Elizabeth - The Golden Age (Widescreen Edition)
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen, Geoffry Rush, Samantha MortonBrand: UNI DIST CORP. (MCA)
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Swedish (Original Language); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 115 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-02-05
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Universal Studios
Movie Reviews of Elizabeth - The Golden Age (Widescreen Edition)
Movie Review: Elizabeth 90210
Summary: 2 Stars
This movie has been on my to-view list for too long. So now, I broke down and rented.
Phillip II raises an army in Spain to attack the Protestant England, ruled by Elizabeth I. Elizabeth struggles to balance the Catholics and the Protestants in England, and to face off against the Spanish Armada.
The costumes, sets, and scenery are goregous, stunning. I can't tell you how often I would look at Cate Blanchett and think she was Elizabeth (in her costumes, she looks a lot like the paintings I've seen of Elizabeth I). The same goes for Samantha Morton as Mary. Absolutely stunning!
I think Cate did a fair job as Elizabeth, I enjoyed watching Geoffrey Rush as Sir Francis Walsingham, and Samantha Morton was excellent as Mary.
As I'm sure you could tell, I had trouble giving a plot to this story. Much of it seems to revolve around the teenaged antics of Elizabeth falling head over heels for Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen), who only has eyes for Bess, the Queen's attendant. While I am sure that Elizabeth wasn't the portrait of perfection that we receive from history, I got tired of the melodrama of the romantic angle (hence the title of this review). It feels like a blasted soap opera. And it interrupts the conflict between Spain and England, making that storyline almost impossible to understand.
And the pacing! So slow, so boring, so tedious! So confusing! All these events...Mary's treason, Sir Francis Walsingham intercepting messages. It might make sense if it weren't so hidden, so buried underneath the romantic triangle.
Cate Blanchett attempts to do a good job with Elizabeth and she does make the queen appear strong, but at times, she makes Elizabeth too human, whining, complaining in front of her courtiers, in front of the people she's supposed to govern, who are supposed to respect her. What kind of woman can command admiration to be called the Virgin Queen if she is angsting over Raleigh being with Bess? Clive Owen is forgettable as Raleigh, Abbie Cornish will never win an award of any kind for her "performance" as Bess, and Jordi Moll? as the Spanish King just cements in our heads that Spain = Bad.
Lastly, historical inaccuracies abound, even to a history dunce such as myself. Wasn't Mary Elizabeth's sister, not cousin? Didn't she die before Elizabeth took the throne? Would Elizabeth really go all Eowyn on us and ride out Theoden style to meet her army? I understand that movies don't have to be historically accurate 100% of the time, but I can only suspend my disbelief so much.
Ultimately, I wouldn't recommend this movie. Perhaps history buffs might be able to glance over the inaccuracies (probably not) or maybe the uninitiated can become interested in the story (if they like romance triangles), but other than that. I don't know. But I know how I feel, and I didn't enjoy it. 2 stars for Cate Blanchett's attempts, Geoffrey Rush, and the gorgeous costumes.
12/01/2009 NOTE: I got confused between Mary Queen of Scots, Mary I of SCOTLAND, and Mary, "Bloody Mary", Mary I of ENGLAND. That is my fault, making my previous comment about a fallacy wrong.
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Summary of Elizabeth - The Golden Age (Widescreen Edition)
Academy Award? winners Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush join Academy Award? nominee Clive Owen in a gripping historical thriller full of suspense, intrigue and adventure!When Queen Elizabeth's reign is threatened by ruthless familial betrayal and Spain's invading army, she and her shrewd advisor must act to safeguard to the lives of her people. But when a dashing seafarer, Walter Raleigh, captures her heart, she is forced to make her most tragic sacrifice for the good of her country.
Elizabeth: The Golden Age tells the thrilling tale of one woman's crusade to control her love, destroy her enemies and secure her position as a beloved icon of the western world.
In 1998's Elizabeth, Shekhar Kapur added a layer of suds to his history lesson; the director follows the same audience-pleasing recipe in Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Since the first film, Blanchett scored an Oscar for her note-perfect rendition of Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator, and she plays the preternaturally bemused monarch in a similar fashion. By 1585, Elizabeth I is an experienced ruler about to face two of her biggest challenges: betrayal by her Catholic cousin, Mary Stuart (Control's Samantha Morton), and invasion by the Spanish Armada. It isn't so much that the Protestant Elizabeth wishes to rid England of "papists," but that she wants her country to remain free from foreign domination. Closer to her home, she enjoys a sisterly relationship with lady-in-waiting Bess (rising Aussie star Abbie Cornish). That changes when Sir Walter Raleigh (a dashing Clive Owen) hits the scene. In order to continue exploring the New World, he seeks the queen's sponsorship. She is charmed, but Raleigh only has eyes for Bess. As in the previous picture, Elizabeth enjoys better luck at affairs of state than affairs of the heart, but the conclusion is more beatific than before (and Kapur intends a third installment if Blanchett is willing). Elizabeth: The Golden Age is a rush of royal intrigue, bloody torture, fantastic headpieces, and irresistibly ripe dialogue, like "I have a hurricane in me that will strip Spain bare if you dare to try me!" To Kapur, victory for the Virgin Queen was a viable alternative to sex. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Beyond Elizabeth - The Golden Age on DVD
 More from Cate Blanchett |  British Royalty on DVD |  More Drama from Universal Studios |
Stills from Elizabeth - The Golden Age (click for larger image)
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