Elizabeth (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Elizabeth is an Academy Award winning 1998 film loosely based on the early reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England. The film was written by Michael Hirst and directed by Shekhar Kapur. It stars Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Joseph Fiennes, Christopher Eccleston, and Richard Attenborough. It was the final film of acclaimed British actor Sir John Gielgud. It also stars a 12 year old Lily Allen as a lady in waiting, Manchester United legend Eric Cantona as a French lord, future Doctor Who Christopher Eccleston as the Duke of Norfolk, and future 007 star Daniel Craig as a member of the Vatican who is heavily involved in the film's central plot.

A sequel, Elizabeth: The Golden Age was released by Focus Features on October 12, 2007.

[edit] Synopsis

In 1558, the Roman Catholic Mary I of England dies of a cancerous tumor in her uterus, leaving her Protestant half sister Elizabeth as Queen. Elizabeth had previously been jailed for a supposed conspiracy to murder Mary, but has now been freed for her coronation. The film shows Elizabeth being courted by suitors (including Henri, Duc d'Anjou, the future King Henry III of France, whom she rejects) and urged by Cecil to marry, which, as he states, would secure her throne. Instead, she makes love with her childhood sweetheart, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

Elizabeth deals with various threats to her reign, including The Duke of Norfolk, a Catholic in her court who conspires to have her murdered, and the effective ruler of Scotland, Mary of Guise, who allies with France to attack England's forces. At the end of the film, Norfolk is executed for his conspiracy and Mary is assassinated by Elizabeth's advisor, Francis Walsingham.

Dudley is permanently banished by Elizabeth when she finds out that he is married. The film ends with Elizabeth assuming the persona of 'The Virgin Queen', and initiating England's Golden Age.

[edit] Dramatic license

The film takes many liberties with history. Among them:

• The real Robert Dudley did not betray Elizabeth, and remained a loyal subject until his death.
• In the film, Elizabeth appears to find out from Sir William Cecil that Robert Dudley has married, whereas in reality Elizabeth was well aware, since she attended his wedding. (While it is true that Elizabeth I knew that Dudley married his first wife, Amy Robsart, and did indeed attend their wedding, she may not have known about his second marriage – to her cousin, Lettice Knollys; there are rumors she was furious when she discovered the truth.)
• In the film, Elizabeth I is courted by Henri, Duke of Anjou. The two never met in reality, as the actual proposal was for her marriage to François, his younger brother. François came to England and the proposal became a very serious prospect, although it was never fulfilled.
• William Cecil was not even 40 years old when Elizabeth began her reign, contrary to his cinematic portrayal as elderly. He was not retired by the young queen, either. He remained one of her most trusted advisors until his death, shortly before hers.
• No evidence exists to support the claim that Walsingham was involved in the death of Mary of Guise; she died of dropsy.
• In the film, and as emphasised in its promotion, Elizabeth has bright blue eyes (the natural eye colour of Cate Blanchett); however, Elizabeth is well known for having the deep amber brown eyes of her mother (Anne Boleyn) and the bright-red coloured hair of her father (Henry VIII).

[edit] Anachronisms

• Near the start of the film, Elizabeth and her attendants are seen passing under the famous Bridge of Sighs of St John's College, Cambridge, despite the fact that the crossing was not constructed until 1831, more than two centuries after Elizabeth's death.

[edit] Claims of Anti-Catholicism

The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights stated that the film gives "impression that the religious strife was all the doing of the Catholic Church", noting that the New York Times review considered it "resolutely anti-Catholic" complete with a "scheming pope" and repeating the Buffalo News' charge that "[e]very single Catholic in the film is dark, cruel and devious".^[1]

[edit] Cast

• Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth I of England
• Geoffrey Rush as Francis Walsingham
• Christopher Eccleston as Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
• Joseph Fiennes as Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
• Kathy Burke as Mary I of England
• Emily Mortimer as Katherine Champernowne
• Edward Hardwicke as Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel
• Daniel Craig as John Ballard
• James Frain as Alvaro de la Quadra
• Kelly Macdonald as Isabel Knollys (fictional)
• Angus Deayton as Waad, Chancellor of the Exchequer (fictional)
• Wayne Sleep as the dance tutor
• Richard Attenborough as William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
• John Gielgud as The Pope
• Fanny Ardant as Mary of Guise
• Vincent Cassel as the Henri, Duc d'Anjou
• Eric Cantona as Monsieur de Foix (fictional)

[edit] Awards

At the 71st Academy Awards, Jenny Shircore won the Oscar for Best Makeup. The film also received 6 other Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Cate Blanchett for Best Actress in a Leading Role, John Myhre and Peter Howitt for Best Art/Set Direction, Remi Adefarasin for Best Cinematography, Alexandra Byrne for Best Costume Design, and David Hirschfelder for Best Music (Original Dramatic Score).^[2]

At the 52nd BAFTA Film Awards, the film won 6 awards. It won the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film, Cate Blanchett won Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, Remi Adefarasin won Best Cinematography, Jenny Shircore won Best Makeup & Hair, Geoffrey Rush won Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, and David Hirschfelder won the Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music. It was also nominated for several other awards: Best Film, Shekhar Kapur for Best Direction, Michael Hirst for Best Original Screenplay, Alexandra Byrne for Best Costume Design, Jill Bilcock for Best Editing, and John Myhre for Best Production Design.^[2]

Cate Blanchett won Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Drama at the 56th Golden Globe Awards held in 1999. The film was also nominated for Best Motion Picture (Drama), and Shekhar Kapur was nominated for Best Director.^[2]

At the 1998 Screen Actors Guild Awards, Cate Blanchett was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role.^[2]

[edit] Release and box office performance

Elizabeth premiered in September 1998 at the Venice Film Festival and was also shown at the Toronto International Film Festival.^[3] It premiered in London on October 2, 1998 and it premiered in the United States on October 13, 1998.^[3] It opened in the United Kingdom on October 23, 1998^[3] and opened in limited release in the United States in 9 theaters on November 6, 1998, grossing $275,131.^[4] Its widest release in the United States and Canada was in 624 theaters.^[4], and it's largest weekend gross throughout its run in theaters in the U.S. and Canada was $3.9 million in 516 theaters^[4], ranking #9 at the box office.^[5] Elizabeth went on to gross $30 million in the United States and Canada, and a total of $82.1 million worldwide.^[6]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Elizabeth at the Internet Movie Database
• Speech in Movie to Rival Clergy in Text and Video from AmericanRhetoric.com
• Movie stills

de:Elizabeth (Film) es:Elizabeth (película) fr:Elizabeth (film) it:Elizabeth ja:エリザベス (映画) pl:Elizabeth (film) pt:Elizabeth (filme) ru:Елизавета (фильм) fi:Elisabet (elokuva) sv:Elizabeth (film) tr:Elizabeth (film)