Bertie and Elizabeth: The Reluctant Royals - The Story of King George VI & Queen Elizabeth
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alan Bates, Charles Edwards (VI), Eileen Atkins, James Wilby, Juliet AubreyBrand: PBS
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 105 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-01-04
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: PBS
Movie Reviews of Bertie and Elizabeth: The Reluctant Royals - The Story of King George VI & Queen Elizabeth
Movie Review: Not The Big Ceremonial Events But The People Themselves - Very Intreresting!
Summary: 5 Stars
I enjoyed this movie because I love history and always wonder what life was like behind the scenes. Even though I often enjoy watching the big ceremonial scenes with the crowns, robes, and history, there is always curiosity about 'the rest' of it. This movie was about the family discussions behind the scenes, not the big ceremonial events, and while we don't know how close it comes to what really happened, I found it believable. While the story told by this movie is very much about the decision of the king to leave when the country will not accept his flawed would-be queen, we don't go through what was obviously many months of emotional and political negotiations prior to the final decision. That was only briefly treated in this presentation, and I'm glad. The more interesting part was Bertie & Elizabeth and their story apart from the battle we've all heard before.
The movie starts as Bertie and Elizabeth meet, Bertie being fully devoted to his brother, the future king. Bertie seemed humble, particularly since he had a severe problem with stuttering. We get to watch as he struggles to overcome his speech difficulties, finally with success, exceptions being when he was overcome with anger or emotion. At one such time he was lashing out at his brother the king, who had given up his throne and subsequently shown no signs of having any good character at all. Bertie finally had enough, his speech problems briefly recurring as he responded to that moment.
We see a few 'party' scenes where Bertie's brother meets the woman he would give up the throne for, and believe me, they don't come off too well. This movie is not sympathetic to Edward and Mrs. Simpson, showing them to be petty, lazy, uncaring, and ignorant.
In one impressive scene, Bertie and Elizabeth come to have dinner with the King and happen upon Mrs. Simpson carrying on about how common and silly Elizabeth, the current Queen Elizabeth's mother, was. She was making fun of her and even doing a demeaning imitation of her, while unknown to Mrs. Simpson, Elizabeth watched. Elizabeth, in response to their stunned looks when they realized she was there, said effectively and with great dignity, "We came to have dinner with the King." Mrs. Simpson was subsequently shunned and shut out of any family or official events.
We see the differences in the brothers. Bertie showed bravery as he literally spent his life trying to save his country. On the other hand, Edward tricked Bertie into giving him money by pretending he didn't have any. When he realized that, as well as the fact that Edward & Mrs. Simpson were traveling outside the country as if they were ambassadors, befriending Hitler, etc., Bertie lost respect for his brother. He also didn't have time for his brother's demands, because he devoted long, hard hours to his war-time work, which eventually contributed to his early death. Even his mother tried to intervene when she realized he was working himself to death, but stopped herself, because she realized that he was doing his duty. Finally, Edward was allowed to attend the funeral and Mrs. Simpson was not allowed. The movie doesn't go past his death and only briefly showed how his daughter was prepared for her role as Queen.
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Summary of Bertie and Elizabeth: The Reluctant Royals - The Story of King George VI & Queen Elizabeth
Studio: Wgbh Wholesale Release Date: 01/04/2005 Run time: 120 minutesSimilar DVD Movies
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