The Virgin Queen

Basically a soap opera of it's day with Queen Liz and Elexis Carrington fighting over the handsome, young cad, Sir Walter Raleigh who among other things introduced cigarettes to the world. The movie won an academy award for its costumes which unlike the events depicted in the film are spot on in their historical detail.

Bettie Davies is brilliant as The Queen (the template for Miranda Richardson's version in Blackadder II) and Richard Todd looks the part as the dashing Sir Walter Raleigh. The DVD cut of this film, issued as part of the Studio Classics series, is pristine with the digital format bringing out the sheer spectacle of colour in the scenes in the royal court.

A great old fashioned drama.