Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)

Director:

Shekhar Kapur

Writers:

William Nicholson (written by) and
Michael Hirst (written by)

Release Date:

12 October 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | Romance

Tagline:

Woman. Warrior. Queen.

Plot:

A mature Queen Elizabeth endures multiple crises late in her reign including court intrigues, an assassination plot, the Spanish Armada, and romantic disappointments.

Plot Keywords:

Queen | Spain | Court | Intrigue | Virgin

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Jordi Mollà	...	King Philip ll of Spain
Aimee King	...	Infanta
Cate Blanchett	...	Queen Elizabeth I
Laurence Fox	...	Sir Christopher Hatton
John Shrapnel	...	Lord Howard
Geoffrey Rush	...	Sir Francis Walsingham
Susan Lynch	...	Annette
Elise McCave	...	Laundry Woman
Samantha Morton	...	Mary Stuart
Abbie Cornish	...	Bess Throckmorton
Penelope McGhie	...	Margaret
Rhys Ifans	...	Robert Reston
Eddie Redmayne	...	Thomas Babington
Stuart McLoughlin	...	Savage
Clive Owen	...	Sir Walter Raleigh

Also Known As:

Elizabeth - Das goldene Königreich (Germany)
Elizabeth - L'âge d'or (France)
The Golden Age (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

UK | France | Germany

Language:

English | Spanish | Swedish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

UK:12A | Canada:14A | Germany:12 | South Korea:12 | Finland:K-13 | Ireland:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43467) | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:12 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Taiwan:R-12 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | France:Unrated | Hong Kong:IIA | South Africa:13V | Brazil:14 | Malaysia:U | Australia:M | Sweden:15 | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Argentina:13 | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire, England, UK

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The director, Shekhar Kapur, felt that color should reveal the internal life of the characters. Alexandra Byrne (costume designer) did not want to use blue on Elizabeth since it was not a color of that period. But Shekhar insisted because he felt that blue was the color of yearning and aspiring and he wanted to portray Elizabeth as yearning to be divine and immortal. Likewise, he conveyed the close relationship of Elizabeth and Bess by showing them in similar colors/gown styles and as their relationship separates, the colors are contrasting and even clashing.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The execution of Mary Stuart (Mary, Queen of Scots) is shown with a single, swift ax stroke. Historically, it was far worse, actually taking at least two strokes - the first hitting Mary in the back of the head (reportedly prompting her to cry out, "Sweet Jesus") and the second severing all of her neck save some sinew, which the executioner then cut through by using the ax as a saw. Some reports say the execution in fact required a third stroke as well.

Quotes:

Queen Elizabeth I: Go back to your rathole! Tell Philip I fear neither him, nor his priests, nor his armies. Tell him if he wants to shake his little fist at us, we're ready to give him such a bite he'll wish he'd kept his hands in his pockets!
Spanish Minister: You see a leaf fall, and you think you know which way the wind blows. Well, there is a wind coming, Madame, that will sweep away your pride.
[turns to leave with his ministers]
Queen Elizabeth I: I, too, can command the wind, sir! I have a hurricane in me that will strip Spain bare when you dare to try me!

Movie Connections:

Featured in 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Love Theme - Arrest

Needs More Clarity

I understand what really happened during this time period but for someone who is not aware it is hard to follow. Overall though it was good but not too special except for Cate Blanchett. After her, the costumes and art direction it wasn't too great.

The acting of this movie overall was OK. Cate Blanchett was phenomenal showing her vulnerability and the complexities in her character having to deal with so many problems and yet having to stay in control. She fit her part perfectly as she did in the first movie. Like the first she really actually gave you the feeling of what a queen from back then might have been like. I like Clive Owen but I hated hated him in this movie. His style was too cliché and what really brought him down was not really realizing the point of his character. I understand Blanchett is supposed to be in love with him but he really just feels like he could have been cut from the entire movie and it wouldn't of made the slightest difference. I would have liked to have seen Geoffrey Rush much more in this movie but unfortunately his role was very limited.

The art direction and costume design was great. You could see some great photography and landscapes with great setup with the clothing. It was sort of able to fill the void with some of the mistakes made in this movie but it just was not enough.

Overall though the directing and editing was poor. The directing failed miserably at giving you an idea of what is happening. Even if you do get it, the movie fails at really showing how this event makes Elizabeth important great and why it is important. This has to do with the editing a lot as well.

I would recommend this movie strictly for Blanchett's performance. This is not really a movie too understand history through though.