Elizabeth (1998)

Fresh and Exciting

Brilliant and touching

An action-packed slog

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Elisabeth is the biography of Elisabeth the first of England who is credited often of starting the process of making Britain one of the strongest biggest and most advanced empires of the whole time, so the film had a lot to do. The final result is a well made depiction of the early days of our protagonist from a seclusive girl to the monarch of a renaissance kingdom.The idea to so the process of this transformation was a quit smart one as the majority of history buffs know what took place during her reign from the built up of the navy, to the final establishment of the English Church and the explosion of art in the Fair Isles but few have a good knowledge of the person behind all that. And the film does portrait the political game of the fifteenth century very well, with some dramatization and simplification here and there in order for the common viewer to keep track of the event ,but with out losing the essence of the story.As for the queen herself, Cate Blanchett gave a great performance of the character and she showed very well how difficult and at times heartbreaking was for her to adapt to a court divided in which who you like and who you trust doesn't always mean the same person. Also thankfully she didn't become a cry-baby during all the events of the film, rather her pain was shown much more esoteric and damaging her psychology than her in a psychical term.To the setting ,costume and personalities we have excellent to the first two and a little mixed of dramatization ,but not to a point that was more fiction than fact like some else, (Brave-heart, The Patriot, Apocalypto ).In the end a good historical film ,if you are a history buff go watch you will like it ,for the rest ,just give it a try.

On one hand, the technical aspects of Elizabeth (1998) are marvelous. Gorgeous cinematography and costumes. Cate Blanchett is a great Elizabeth, so great that at times it felt like she could salvage the picture.Too bad the script is junk. I'm not even going into the realm of historical accuracy because next to none of the details here are true to reality. The sexual stuff in particular is obnoxious (like Elizabeth's maids peeping on her copulating with Robert Dudley-- what was that?). What they did to the Duke of Anjou, Mary Tudor, and Mary de Guise is just so far into the realm of dumb, turning actual people into caricatures.And that's the problem: the whole thing feels juvenile. And unlike a juvenile historical drama offering like Reign, Elizabeth has no camp value to make it entertaining. I would not call the film an entire failure-- my sister and I had a pleasant enough time watching it-- but I would not watch it again and would not recommend it.

Elizabeth is a realistic portrayal of Queen Elizabeth's ascendance to the throne of England. The casting is good, from the exquisite Cate Blanchett to the fine Joseph Fiennes. Blanchett does a wonderful job at portraying Elizabeth and her Oscar nomination was very well deserved. The production of the film is great. The costumes are wonderfully designed and historically accurate. The makeup is spot on too, hence the Oscar win for best makeup. The movie begins with a scene of "heretics" (people who renounced or went against the Catholic Church being burned, by the order of Queen Mary, aka Bloody Mary. Then we see Mary's death and Elizabeth's ascendance to the throne. It is very uncertain times and her ascendance is a turbulent one, and the film depicts it all very well. The middle part of the movie may have some viewers drifting, since it is slightly slow moving, but the ending is worth staying around for in my opinion. This film is not in the greatest movies of all time category, and it shouldn't be. It's not amazing, but it is well made, and really does the source material justice, and if you are a student studying this time period, or just really interested in history, then I suggest it. 7/10.

A reunion, of sorts, for Shakespeare in Love actors Geoffrey Rush and Joseph Fiennes, Shekhar Kapur's 1998 epic combines their talents along with Cate Blanchett's in the film Elizabeth. Telling the story of the turbulent events leading to Queen Elizabeth's rise to power and outlining the origin of the Catholic against Protestant war in Europe, Kapur's film brings to life the beginning of the Golden Age of England. Highlighting the magnitude of internal struggle one person undertakes to lead a nation, Elizabeth is a captivating story of struggle and triumph. Being born out of wedlock to Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth (Cate Blanchett) never expected to rise to power, but the reality of her childless sister Mary I (Fanny Ardant) dying with no heir made Elizabeth's rise the only possibility. Crippled with fear that Protestant Elizabeth would un-do Catholic reign and bring Protestantism to England. While trying to learn about and establish her monarchy, Elizabeth is aided, sometimes, by a team of advisers. Where many of the advisers have good intentions, some are there plotting to restore the Catholic line, refusing to pledge allegiance to the new queen. Another difficulty for Elizabeth is the immense pressure on her to marry and produce an heir. Her longtime lover Lord Robert Dudley (Joseph Fiennes) is not viewed as an acceptable choice, and once Elizabeth learns that he has been carrying on an affair with her against his wife, she never speaks to him again. Elizabeth traverses the difficulties of her new reign with grace while she decides which of her advisers to keep and which to ignore all the while building an empire. Cate Blanchett is exceptional as ever playing the meek turned mighty Queen Elizabeth. She handles the difficulties of playing a woman thrust into power no one wants her to have, yet still trying to do the best for England phenomenally. She also switches from love to scorn for Robert Dudley in a believable way. The production design on this film was fantastic, so intricate and detailed one feels as though they are truly watching the royals interact. The costuming was also beautiful in this film. I greatly admire period pieces that don't take the easy/cheap way out with simple costuming. For instance, the bird's eye view shot of Queen Elizabeth's first appearance from the throne was brilliantly overtaken by her gorgeous red velvet dress. A wonderful directorial choice made by Shekhar Kapur was to show Elizabeth's transfer to power with bright white flashes of light, illustrating the drastic transformation she, and the rest of England were about to endure. Another directorial choice that added to the depth of the film was the flashback of Elizabeth's trials and troubles near the ending scene. While the film loses some of its luster and struggles with pacing in the middle of the movie, it rebounds with a strong enough beginning that one doesn't mind waiting to get re-engaged into the story. Class and sexuality are huge focal points in this film. Sexuality is under the microscope when many men doubt Elizabeth's abilities to govern as a woman. Sexuality is also an overarching issue when it comes to marrying off Elizabeth and producing an heir, as that is the primary focus of women in the 16th century. Class and nobility are central issues as well, with Elizabeth's longtime lover not being seen as regal enough to marry a queen. There is also a certain expectation of forthcoming change Elizabeth is expected to make once she takes the throne; she must be viewed as a royal and forgo peon activities. Elizabeth is a wonderful period piece and a display of directorial force from Shekhar Kapur, whose work I have not familiarized myself with.