Masterpiece Theatre: Elizabeth I - The Virgin Queen
List Price:
Our Price: $15.86
You Save: $14.05 (47%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $13.50 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anne-Marie Duff, Dexter Fletcher, Robert Pugh, Sienna Guillory, Tara FitzgeraldBrand: Wgbh Wholesale
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 230 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-02-28
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: PBS
Movie Reviews of Masterpiece Theatre: Elizabeth I - The Virgin Queen
Movie Review: A tale of a Great Queen & a Great Actress
Summary: 5 Stars
In the past 5 years or so I've watched close to 8 to 10 films about Elizabeth I. I've always been fascinated by the Tudors & their tumultuous times. Like other history fans, I have my favorite characters--and villains. Fortunately, Elizabeth is on the favorites list (AND Mary, Queen of Scots--figure that one out.). After watching a number of extremely brilliant women actors in the role, I thought it was getting a bit ridiculous to see an English Queen running around telling just about everybody, "I'm a Virgin, I'm a Virgin, I'm a Virgin!" Good grief--shades of The Material Girl! Well, of course there was a good reason for that. I think most historians agree that Elizabeth skillfully allied her political reputation to the high level of adoration the people of the period (even Protestants) felt for the Blessed Virgin Mary. Then there's the practical reality that being virgo intacta was vital to be a player in the European monarchial marriage game. This too Elizabeth played to her advantage. By keeping kings & countries waiting & guessing on her next move, Elizabeth felt relatively safe and--perhaps more importantly, on the strictly personal level--garnered her the verbal romantic attention she seemed to obsessively crave.
Coky Giedroyc, director of this production stated, "Elizabeth had...a real pathological fear of intimacy. Her father (Henry VIII) represented everything male, and once you get close to a man you get killed..." She also had her mother's fate to reflect on. Even a naughty queen can lose her head--especially if her hubby was good ol' Henry (a Tudor definitely NOT on my favorites list--but his cast-off wife Katherine of Aragon is.) Elizabeth was considered an "enlightened" queen, even an intellectual (in an age when it was considered very suspicious for a woman to have ideas of her own.) Nonetheless, she was a child of her violent time, and was not adverse to employing torture & deception in her struggle to keep her throne. Still, she was better than most of her contemporaries and she clearly possessed a highly tuned conscience.
I'd never seen Anne-Marie Duff before. Hers is not the tall, killer blonde type; but rather she is short, elfin, with flowing, strawberry blonde hair (at least in this film.) And she possess an inner charm, a real charisma and intellectual radiance. She is perfect for the role of Elizabeth. She appears to effortless generate regal majesty, and that is as much matter of personal character as it is of acting skill.
There are three scenes from the film that stand in my mind.
The first was the opening (a good omen of enjoyment to come.) A teenage Elizabeth has been banished to The Tower by her bitter, paranoid half-sister, Mary. She is talking with ladies-in-waiting, when they hear soldiers approaching. They scramble to set a scene of humble piety by hiding things & "straightening up." One of the ladies tosses a rosary like a football to Elizabeth, who catches it in mid-air.
The second scene is not far from the first. Mary has died & Elizabeth becomes the new Queen. She is in a triumphal procession weaving through the streets London. Here Anne-Marie Duff is at her most radiant, showering the people with her gratitude & basking in the love they had for her. It's ironic that the common folk loved Elizabeth almost in proportion to how much they hated her mother (Anne Boleyn.) In a similar sort of twist, the people disliked Queen Mary (Tudor) as much as they loved her mother, the divorced Queen Katherine
The third scene is near the end of the picture. Elizabeth is old & near the end of her days. She is standing at the end of a large outdoor court while her new, very young ladies-in-waiting stand at the opposite end surreptitiously watching her. Elizabeth is so caught up thinking about the past that she seems unaware of their critical stare. In her mind she hears a song from her bygone youth, and begins to rather awkwardly--and feebly--dance to the tune. To the maids she's an object of ridicule & they parody her movements in a dance they find hopeless old fashioned. It is a poignant scene reflecting the relentless nature of time & the cruel honesty of youth--and it reminds us that, in the end, Elizabeth was a vulnerable human being too.
Another aspect I appreciate about this "Elizabeth," is that it was mercifully brief & fairly neutral in the depiction of the rivalry between Elizabeth Tudor & her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. British films have almost invariably portrayed Mary Stuart as either an idiot, or a sex-driven demon out to bring the Inquisition into England. Neither is true, but there's little doubt that had Mary ascended to the English crown, it would have been a full-blown disaster for all concerned.
The supporting cast & essential production values are of the highest quality. A special nod to the music (see CD review below) and costumes (people, including men, really knew how to dress in those days!)
Anne of the Thousand Days / Mary, Queen of Scots
Elizabeth I: The Virgin Queen
Summary of Masterpiece Theatre: Elizabeth I - The Virgin Queen
As The Virgin Queen begins, a young Elizabeth is imprisoned in the Tower of London by Queen Mary, charged with conspiracy and treason. Both women are daughters of the ruthless and oft-married Henry VIII, who plunged England into turmoil by breaking with the Roman Catholic Church. Mary wants to reunite with Rome, while Elizabeth is determined to stand by her Protestant faith--a potentially fatal choice. But Elizabeth?s life takes an unexpected turn when Mary dies, leaving no heir to the throne. As the new queen, Elizabeth discovers the harsh realities of ruling a religiously divided nation and must learn to outwit her enemies and charm those who conspire to their own ends.Soon under pressure to secure a politically advantageous marriage, the coquettish Elizabeth rejects a string of eligible royal bachelors from abroad, openly preferring the burning affections of her childhood playmate, the athletic, handsome--and married--Robert Dudley. But is she toying with him as she is with her other suitors?
Starring Anne-Marie Duff (The Aristocrats, The Magdalene Sisters) as the shrewd and captivating queen who defended her throne amidst an atmosphere of plotting and intrigue, torture and murder, The Virgin Queen is a riveting drama that explores the fascinating 44-year reign of Elizabeth I.
Similar DVD Movies
Elizabeth RWarner Brothers; Release date: 2001-10-16; DVD
Best price: $43.30
Price in other shops:
Henry VIIIBONHAM CARTER,HELEN; Release date: 2004-11-16; DVD
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops:
The TakeBFS ENT and Multimedia Limi; Release date: 2010-04-20; DVD
Best price: $23.99
Price in other shops:
National Geographic - The Madness of Henry the VIIIWarner Brothers; Release date: 2006-08-15; DVD
Best price: $13.07
Price in other shops:
The Last King - The Power and the Passion of Charles IIA&E; Release date: 2004-04-27; DVD
Best price: $6.46
Price in other shops:
Lady JaneBONHAM-CARTER,HELEN; Release date: 2003-02-18; DVD
Best price: $19.09
Elizabeth: The Acclaimed Saga of England's Virgin QueenA and E Home Video; Release date: 2002-05-28; DVD
Best price: $12.11
Price in other shops:
Wuthering HeightsWgbh Wholesale; Release date: 2009-03-17; DVD
Best price: $10.99
Price in other shops:
Anne of the Thousand Days / Mary, Queen of ScotsUni; Release date: 2007-09-18; DVD
Best price: $10.92
Price in other shops:
Elizabeth IHBO Home Video; Release date: 2007-11-20; DVD
Best price: $12.39
Price in other shops: