Elizabeth (1998)

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:

Shekhar Kapur

Writer:

Michael Hirst

Stars:

Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston

Won 1 Oscar. Another 32 wins & 32 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

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.

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Plot Keywords:

protestant | throne | catholic | england | queen | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and sexuality

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English French

Release Date:

22 November 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Elizabeth: The Virgin Queen

Filming Locations:

Alnwick Castle, Alnwick, Northumberland, England, UK

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

Production Co:

Polygram Filmed Entertainment, Working Title Films, Channel Four Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

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.

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Goofs

Elizabeth is shown washing her face with water. In 16th-century England, water was considered dangerously unhealthy and almost never used for washing the body. Elizabeth would have "bathed" by rubbing her face with a dry cloth.

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Quotes

Elizabeth: Invite the Duke of Anjou. We shall see him in flesh.
[She runs after Lord Robert, who is not happy with the news]
Monsieur de Foix: The Duke will not take kindly to a rival for his suit.
Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley: He is a traitor and his father before him. Lord Robert's head will end up on a spike, not on the pillow of a Queen.

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Connections

Referenced in Blackadder Exclusive: The Whole Rotten Saga (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Rondeas I and VII"
from "Dansereyr" 1551
Composed by Tylman Susato
Performed by New London Consort
Conducted by Philip Pickett

User Reviews

Queen Blanchett

The Academy Awards ceremony of 1999 angered many people: Shakespeare in Love, albeit a very smart and funny film, robbed the superior Saving Private Ryan of the Best Picture Oscar; Roberto Benigni beat Edward Norton in the Best Actor category (though it was the Italian star's behavior, rather than his performance, that irritated those attending the event); and Gwyneth Paltrow, who wasn't actually bad in Shakespeare, walked away with the Best Actress award, depriving Cate Blanchett of the recognition she should have received for her revelatory work in Elizabeth.

This film, the first in what the director hopes will be a trilogy (the second installment was released in 2007), covers the early years of Elizabeth I's reign, from her harsh upbringing to the decision to call herself "the Virgin Queen". To describe her situation as tough is an understatement: she was a Protestant monarch in a largely Catholic kingdom, several covert groups wanted her dead and foreign sovereigns kept asking for her hand in marriage, without ever succeeding, for the only man she loved was also the only one she couldn't have.

Conspiracies and unhappy romances: two unusual ingredients for a period drama. And that is exactly why the film succeeds: in the mind of director Shekhar Kapur, this is not the usual costume film where events are observed with a static eye and what might be perceived by some as excessive slowness (Quentin Tarantino's infamous rant about "Merchant-Ivory sh*t" is aimed at those productions); instead, we get a lively, vibrant piece of work, with the camera sweeping through the gorgeous sets and leering at the exquisite costumes while recounting the grand story. And what a story: the thriller aspect aims to please viewers who find the genre a bit lacking in the tension department, whereas the Queen's doomed love affair with Joseph Fiennes' Earl of Leicester (a plot element to which the BBC miniseries from 2005, starring Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons, is a sort of sequel) is the polar opposite of the sanitized, passionless romantic tales that tend to feature in other period films.

Good-looking technique and strong storytelling would, however, be useless if the title role wasn't played by an equally great actress, and Pakur found the perfect Elizabeth in Blanchett: an odd choice she may have seemed (she was a complete unknown in Hollywood prior to being cast in this movie), but the performance she delivers is nothing short of astonishing. Doubtful, determined, passionate, naive, heartbroken, firm and charismatic - she is quite simply the best on-screen incarnation of Elizabeth in the long history of biopics. The supporting cast (Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Richard Attenborough) is also excellent, as expected from British and Australian thespians, but it is Blanchett who dominates the entire picture. Shame the Academy didn't take notice.