Anonymous (2011)

The theory that it was in fact Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford, who penned Shakespeare's plays. Set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I and the Essex rebellion against her.

Director:

Roland Emmerich

Writer:

John Orloff

Stars:

Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave, David Thewlis

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rhys Ifans	...	Earl of Oxford
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Queen Elizabeth I
Sebastian Armesto	...	Ben Jonson
Rafe Spall	...	William Shakespeare
David Thewlis	...	William Cecil
Edward Hogg	...	Robert Cecil
Xavier Samuel	...	Earl of Southampton
Sam Reid	...	Earl of Essex (as Sebastian Reid)
Jamie Campbell Bower	...	Young Earl of Oxford
Joely Richardson	...	Young Queen Elizabeth I
Paolo De Vita	...	Francesco
Trystan Gravelle	...	Christopher Marlowe
Robert Emms	...	Thomas Dekker
Tony Way	...	Thomas Nashe
Julian Bleach	...	Captain Richard Pole

Storyline

Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford, is presented as the real author of Shakespeare's works. Edward's life is followed through flashbacks from a young child, through to the end of his life. He is portrayed as a child prodigy who writes and performs A Midsummer Night's Dream for a young Elizabeth I. A series of events sees his plays being performed by a frontman, Shakespeare.

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Plot Keywords:

conspiracy theory | 16th century | year 1601 | caricature | rain | 

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Taglines:

Was Shakespeare a Fraud?

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violence and sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

UK Germany USA

Language:

English French Italian Greek, Ancient (to 1453)

Release Date:

28 October 2011 (UK)

Also Known As:

Anónimo

Filming Locations:

Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,012,768, 30 October 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$4,463,292

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$15,395,087

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation,Relativity Media,Centropolis Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Joely Richardson, who played the young Queen Elizabeth I, had previously played Catherine Parr, the stepmother of Elizabeth I, in The Tudors (2007).

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Goofs

After a successful performance of one of "his" plays, William Shakespeare takes a bow then falls into the audience where he crowd surfs. We believe that this is a 20th Century phenomenon as Joe "King" Carrasco appears in the first documented video of crowd surfing in the 1981 Rock Video "Party Weekend".

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Quotes

Earl of Oxford: All art is political, Jonson. Otherwise it would just be decoration.

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Crazy Credits

Apart from the production companies, the only opening credit is the movie's title, displayed on the marquee of the prologue's theater.

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Connections

Referenced in Atop the Fourth Wall: Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters #4 (2017)

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Soundtracks

Night of the Long Knives
Written by Byrd & David Hirschfelder (as Hirschfelder)
Performed by David Hirschfelder
Courtesy of The Decca Music Group
Under licence from Universal Music Operations Ltd.

User Reviews

Wow! You've got to see this. Whether true or not, it's a fascinating film.

Everyone in our theater was so mesmerized by this many-layered plot that no one even got up to go the bathroom. My head was spinning a bit, trying to keep up with who was related to whom, but I loved every minute of it.

And I know the cast is highly pedigreed because I recognized some of the actors in the plays from a live performance of Shakespeare the Old Globe Theater troupe gave at UCLA a few years ago while the Old Globe was being renovated. Annette Bening was in the audience that night, so it was a pretty cool evening all around.

After the movie I was at a restaurant next to the theater and I heard a woman say, "I just saw that Shakespeare movie and I'm in a daze."

Go see it and you will be, too. I think I need to see it a few more times to pick up all the fascinating details.