017

THE WITNESS OF TRADITION

St. Richard Reynolds - Bridgettine monk

Martyred on May 4th 1535

 

 

St. Richard Reynolds was hanged, drawn and quartered with St. John Houghton.

Here is today's reading taken from:

Mementoes of the Martyrs and Confessors of England and Wales

by Henry Sebastian Bowden

 

The Witness of Tradition

 

INTERROGATED by Chancellor Audley as to why he persisted in an opinion against which so many lords and bishops in Parliament and the whole realm had decreed, Reynolds replied:

 

"I had intended to imitate our Lord Jesus Christ when He was questioned by Herod and not to answer. But since you compel me to clear both my conscience and that of the bystanders, I say that if we propose to maintain opinions by proofs, testimonies and reasons, mine will be far stronger than yours, because I have all the rest of Christendom in my favour.

I dare even say all this kingdom, although the small part holds with you, for I am sure the larger part is at heart of our opinion, although outwardly - partly from fear and partly from hope - they profess to be of yours."

 

On this he was commanded, under the heaviest penalties of the law, to declare who held with him. He replied,

"All good men of the kingdom hold with me," and added, "As to proofs of dead witnesses, I have in my favour all the general councils, all the historians, the holy doctors of the Church for the last fifteen hundred years, especially St Ambrose, St Jerome, St Augustine and St Gregory."

 

St. Richard Reybolds was dragged to Tyburn on a hurdle and gained the martyrs crown on 4th May 1535.

 

For film biographies of the English Martyrs visit:

www.marysdowryproductions.org



'Jacinta of Fatima', a new film biography about the youngest Fatima seer, now available from Mary's Dowry Productions

 

 

As the Church celebrates the 100th anniversary of Fatima this year, we are pleased and excited to release our NEW film – ‘Jacinta of Fatima’, now available on DVD worldwide through our online shops and Amazon. This NEW film biography of one of the three little seers of Fatima focuses upon the youngest of the Portuguese shepherd children, Jacinta Marto, who was seven years of age when Our Lady appeared with a message of hope for the world. Looking at the apparitions of the Angel of Peace, the visits and messages of Our Lady and the moving and inspiring response of this little girl, ‘Jacinta of Fatima’ is a wonderful way to celebrate the Year of Fatima and to share with friends, family or your parish, the life of Jacinta Marto and the message of Our Lady of Fatima.



 

www.marysdowryproductions.org

 

Film runs for 30 minutes 

SHIPS WORLDWIDE



Bartolo Longo, Thomas Garnet, Margaret Mary and Claude de la Columbiere - recreating imagery for new Catholic films

On Saturday 4th March 'Mary's Dowry Productions' spent a busy morning and afternoon 'on location' at our parish hall, recreating imagery for several new films we are currently making for our parish and which will be made available on DVD through our online shops.

 

Costumes

We filmed portrayals of the following:

 

BLESSED BARTOLO LONGO

THOMAS GARNET (AN ENGLISH MARTYR)

MARGARET MARY AND CLAUDE DE LA COLUMBIERE

 

Our first portrayals were for a film about The Sacred Heart in England, focusing on biographies of St. Claude de la Columbiere, who brought the devotion to England, and St. Margaret Mary. St. Claude was St. Margaret Mary's confessor. The film is set in the 17th century so we used the original 18th century flint walls as a backdrop.

 

St. Margaret Mary and her sisters

St. Margaret Mary

St. Margaret Mary and St. Claude de la Columbiere

St. Claude de la Columbiere in prison during the Titus Oates plot

St. Claude, a Jesuit priest, was sent to England after meeting St. Margaret Mary, and was arrested and imprisoned during the Titus Oates plot. St. Claude met several English Martyrs during his time in England. We are looking forward to presenting this film.

 

Our next filming sequence focused on Blessed Bartolo Longo. Bartolo, an Italian Lawyer, was drawn into spiritualism and a satanic cult during his university days. He was eventually reconciled to the Catholic Faith, renounced spiritualism and built the famous Shrine to Our Lady of Pompeii. He is known as the Apostle of the Rosary.

 

Bartolo at a séance

Bartolo rejecting spiritualism

Bartolo teaching some of his orphans about the rosary

Finally, we filmed for St. Thomas Garnet, one of our English Martyrs. St. Thomas was the nephew of St. Henry Garnet, head of the Jesuits in England. Saint Thomas came to England on the English Mission and eventually gave his life for the Catholic Faith in England at Tyburn.

 

St. Thomas worked as a page for the half-brother of St. Philip Howard, a fellow Martyr

St. Thomas and a priest hunter

St. Thomas as the Tyburn gallows

We are still working on several other films due for release soon.

Be sure to visit our website for any new DVD releases and other films now available on the lives of the Saints and English Martyrs.

 

www.marysdowryproductions.org