Elizabeth I 

Miniseries about the the public and private lives of the later years of Queen Elizabeth I.

Stars:

Helen Mirren, Hugh Dancy, Toby Jones

Won 3 Golden Globes. Another 24 wins & 26 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Helen Mirren	...	Elizabeth I 2 episodes, 2005
Hugh Dancy	...	Earl of Essex 2 episodes, 2005
Toby Jones	...	Robert Cecil 2 episodes, 2005
Patrick Malahide	...	Sir Francis Walsingham 2 episodes, 2005
Ian McDiarmid	...	Lord Burghley 2 episodes, 2005
Toby Salaman	...	Dr Lopez 2 episodes, 2005
Ann Firbank	...	Lady Anne 2 episodes, 2005
Jeremy Irons	...	Earl of Leicester / ... 2 episodes, 2005
Ewen Bremner	...	King James VI 2 episodes, 2005
Barbara Flynn	...	Mary Queen of Scots 2 episodes, 2005
Will Keen	...	Francis Bacon 2 episodes, 2005
Jérémie Covillault	...	Duke of Anjou 2 episodes, 2005
Eddie Redmayne	...	Southampton 2 episodes, 2005
Erick Deshors	...	Jean de Simier 2 episodes, 2005
Ben Pullen	...	Sir Walter Raleigh 2 episodes, 2005
Charlotte Asprey	...	Frances Walsingham 2 episodes, 2005
Simon Woods	...	Gifford 2 episodes, 2005
Diana Kent	...	Lady Essex 2 episodes, 2005
Malcolm Terris	...	Chaplain 2 episodes, 2005
Douglas Reith	...	Judge 2 episodes, 2005
Geoffrey Streatfeild	...	Sir Anthony Babington 2 episodes, 2005
John McEnery	...	Jesuit Priest / ... 2 episodes, 2005
Martin Savage	...	Stubbs 2 episodes, 2005
Anna Steel	...	Lady in Waiting / ... 2 episodes, 2005
David Delve	...	Sir Francis Drake 2 episodes, 2005
Ramunas Rudokas	...	Thomas Burghley 2 episodes, 2005
Martin Marquez	...	Don Bernadino de Mendoza 2 episodes, 2005
Charles Millham	...	Priest 2 episodes, 2005
Mykolas Dorofejus	...	Davison 2 episodes, 2005
Geoffrey T. Bersey	...	Hatton 2 episodes, 2005
Rimantas Magdzevicius	...	Howard of Effingham 2 episodes, 2005

Storyline

Miniseries about the the public and private lives of the later years of Queen Elizabeth I.

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Plot Keywords:

robert dudley earl of leicester character | earl of sussex chsracter | queen elizabeth i character | female ruler | 16th century | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Official Sites:

HBO [United States]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 April 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Elizabeth I

Filming Locations:

Lithuanian Film Studios, Vilnius, Lithuania

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Films, Channel 4 Television Corporation, Company Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

223 min (2 parts)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The 3rd Earl of Southampton was William Shakespeare's patron. Many believe he was the subject of many of Shakespeare's sonnets, including sonnet 20, which begins "A woman's face with Nature's own hand painted / Hast thou, the master-mistress of my passion." Eddie Redmayne would later play a transgender woman in The Danish Girl. On stage, he has played Shakespeare's heroine Viola, a woman who disguises as a man.

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Goofs

During the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots; as Elizabeth's envoy is speaking how best to inform the Queen of the beheading; they are outside, in a courtyard. Contemporary accounts show that Mary's real execution took place indoors at Fotheringhay Castle.

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Quotes

Queen Elizabeth I: Oh Robin, I'm set about by enemies and I know not who to trust.
Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester: Well not France, I beg you.

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Alternate Versions

When the series was repeated on British TV in 2006, the footage of the Babington plotters being tortured was cut, and the execution of Queen Mary was cut so that she was beheaded with one stroke, although the scene of Leicester telling Elizabeth that it had taken two strokes was left in.

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Connections

Referenced in The Starter Wife: The Forty-Year-Old Virgin Queen (2008)

User Reviews

It had to be -

... the greatest actress of our time portraying the legendary Queen Bess. And, needless to say, Mirren surpasses herself, and in all likelihood Elizabeth I, too. What a treat this series is! The historical aspects were slightly inaccurate, as they must be when 19 years are covered, but only occasionally inaccurate – and the film benevolently grants Elizabeth the faithful suitors she may never have had; Alencon seems genuinely interested in the old girl, as does Leicester, and the Essex rebellion was reduced to a spur of the moment undertaking, completely unpremeditated, so as to render the hero, the Earl of Essex, a bit purer than was the actual case.

Almost every quote we know from Elizabeth's reign (even the authentic ones) is in this admirable production. However, the film coquettishly cuts the most famous Elizabeth quote short: when Robert Cecil tells the dying queen that she must go to bed, Mirren only says: "Must?", and does not proceed to say: "Little man, 'must' is not a word to be used to princes". But the 'golden speech' is there, Elizabeth's most famous speech, marvelously punctuated by the Queen looking shrewdly at Cecil while the enthusiastic Parliament applauds, as if to say: "They bought it!"

When I browsed the cast (on IMDb, the moment I saw that the film was on), I was dismayed to find that Shakespeare was not in it, but the Bard is profusely quoted throughout the script (for instance "love is not love which alters when it alteration finds") and his beloved, long-haired patron, the Earl of Essex was truthfully revealed in his shameful betrayal of Essex when push came to shove at the trial. Even Catullus made a brief guest appearance in Latin ("Odi et amo")to set off Elizabeth's doomed love for Essex. But this will be quite enough of me exhibiting my classical education. Let it suffice that this series is an absolute must. I'll buy it as soon as it comes out for sale.