MOVIEmeter
Top 5000
Up 1,729 this week

Elizabeth (1998)

7.5
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 7.5/10 from 55,962 users   Metascore: 75/100
Reviews: 393 user | 139 critic | 30 from Metacritic.com

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.

Director:

Writer:

Watch Trailer
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 2309 titles created 5 months ago
 
a list of 10000 titles created 3 months ago
 
a list of 1269 titles created 7 months ago
 
a list of 924 titles created 28 Feb 2012
 
a list of 320 titles created 07 Apr 2012
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: Elizabeth (1998)

Elizabeth (1998) on IMDb 7.5/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of Elizabeth.
Won 1 Oscar. Another 32 wins & 32 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Biography | Drama | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

A mature Queen Elizabeth endures multiple crises late in her reign including court intrigues, an assassination plot, the Spanish Armada, and romantic disappointments.

Director: Shekhar Kapur
Stars: Jordi Mollà, Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush
Biography | Drama | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

A dramatization of the turbulent first years of Queen Victoria's rule, and her enduring romance with Prince Albert.

Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
Stars: Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Paul Bettany
Quills (2000)
Biography | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

In a Napoleonic era insane asylum, an inmate, the irrepressible Marquis De Sade, fights a battle of wills against a tyrannically prudish doctor.

Director: Philip Kaufman
Stars: Geoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix
Lady Jane (1986)
Biography | Drama | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

The death of King Henry VIII throws his kingdom into chaos because of succession disputes. His weak son Edward, is on his deathbed. Anxious to keep England true to the Reformation, a ... See full summary »

Director: Trevor Nunn
Stars: Helena Bonham Carter, Cary Elwes, John Wood
The Duchess (2008)
Biography | Drama | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

A chronicle of the life of 18th century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was reviled for her extravagant political and personal life.

Director: Saul Dibb
Stars: Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Rampling
Amazing Grace (2006)
Biography | Drama | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

The idealist William Wilberforce maneuvers his way through Parliament, endeavoring to end the British transatlantic slave trade.

Director: Michael Apted
Stars: Ioan Gruffudd, Romola Garai, Albert Finney
Biography | Drama | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

Two sisters contend for the affection of King Henry VIII.

Director: Justin Chadwick
Stars: Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana
Cleopatra (1963)
Biography | Drama | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

Historical epic. The triumphs and tragedy of the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra.

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison
Restoration (1995)
Biography | Drama | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X  

An aspiring young physician, Robert Merivel found himself in the service of King Charles II and saves the life of a spaniel dear to the King. Merivel joins the King's court and lives the ... See full summary »

Director: Michael Hoffman
Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Sam Neill, David Thewlis
Mrs Brown (1997)
Biography | Drama | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

Queen Victoria is deeply depressed after the death of her husband, disappearing from public. Her servant Brown, who adores her, through caress and admiration brings her back to life, but ... See full summary »

Director: John Madden
Stars: Judi Dench, Billy Connolly, Geoffrey Palmer
Reds (1981)
Biography | Drama | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

A radical American journalist becomes involved with the Communist revolution in Russia and hopes to bring its spirit and idealism to the United States.

Director: Warren Beatty
Stars: Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Edward Herrmann
Queen Margot (1994)
Biography | Drama | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

Young Queen Margot finds herself trapped in an arranged marriage amidst a religious war between Catholics and Protestants. She hopes to escape with a new lover, but finds herself imprisoned by her powerful and ruthless family.

Director: Patrice Chéreau
Stars: Isabelle Adjani, Daniel Auteuil, Jean-Hugues Anglade
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Earl of Arundel
...
...
Liz Giles ...
Female Martyr
Rod Culbertson ...
Master Ridley
...
Male Martyr
Edit

Storyline

This film details the ascension to the throne and the early reign of Queen Elizabeth the First, as played by Cate Blanchett. The main focus is the endless attempts by her council to marry her off, the Catholic hatred of her and her romance with Lord Robert Dudley. Written by CharmedGirl47

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Absolute power demands absolute loyalty. See more »


Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and sexuality | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

|

Release Date:

22 November 1998 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Elizabeth: The Virgin Queen  »

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$275,131 (USA) (6 November 1998)

Gross:

$30,012,990 (USA) (7 May 1999)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

| |

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

The costuming and shot composition of the coronation scene is based on Elizabeth's coronation portrait. For example, Elizabeth is shown wearing her hair long. This is historically accurate, as the real Elizabeth was giving the public a sign of her virginity. See more »

Goofs

In the film, Bishop Stephen Gardiner stands as a key figure in the pro-Catholic faction during Elizabeth's reign. In fact, he died in 1555 before Elizabeth ever ascended to the throne. The role Gardiner plays in religious politics here is likely a stand-in for the historical Bishop Edmund Bonner, the Catholic clergyman most at odds with Elizabeth's Protestant reforms, who died as her prisoner in the Tower of London in 1569. See more »

Quotes

Walsingham: You were the most powerful man in England. And you could have been greater still, but you had not the courage to be loyal, only the conviction of your own vanity.
See more »

Connections

Featured in Inside the Actors Studio: Episode #10.3 (2003) See more »

Soundtracks

"Te Deum"
Composed by Thomas Tallis
Performed by St. John's College Choir, Cambridge
Conducted by George Guest
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
A small nudge in the direction of romanticism…

And Elizabeth did whisper Robert Dudley's name on her deathbed… The movie is an imaginative interpretation of the way that things could have been…

Shekhar Kapur's film explores the instabilities of her reign, and the absolute horror and terror that surrounded the early part of her royal office without neglecting her relationship with her terminally ill sister… So it's a glimpse of her girlhood into statehood, and the shedding that occurs, with the people who expended in her life along the way…

The film shows Elizabeth growing up in an incredibly unstable, tumultuous environment… But she's an absolute survivor... Someone who has got no solid ground on which she walks… So one minute she's a bastard, the next minute she's a princess, then one moment she's an illegitimate daughter, then she's a queen… And it's a very relevant period of her life, because she was 25 when she became a female monarch…

There are four men in Elizabeth's life and all have quite different influences on what it means for a young woman to run the country so young, given that she comes to the throne under very difficult political circumstances…

There's Sir Cecil (Attenborough) who's from an older regime giving her the traditions and the conventions that are the most orthodox; Sir Francis (Geoffrey Rush) Elizabeth's great spy master, very astute, almost puritanical and rather dry bureaucrat; Robert Dudley (Fiennes) with whom the film suggests that she has quite a passionate, private relationship; and Norfolk (Eccleston), a major rival who doesn't regard that she is suitable to rule his England…

The motion picture succeeds in developing Elizabeth's change and, basically, locks off parts of herself, and dehumanizes herself in order to wield her power among men…


31 of 37 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Why Walsingham too loyal to elizabeth? mangkook
Compre and Contrast Elizabeth and Golden Age Tgogators
Edited Version for Classroom Use? gbeasley1
Robert wanted Elizabeth assassinated? jimrm1
Evil? odinsmystress
Is it just me or is this movie weird?! darylUK
Discuss Elizabeth (1998) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?