Elizabeth R
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Movie Reviews of Elizabeth R
Movie Review: The best on film about Queen Elizabeth I
Summary: 5 Stars
This series of six 90 minute episodes helped put Masterpiece Theatre on the map back in the early 1970's and starred a very young Glenda Jackson as Queen Elizabeth. The acting is outstanding, and the series has the vast majority of the historical details down correctly. However, you are going to have to accustom yourself to the rather crude looking lighting and camera work that was typical of PBS production values of the early 1970's. In fact, unless there is some copyright problem at work I am unaware of, that is likely why I have not seen it on TV in 15 years. The series takes Elizabeth from shortly after the death of her father, King Henry VIII, in 1547, up to her own deathbed in 1603. The following is a brief description of each of the six episodes:
1. The Lion's Cub - The series begins in 1547 with the brief six-year reign of Elizabeth's sickly younger brother, Edward VI. Manipulated by his Seymour uncles, he prefers to debate religion with Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. His untimely death is followed by the nine day reign of the usurper, Lady Jane Grey. The people refuse to allow the true succession to be supplanted and rise up in the name of Edward's oldest sister, Mary, who ascends the throne. The majority of the episode deals with Mary's attempts to convert Elizabeth to the Catholic faith. Various plots and rebellions flare, and Elizabeth spends some time under arrest in the Tower of London. She is released when Mary weds the Spanish king, Phillip II. The marriage is not a success, and the pitiful Mary dies childless, leaving only one heir to the throne, her sister Elizabeth.
2. The Marriage Game - In 1558, the marriage of the new queen is the most pressing political issue of the new reign, as it is imperative that Elizabeth produce an heir. Foreign princes negotiate for her hand, but Elizabeth refuses to commit to any one of them. Meanwhile, her friendship with Sir Robert Dudley deepens, causing unease among her councillors. Dudley's wife dies by a mysterious fall down a flight of stairs, and all of Europe believes the English queen engineered the tragedy. An attack of smallpox brings the queen near death, and her council laments that there is no viable heir to the throne. Elizabeth recovers, but her problem remains: if she remains childless, who will succeed her?
3. Shadow in the Sun - The episode opens as Elizabeth and her court react to the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, in which hundreds of French Huguenots (Protestants) died at the hands of the French king's troops. Ever the pragmatist, Elizabeth is willing to set aside her horror and open marriage negotiations with the French king's younger brother, the Duke of Alencon. A tender romance develops between the aging queen and the younger, impish Duke. Behind the scenes, Elizabeth's councillors Cecil, Sussex, and Walsingham bargain with the Duke's mother, the formidable Catherine de Medici. The queen undergoes an awkward physical examination to prove she can still bear children, while her favorite Dudley, now the Earl of Leicester, attempts to sabotage the marital plans. As the queen vacillates, Alencon drops a bombshell: Leicester has secretly married Elizabeth's cousin, the Countess of Essex. In the end, the queen cannot bring herself to marry. She bids farewell to her last chance at personal happiness, and her last chance of bearing children, and reveals her melancholy by composing a poem, "A Shadow in the Sun."
4. Horrible Conspiracies - In the mid 1580's attention turns to Elizabeth's closest relative and greatest enemy, Mary, Queen of Scots. Imprisoned by Elizabeth for many years, Mary is a focal point for Catholic unrest in England. Walsingham is concerned for Elizabeth's security but knows that the queen will never consent to Mary's execution without incontrovertible proof of her treachery. He engineers a meeting between the Scottish queen and Sir Anthony Babington, a leading Catholic aristocrat. A plot develops to overthrow Elizabeth and seize the throne, a plot followed step by step by Walsingham. Its revelation leads to Queen Mary's trial and conviction, but Elizabeth cannot bring herself to order the execution of an anointed queen. Ultimately, she signs the death warrant, only to disavow it later. But her recantation is too late; the Queen of Scots is executed.
5. The Enterprise of England - The execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, at the order of Queen Elizabeth, shocks Europe, and encourages King Phillip of Spain to prepare to invade England in 1588. At Elizabeth's direction, Sir Francis Drake wages small piracies upon Spanish ships, which does nothing to deter Phillip's assembly of the mighty Spanish Armada. At the English court, debate rages over attempts to negotiate peace, while at the Spanish court, the king is urged to delay. Phillip, moved by God, launches his fleet, and Elizabeth, against the advice of her new favorite Essex, joins her troops to await the invasion. Though vastly outnumbered, the English fleet, with smaller, swifter ships, out-maneuvers the larger Spanish galleons. A terrible storm finishes the job: the Armada is defeated. Back in London, Elizabeth is in the mood to celebrate, until sad news reaches the court: the queen's one true love, the Earl of Leicester, has died.
6. Sweet England's Pride - At the end of her life, Elizabeth is a parody of her former glory. The ancient queen tolerates the insufferable egotism of her young favorite, the Earl of Essex, to the chagrin of Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Robert Cecil. Egged on by sycophantic friends and his mother Lady Leicester, Essex believes he can supplant Elizabeth and rule in her place. His hubris leads to his downfall, and he is arrested and executed. Elizabeth has outlived all her contemporaries, and with the son of her enemy Mary, Queen of Scots poised to inherit her throne, she takes her last breath.
If you don't know much about Queen Elizabeth before watching this series, spend a little time reading brief sketches on her father Henry VIII and her mother Ann Boleyn. Also, be sure to read about Elizabeth's younger brother Edward and older sister Mary, both of whom who preceeded her as England's King and Queen, respectively. Their biographies figure heavily into Elizabeth's reasonings and the choices she made, but there is not much detail given about their lives in this series. Much has been made recently about the 4 hour drama "Elizabeth I" starring Helen Mirren made just last year. That is definitely a good program on the subject, but this one is much better, since it shows the entirety of Elizabeth's adult life. Also, although Helen Mirren did a wonderful job, she doesn't seem to age a day over the length of the series even though over 20 years pass. Glenda Jackson's Elizabeth has you believing you are watching the queen mature from a giggling teenager to the 69 year old monarch she was at her death. Highly recommended.
Movie Review: An Outstanding Dramatisation!
Summary: 5 Stars
Elizabeth R is an outstanding and refreshingly accurate 1972 dramatisation of the life of Queen Elizabeth I. Headed by an all-star British cast, the acting is flawless, the costumes magnificent, the writing first-rate, and the dialogue sumptuous. Existing documents have been utilised for speeches and such, but the same tone or feel has been maintained throughout, resulting in a rich verbal tapestry. The series is presented in six 90-minute episodes, and as for the quality of the DVD set, the BBC has done an exceptional job. The picture is nice and clear, the sound is good, and the disc set is encased in a richly flocked, emerald green slip case. Best of all, however, are the numerous special features. Firstly there is a 30-minute interview with Glenda Jackson (2001) wherein she talks about the role and her preparation for it, about Elizabeth, and lastly about politics (she's been a Labour MP for the last decade or so). Also informative is a 20-minute interview with historian Alison Weir (2001), wherein she talks about Elizabeth, her world, and the accuracy of the presentation. There is a 45-minute A&E biography (1996) on the life of Elizabeth, an audio reading by Jackson of a number of period documents, behind-the-scenes' photos of Jackson in make-up and costume fitting, a portrait gallery with stills of various characters displayed beside portraits of the originals, and a text-based guide to who's who in the cast. A wonderful feature (which I highly recommend viewers take advantage of!) is the audio commentary provided by Alison Weir, which one can turn on while watching the episodes. Weir provides a lot of background information and other tidbits, as well as highlighting areas where liberties have been taken.
Born in 1533 to Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth was a woman of formidable intelligence who proved herself to be an extremely capable and dedicated monarch, and Glenda Jackson's portrayal of her from youth through old age is nothing short of a masterpiece. I have seen other actresses in the role but Jackson's portrayal is and (for me) always will be the definitive one. It is sheer perfection--one in which realism (thankfully) is not sacrificed on the altar of vanity. Jackson went so far as to blacken her teeth to mimic the rotting teeth of the ageing Elizabeth; also, she partially shaved her head in order to better resemble the high-foreheaded Queen.
Familiar faces to fans of British television include: Robert Hardy (All Creatures, Edward the King), who is magnificent as the dashing Robert ("Robin") Dudley, Earl of Leicester, the life-long love of Elizabeth. The late Michael Williams (A Fine Romance) is highly enjoyable as Elizabeth's "Frog", the Duke of Alencon--the only real contender for her hand. The late Peter Jeffrey is superb as Phillip II of Spain. Robin Ellis (Poldark) is splendid as the young, handsome, highly ambitious but petulant and self-destructive Earl of Essex, whom the Queen rather foolishly favoured--indeed doted on--in her old age.
In conclusion, I HIGHLY recommend this series to anyone interested in history or historical biography. Being a 70's dramatisation, it may not have the slick production values of more recent endeavours (ie. it feels at times as though we are watching a play that's been filmed), but don't let that deter you. You'll have to look far to find a more authentic dramatisation or one that is better written or more consummately acted. If you are familiar with and have enjoyed other superb historical productions of the time--shows like I Claudius or The Six Wives of Henry VIII, for example--you will surely enjoy this one! Finally, for those interested in delving a little deeper, I highly recommend Alison Weir's well-researched, captivating book entitled The Life of Elizabeth I.
Movie Review: Good Queen Bess
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the magnificent historical series the
BBC made in the 1970's including "The Six Wives of
Henry VIII", "I, Claudius" and "Fall of Eagles".
I highly recommend all of them.
Queen Elizabeth I was voted in 1999 the greatest
ruler of the last 1000 years. Under her reign,
England became a major world power. The beginnings
of the centuries-long rule of the Royal Navy on the
oceans of the world began and her role in it was
finding master seamen Sir Francis Drake and
John Hawkins to build it. The first English
colony in North American (named Virginia after her) was
established. She promoted a series
of able statesman such as William and Robert
Cecil who built a stable and (relatively) honest
government that cared about the welfare of the people
and not just enriching themselves.
Of course, there were many problems in her long reign.
This series shows the jealousy among many of her
courtiers, her controversial relationwhip with
Robert Dudley (Earl of Leicester), the numerous
threats to her throne by various schemers,
her indecision about what to do with her cousin
Mary Stuart, the religious strife, not just
between Protestants and Catholics (who were still
the majority in her reign) but also amongst the
Protestants themselves (i.e. the Puritans against
the main Church of England) and the constant
threat of war and possibly invasion from Spain.
The series does point out flaws she had such
as her tightfistedness in not wanting to pay
the demobilized sailors who had successfully
confronted the Spanish Armada and her favoring
of the spoiled and arrogant
Earl of Essex (step-son of Dudley)
who ended up turning on her.
One slight criticism I have of the program
is in the episode "The Enterprise of England",
King Philip II of Spain and his commander
the Duke of Medina-Sidonia are made out to
be comical fools, and I am sure that neither
of them was that since Spain was the number 1
superpower of the world at that time. One other
criticism I can make of Time Magazine's choice
is that I feel there was a certain amount of
"political correctness" in their choice of
a woman as the best ruler of the last millenium
is that it (and this series) ignores the fact
that it was her policies of support to Drake
set the stage for the start of the Trans-Atlantic
Slave Trade bringing ultimately millions of
African slaves to America. This would certainly
sully her reputation, so it is overlooked.
However, these are minor criticisms. The series
is a joy to the senses with the beautiful, authentic
costumes and the Elizabethan music and dancing.
Movie Review: Astoundingly good
Summary: 5 Stars
Let it be written, this is how television ought to be made. Scripted, staged and acted to the apex of success and sophistication, I have never in my life been lucky enough to see anything like the quality of Elizabeth R, the BBC's very fine 1970s miniseries chronicling the more well-known aspects of the life of Queen Elizabeth 1.
Set across a series of six two-hour plays, the story follows that of the young protestant princess Elizabeth, disowned and shut away while her catholic sister Mary takes the throne. Her subsquent release and coronation set the stage for the more eventful, treacherous and successful aspects of the rest of her reign - her failed romances, her successful campaigns, her would-be asassinations shot down - each captured so beautifully and acted so convincingly as to completely enthrall the viewer.
Glenda Jackson is magnificent, it is a rare thing indeed for any actress to be able to portray such an age range (sixteen or so to well over sixty), and, excellent makeup effects notwithstanding, to do it with such consistency and timing. Jackson's palpable skill and total immersion in such an expansive and archaic role is superlative, and sets the stage for a series of other quite brilliant performances from names like Vivian Pickles as Mary of Scotland, Stephen Murray as the bloody-minded and chauvanistic Cardinal Walsingham and the excellent Daphne Slater as the ill-fated Queen Mary 1.
With such performances to hand, the BBC could have been forgiven for staging the productions on a shoestring budget, but happily this is not the case, and historical detail abounds in the richness of the costumes, the sparseness of the Elizabethan sets and the overall sense of a moment in history not forgotten by modern researchers. Where Cate Blanchett's 'Elizabeth' (an excelletn film, too, but simply not in this league!) was flashy and lush, the contrasting sense of lush and spartan treatments of some of the visuals in 'Elizabeth R' creates such a sense of Period that it's easy to forget that this is simply a TV series.
But that's doing it an injustice. 'TV Series' conjures up images of pedantic in-jokes and convoluted continuity, neither of which 'Elizabeth R' suffers from. In terms of acting, staging and tension, it really is the ultimate in drama, and for fans of the Tudor and Elizabethan periods of history, it cannot be missed.
Wholeheartedly recommended.
Movie Review: an absolute MUST for all actors studying classical theater
Summary: 5 Stars
In my own studies, I happened across this secret gem and fell wildly in love with it's power, passion and simplicity. I say "simplicity" because as has been mentioned in other rave reviews, the budget for this was modest and it was adapted from 6 superbly written and thankfully (finally) historically accurate plays about the life of an extraordinary woman who reigned during a tumultuous and fascinating time. I often wonder at why filmmakers see the need to tinker with the facts by changing timelines or making slight alterations; court intrigues were more than melodramatic as they were.
This had honestly been the first thing I had seen the venerable Miss Jackson in and now it astounds me that my teachers in the realm of Shakespeare and classical theater have never even heard of this series! This needs to be required viewing for anyone undertaking the monumental task of interpreting the writings of that era or for anyone studying Elizabethan history, for that matter. This series manages to bring to life the people (not characters) and events in a way I have never seen before or since. While I LOVE the 2 part miniseries staring Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons (I own that one as well) it has a whole different feel that's a bit more polished and Hollywood, though great fun. This is like being transported back in time and being a fly on the wall for some of the most pivotal, important moments in history. It's a stunning achievement and I have yet to grow wary of watching it again and again.
It is also well worth taking the time to watch Glenda in the extra features section as she discusses Elizabeth and the challenges inherent in playing such an enormous figure in history. Her knowledge of both the time (in terms of really living through it) and the possible motivations within the woman she played are admirable and inspiring.
I cannot say enough about how wonderful these are; it's essentially six feature lengths films that feel very much like a 3 dimensional play where you get to follow people around and really feel you are there. It's juicy, riveting, astoundingly acted by all, artfully written and utterly fascinating.
God's death, it is marvelous in our eyes! ;)