Elizabeth (1998)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Shekhar Kapur

Writer:

Michael Hirst (written by)

Release Date:

22 November 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | Romance

Tagline:

Declared illegitimate aged 3. Tried for treason aged 21. Crowned Queen aged 25.

Plot:

A film of the early years of the reign of Elizabeth I of England and her difficult task of learning what is necessary to be a monarch.

Plot Keywords:

England | Queen | Advisor | Heretic | Treason

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 29 wins & 32 nominations

Cast

Cate Blanchett	...	Elizabeth I
Geoffrey Rush	...	Sir Francis Walsingham
Christopher Eccleston	...	Duke of Norfolk
Joseph Fiennes	...	Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester
Richard Attenborough	...	Sir William Cecil
Fanny Ardant	...	Mary of Guise
Eric Cantona	...	Monsieur de Foix
Vincent Cassel	...	Duc d'Anjou
Kathy Burke	...	Queen Mary Tudor
Edward Hardwicke	...	Earl of Arundel
Emily Mortimer	...	Kat Ashley
John Gielgud	...	The Pope
Liz Giles	...	Female Martyr
Rod Culbertson	...	Master Ridley
Paul Fox	...	Male Martyr

Also Known As:

Elizabeth: The Virgin Queen (USA) (closing credits title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and sexuality.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | USA:R (certificate #35933) | Iceland:16 | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Brazil:16 | Philippines:PG-13 | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Austria:16 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Alnwick Castle, Alnwick, Northumberland, England, UK

Company:

Polygram Filmed Entertainment

Trivia:

1998 was the only year that two performers were nominated for Academy Awards for playing the same character in two different films in the same year. Judi Dench was nominated (and won) for Best Supporting Actress for playing Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love (1998) and Cate Blanchett was nominated for Best Actress for portraying Elizabeth I in this film.

Goofs:

Factual errors: While it's true that Henri, Duke of Anjou (later King Henri III) was generally obsessed with clothing and did on occasion dress as a woman, he never actually traveled to England to court the Queen. That honour fell instead to his younger brother François, who became Duke of Anjou in 1576, and was the only one of Elizabeth's many suitors to court her in person.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Elizabeth: Observe, Lord Burghley, I am married... to England.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Making of 'The Phantom of the Opera' (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Requiem Aeternam

Elizabeth could have unfolded in front of me all day and I would have remained enraptured.

England. 1555. Henry VIII has snuffed it from gout or syphilis, it depends on who you read, Bloody Mary's got a tumour and the Catholics' greatest fear is Anne Boleyn's daughter Elizabeth. Director Kapur has brought to the screen some of the most intriguing moments in English history and the result is dazzling.

Following recent grandiose French historical epics, such as the glorious Ridicule, Elizabeth more than holds its own as a no-holds barred, gripping English extravaganza. Historians across the land will no doubt pick holes in the accuracy, but it hardly matters.

The opening scene signals the film's intent. Protestant heretics are burnt mercilessly at the grisly stake, accompanied by proclamations that they should burn in Hell. It's clear that England is in a pretty gloomy state and ruled by a humourless zealot, Mary (the ubiquitous Kathy Burke), who is hell-bent on converting or murdering Elizabeth: "My sister was born a whore of that Ann Boleyn."

Cheery Mary rules a poor, remote island that is very likely to become the next possession of the growing empire of Spain. She is surrounded by rebels who want to place the Protestant Elizabeth on the throne. So, Mary gets her trusted Lord Norfolk (Eccleston cuts an impressive presence; you can imagine this man swishing on the battlefield) to arrest Lizzy and dispatch her to the Tower of London.

The camerawork and the pace of this film are breathtaking. Kapur directs with ambitious panache, whilst supplying more than a wink to Coppola's The Godfather in the process. Two scenes in particular reek of the Mafia masterpiece: one in the Vatican, the other a succession of assassinations sparked by the majesty's demand, "let it all be done". Pure Pacino.

If you shimmy past the slightly silly inclusions of the likes of Eric Cantona (the IKEA School of Acting) and Angus Deayton, and the fact that Dickie Attenborough (plays a fussy sidekick who sniffs the Queen's bedsheets and claims, "her body belongs to the State") is starting to resemble an Ewok, the acting is otherwise splendid.

Cate Blanchett not only resembles the great lady, but imparts her with enormous affection (her love of Lord Dudley, played by Fiennes, is tenderly dealt with) and delivers her lines with a steely intelligence, "I do not see why a woman must marry at all" and "I'm no man's Elizabeth" . Her performance is a revelation and if it weren't for Geoffrey Rush she would have stolen every scene. However, the Shine star, playing her demonic sidekick Walsingham, delights in creeping in the shadows and pulling the devilish strings. A positively Machiavellian turn and worthy of another Oscar.

This is a history film made at its very finest and the equal of A Man For All Seasons. Elizabeth could have unfolded in front of me all day and I would have remained enraptured. Intoxicating imagery ("English blood on French colours" the wicked Mary of Guise, Ardant, proclaims), naughty shenanigans, dastardly deeds, an epic tale and a superb cast. Stunning cinema.