Elizabeth

Rating:
Summary: Insulting
Review: Elizabeth is quite my favorite member of English Royalty, and I had always felt that her life would make for a brilliant movie. So I was terribly excited when this movie came out-- and I cringed and writhed in fury through the whole thing.
Yes, I will grant it is beautiful cinematography, costumes, acting, dramatic tension, etc (hence the 3 stars), HOWEVER! I expected dramatic license, but that they would strip away her brilliance, her independance and self-reliance, everything that made her the fascinating woman we know and respect, was a shock and a severe disappointment.
From the first shot of her floating about flowery fields in wispy clothes, and frolicking with her boyfriend, through the heartbreak! that turns her into a murderous machine, the whole thing was nauseating. The woman in this movie starts out naive, trusting her lover, is disappointed by him, and consequently places her trust in another man as murderous and unscrupulous as the first was gorgeous. "Most lame and impotent" character development.
In reality, Elizabeth had had to save herself from the scaffold from a very early age with only her wits to rely on; she was a skilled diplomat before she ever even knew for certain she would acceed to the throne; she depended on no one, and indeed deliberately played her couselors against each other so that none could gain absolute power over her; she was certainly not indebted for her throne to a series of political assassinations.
This movie is an insult to women, as it blatantly ignores all the strong characteristics of one of the most powerful women in history and reduces her to a sap who must cling to the men in her life to help turn her into steel.
Cate Blanchett was brilliant: it is one of the supreme tragedies of this film that she was wasted on it and she will not be available to play in the better version that I desperately hope someone will take it upon themselves to produce.

Rating:
Summary: Very good movie!
Review: Even if the movie is not very accurate from the true story of Elizabeth I it's still a wonderful movie to watch, just for the beautiful costumes and atmosphere.The performance of Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth is great, she go threw the young, fragile girl to become one of the most powerful woman in England.All the actors are very good in this movie!

Rating:
Summary: Cate Blanchett a revelation in this fine historical film
Review: When I watched this film, I was reminded of a line from the comedian Eric Morcombe when criticised about his piano playing; 'These are all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order.' As far as I can tell, this film has got all its historical facts right, but necessarily in the right order. However, as a piece of historical drama, this is pretty good stuff. The Tudor dynasty was a violent period, and the opening shot of heretics being burnt at the stake captures that period perfectly. Murder, intrigue, torture, and espionage are the currency of power and no one is safe, not even a Queen. The sheer horriblness of this period is what makes it so fascinating, and Shekhar Kapur doesn't let us down. The drama is so taut and well paced that I am gripped by this film each time I see it. The acting is spot on. Does Dickie Attenborough ever put on a bad performance? However, Cate Blanchett is a revelation. I had never seen her before this film, but was held entranced by her. A wonderful performance by a fine actress whom I am sure will go on to have a great career. My only criticism would be that she is maybe a little too beautiful to play good Queen Bess. Elizabeth is one of my favourite historical films. It doesn't hero-worship Elizabeth, but it does show her resourcefulness and inner strengths and why she is such an important historical figure.

Rating:
Summary: Queen and Conspiracy
Review: This stylishly filmed historical drama covers the ascendancy of Elizabeth to the throne of England. Cate Blanchett is excellent as the young princess Elizabeth, who survives the plotting of her half-sister Mary and her Catholic supporters and takes the throne upon the death of the childless queen.

This film is more about holding on to a shaky throne by means of secret negotiations, assasination and conspiracy. There is little of the "real" history, though there is one tiny fragment of Elizabeth I's Tilbury speech ("I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king") and a Reader's Digest version of the Marriage Speech to Parliament ends the film. So if you are a history buff, you may be disappointed, but if you like conspiracy and dark plotting, this is definitely your film.

The cast is fine, with Cate Blanchett moving smoothly and believably from the young princess to the care-worn and nervous queen. Joseph Fiennes is good as Dudley, and I especially liked Geoffrey Rush as Walsingham.

The cinematography is good, though the director seems to go overboard with top-down shots that give a great view of cathedral columns but get tiresome after the fifth or sixth time you peer at a scene from a pigeon's viewpoint. The sound on this DVD is particularly good--the surround sound was excellent. Sometimes the score is overpowering but the music is always thrilling (Galliards and Pavanes at the beginning and ending, inexplicably but thrillingly with Mozart's Requiem.)

All in all, an enjoyable film, light on the history but well-focused on the troubled beginning of Gloriana's reign.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good Performances overshadowed by multiple inaccuracies
Review: I have viewed this film three times since I first saw it during its debut at the theaters. The film is plagued with numerous inaccuracies which is a puzzle to me.

Anyone that has read the history of Elizabeth R understands that there was enough political intrigue, religious zealots, overall soap opera drama to just tell the story accurately.

In my first viewing I was so upset over the historical misrepresentations that I could not enjoy the film. Fortunately I decided to come back and view it again.

The acting is superb. Cate's interpetation of Elizabeth is not as good as Glenda Jackson's performance in the PBS production of Elizabeth R, but it is refreshing and interesting. The supporting cast is excellent too.

This film is worth watching even with its historical inaccuracies.

Rating:
Summary: History with a twist
Review: Cate Blanchett is fantastic as the magnificent Queen Elizabeth although historians may disagree!!

Wonderful acting especially Geoffrey Rush as Sir Francis Walsingham.

Personally I would have rather seen an epic film based on the reign of Elizabeth rather than a love story that probably never happened, however I wasn't disappointed.

Summary: Nice film, great ending.

Rating:
Summary: One Medieval Queen
Review: Elizabeth is a fine movie featuring the many talents of Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, John Gielgud, Joseph Fiennes, Richard Attenborough, and more. Though not historically accurate, it is nonetheless a tribute to the monarch, who is displayed as a woman who progresses from an unassertive individual to one who, as Queen Elizabeth, has the power to create what is regarded as the Golden Age of England's history.

Upon inheriting the throne from half-sister, Mary of Scots, Elizabeth is faced with legions of foes. Her opponents are those heading the Catholic church and are essentially looking for a theocrat who, as her predecessor had done, will continue to make Catholicism thrive and persecute those of other faiths. Elizabeth, however, is the antithesis of their desires, for she seeks to loosen ties with Rome and help establish a Church of England. Not only does this stance sit unfavorably with many religious and political leaders, but the very fact that she was not born into the Catholic faith leads many to disregard her as a true Queen of England.

Throughout the movie, the rivals and, to a certain extent, supporters of Elizabeth meet with forces from France, Spain and Rome to undermine her authority as Queen of England. She is faced with various choices as given to her by her initial advisors: If she marries the ruler of either France or Spain, then she will become the wife of a leader whose empire is mightier than hers and thus make England subordinate, or if she decides to no longer continue as Queen, then the doorway will be open for the Catholic massacres to continue.

Elizabeth decides neither, for she wants to remain in power without having to marry a powerful individual she does not love or even like. Upon resolution, she changes her administration and appoints a confidant who is well aware of the political and religious scenes that threaten her security to the throne.

Intermittently in the picture, there is one supporter who lacks confidence in her ability simply because of her gender. As an ultimate response that seems to set the tone for the remaining third of the picture, she firmly retorts that she is her father's daughter and that if she chooses so, she can have the heart of a man.

It is from that scene that the viewer might be led to think that perhaps Elizabeth wants to replicate Henry VIII's reign and that the determination to "think like a man" will lead her to triumph. But I say that that they are only pieces of the formula, because with time she is revealed as an intelligent person who is increasingly cunning.

And when she finds out that her once intimidating opponents now want her dead after discovering that they have placed their signatures on documents that declare her an "illegitimate" heir ... she sees clearly where things unequivocally stand and can then face this hateful resistance like a woman scorned...

Rating:
Summary: An exquisite look at the renaisance period
Review: Elizabeth manages to re-create the beautiful world of the Renaissance. From the breathtaking settings to the costuming, it makes you feel in the era.

But what most makes this film work is the superb cast. Headed by Cate Blanchett deliciously playing the title role, everyone fills out their characterizations to become multi-faceted. And Blanchett commands this film from her thrown, fully deserving all the praise she has received.

Following the trail as Elizabeth goes from princess to her rocky start as queen, the film captures the spirit of the era with the music, bawdy humor and language. It's easy to slip into the time and forget the modern world around you.

Virtually perfectly paced, the film feels comprehensive in telling the tale of the queen's start, and makes you thirsty for knowledge on her reign. And that's how you tell if a historical film works: If it makes you want to learn more about its subject. Elizabeth does just that.

For lovers of film and historical fiction, Elizabeth delivers on all levels.

Rating:
Summary: Disappoints on many levels
Review: Yes, it's historically inaccurate. Worse, it's both simplistic and hard to follow. The director manages to take a dramatic, dangerous, powerful era of history and reduce it to weird B-movie drama.

I watched the movie for Cate Blanchett and Joseph Fiennes. While they are still my Elizabeth and Robert Dudley of choice, I would love to see what they would have done with a better director. There is little depth to the characterizations. Elizabeth at this era is a powerful, complex, driven young woman, but the movie never goes below the surface. The character of Robert Dudley fares even worse, often stiff and artificial. We learn little about him. With these two gifted actors, there was a real missed opportunity.

In place of using the real drama of history, the director uses B-movie tactics: exaggeratedly evil or grotesque characters, distasteful minglings of violence and sex. There are dwarves, cross-dressers, improbably incestuous queens (Mary Queen of Scots!) The first scene shows the villain committing a casual murder, apparently only to establish that he IS a villain. Yeah, right.

The Hollywood budget enabled him to pour money into sets and costumes. In other words, they are so elaborate that you never forget you are looking at: sets and costumes. Compare to Shakespeare in Love, where the sets and costumes make an effort to look real. They strike the right balance between authentic and attractive. By comparison, Elizabeth looks overblown and artificial.

This extends to the camera work. The MTV tactics just didn't work for me. The worst moment was when we see cuts of Elizabeth rehearsing a speech for the Lords. It looks as though he took Ms Blanchett's rehearsal takes and stuck them in the movie. And when they did get to the speech, I was confused. What's this all about? Why is it important?

At the end of this movie, I felt I had been on a long journey with little to show for it. The only interesting bit of insight was the idea that the image of the Virgin Mary was purposely replaced by the image of the Virgin Queen in English culture. An interesting idea.

If you want a historical drama that is also a good movie, try Lady Jane. In addition to a good (though teen) love story, it takes all that theology over which Catholics and Protestants killed each other, and makes it dramatic and relevant.

Try also Mary Queen of Scots with Vanessa Redgrave; Elizabeth R. with Glynda Jackson; or, of course, Shakespeare in Love. If you are looking for strong women, dramatic stories, powerful villains, tense conflict, good love stories, or just fun, these movies will oblige.

Rating:
Summary: Cate Blanchett Tour De Force!!!
Review: This is a semi-fictionalized account of the reign of Elizabeth 1, and the story itself is interesting, but Cate Blancett absolutely steals the show! How she didn't win the academy award for this, I can't fathom. Her performance alone ranks as one of the best you will ever see.

While the story plays fast and loose with some historical bits, it's still an interesting look into the 'rebirth' of England and the influence of the Catholic church on it's rulers.

Geoffery Rush is also excellent as her faithful advisor and 'bodyguard.' He is sheer evil that you can't manage to disdain.

Great movie, well worth the price!