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Anonymus

Original title: Anonymous
  • 2011
  • 12
  • 2h 10m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
42K
YOUR RATING
Anonymus (2011)
Director Roland Emmerich gives 10 reasons why he believes Shakespeare was a fraud.
Play trailer7:58
16 Videos
99+ Photos
DramaThriller

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... Read allThe 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.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
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.8/10
    42K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Roland Emmerich
    • Writer
      • John Orloff
    • Stars
      • Rhys Ifans
      • Vanessa Redgrave
      • David Thewlis
    • 160User reviews
    • 290Critic reviews
    • 50Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 7 wins & 12 nominations total

    Videos16

    10 Reasons Why Shakespeare Is a Fraud
    Trailer 7:58
    Watch 10 Reasons Why Shakespeare Is a Fraud
    Trailer #1
    Trailer 2:01
    Watch Trailer #1
    "Revolt"
    Clip 0:42
    Watch "Revolt"
    "My Gift Is a Play"
    Clip 1:13
    Watch "My Gift Is a Play"
    "I'm Perfect for the Role"
    Clip 1:01
    Watch "I'm Perfect for the Role"
    "Find My Salvation"
    Clip 0:58
    Watch "Find My Salvation"
    "All Art Is Political"
    Clip 1:16
    Watch "All Art Is Political"
    Anonymous: I'm Perfect For The Role
    Clip 1:01
    Watch Anonymous: I'm Perfect For The Role
    Anonymous: All Art Is Political
    Clip 1:15
    Watch Anonymous: All Art Is Political
    Anonymous: My Gift Is A Play
    Clip 1:12
    Watch Anonymous: My Gift Is A Play
    Anonymous: Find My Salvation
    Clip 0:56
    Watch Anonymous: Find My Salvation
    Anonymous: Revolt
    Clip 0:41
    Watch Anonymous: Revolt

    Photos196

    Rhys Ifans in Anonymus (2011)
    Rafe Spall in Anonymus (2011)
    Jamie Campbell Bower in Anonymus (2011)
    Rhys Ifans in Anonymus (2011)
    Vanessa Redgrave in Anonymus (2011)
    Rhys Ifans in Anonymus (2011)
    Joely Richardson in Anonymus (2011)
    Roland Emmerich in Anonymus (2011)
    Roland Emmerich and Rafe Spall in Anonymus (2011)
    Joely Richardson and Jamie Campbell Bower in Anonymus (2011)
    Rafe Spall in Anonymus (2011)
    Rhys Ifans, Xavier Samuel, and Sam Reid in Anonymus (2011)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Rhys Ifans
    Rhys Ifans
    • Earl of Oxford
    Vanessa Redgrave
    Vanessa Redgrave
    • Queen Elizabeth I
    David Thewlis
    David Thewlis
    • William Cecil
    Sebastian Armesto
    Sebastian Armesto
    • Ben Jonson
    Rafe Spall
    Rafe Spall
    • William Shakespeare
    Edward Hogg
    Edward Hogg
    • Robert Cecil
    Xavier Samuel
    Xavier Samuel
    • Earl of Southampton
    Sam Reid
    Sam Reid
    • Earl of Essex
    • (as Sebastian Reid)
    Jamie Campbell Bower
    Jamie Campbell Bower
    • Young Earl of Oxford
    Joely Richardson
    Joely Richardson
    • Young Queen Elizabeth I
    Paolo De Vita
    • Francesco
    Trystan Gravelle
    Trystan Gravelle
    • Christopher Marlowe
    Robert Emms
    Robert Emms
    • Thomas Dekker
    Tony Way
    Tony Way
    • Thomas Nashe
    Julian Bleach
    Julian Bleach
    • Captain Richard Pole
    Derek Jacobi
    Derek Jacobi
    • Prologue
    Alex Hassell
    Alex Hassell
    • Spencer
    James Garnon
    • Heminge
    • Director
      • Roland Emmerich
    • Writer
      • John Orloff
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Vanessa Redgrave and Joely Richardson play the older and younger versions of Queen Elizabeth, respectively. In real life, they are mother and daughter.
    • Goofs
      The playwrights in the movie are all astonished that Romeo and Juliet is written in verse, specifically iambic pentameter. In fact, English drama had been written in verse for hundreds of years, and mostly in iambic pentameter for about the previous 25 years. Prose drama, not poetry, was the innovation.
    • Quotes

      Anne De Vere: You, your friends, your blasphemous theater have brought nothing but ruin and dishonor to this family.

      Ben Jonson: Ruin? Dishonor? My lady, you, your family, even I, even Queen Elizabeth herself will be remembered solely because we had the honor to live whilst your husband put ink to paper.

    • 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.
    • Connections
      Featured in Maltin on Movies: The Rum Diary (2011)
    • 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 reviews160

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    An impressive mise-en-scene, dark history, a good watch
    "What's in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet." - Romeo Juliet He wrote 37 plays and more than 150 sonnets. He introduced some 3000 words to the English language. But was he an illiterate buffoon? His parents were illiterate and he was likely to have received only primary education. His own wife and daughters were supposedly illiterate. For many years since early 19th century, there has been an unsettling question still ensues a debate among many scholars on the authorship of the work published under his name. Who is the real author of Hamlet, Romeo Juliet and many more of those plays that redefined the English literature during Tudor period. Although the work was published by Ben Johnson, but was it really the work of Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford? DeVere was a playwright and a poet of the Tudor times. Also, there were many similarities existed between the characters for example Hamlet and Richard III plays and the people DeVere was close to and the events happened in his life and that are described in the plays. There are few others whom anti-Stratfordians believe to be a real writer as well such as Francis Bacon and Christopher Marlowe. The anti-Stratfordians include famous people like Mark Twain, Sigmund Freud, Helen Keller, Charlie Chaplin, Orson Wells, Malcom X, and more. Did you know Shakespeare was a grain merchant in his later years who was delinquent in paying taxes !!!!

    This movie is all about story and script writing. It steers through the complicated corrupt Tudor history, entwines them in a way that is more of a mystery than investigative story. But Intriguing plot, stunningly created Tudor London, breathtaking shots.. an impressive mise-en-scene, superb costumes, convincing performances. A good watch.
    helpful•4
    2
    • samabc-31952
    • Mar 4, 2022

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    FAQ23

    • How long is Anonymous?Powered by Alexa
    • Is "Anonymous" based on a book?
    • Who is Edward's biological father?
    • Why was the falcon's eyes covered?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 10, 2011 (Germany)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • Germany
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official site
      • Official site (Japan)
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • Italian
      • Greek, Ancient (to 1453)
    • Also known as
      • Anonymous
    • Filming locations
      • Studio Babelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany
    • Production companies
      • Columbia Pictures
      • Relativity Media
      • Centropolis Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $30,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $4,463,292
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $1,021,768
      • Oct 30, 2011
    • Gross worldwide
      • $15,395,087
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 10 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
      • Datasat
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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