Elizabeth (1998) The movie, “Elizabeth,” is a biographical film of Queen Elizabeth I of England produced by Tim Bevan, Alison Owen, and Eric Fellner released in year of 1998. The film was directed by Shekhar Kapur starring Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth, Geoffrey Rush as Sir Francis Walsingham, and Joseph Fiennes as Robert Dudley. This movie is the first of the series of Elizabeth with a following sequel, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” that was released in 2007. The colorized film of “Elizabeth” focuses on the enthronement of the queen during a time of political unrest and how she eventually becomes the ‘Virgin Queen’ of England.
The movie starts with a scene that represents the years of England ruled by ‘Bloody Mary,’ the half sister of Elizabeth. Mary soon dies of her tumor, but England is in great political, economical, and religious threat due to the conflict between Catholics and Protestants. Elizabeth, who is religious tolerant, wishes for Protestants and Catholics to live harmoniously and to create a unified Church of England. The reality of a weak England, politically and economically, places pressure on Elizabeth to form an alliance with another country, either with the Duke of France or the King of Spain. However, Elizabeth does not want to get married with any of the two, as her heart remains with Lord Roberts. Throughout the movie, Elizabeth struggles in fighting the pressure of marriage, restoring a weak England, and gaining confidence from her people despite her reputation as the heretic and illegitimate product of the King and his mistress. Though the movie is based on the life story of Queen Elizabeth, it is still historically inaccurate. The physical depictions of Queen Elizabeth are accurate, as they were based off of real historical paintings such as the portrait, “The Coronation of Elizabeth.” The people reflected in the movie of that time period are real, but their roles in that time period are off. Some of the biggest inaccuracies are the relationship between Queen Elizabeth and Lord Roberts, the death of Mary the Guise, and the role of Walsingham. The movie portrays Lord Roberts as deceitful to Queen Elizabeth by hiding his married status. After finding about his married status, Queen Elizabeth rejects Lord Roberts in public, and then Lord Roberts becomes involved in a treasonous act with Spain that was plotting to kill the Queen. However, in real life records, Lord Roberts did not commit treason against Queen Elizabeth and they remained close throughout their lifetime. The movie also overdramatizes the relationship between Mary the Guise and Queen Elizabeth of England. In the film, Queen Elizabeth receives a dress from France as a “gift” that turns out to be poisoned where one of Elizabeth’s maids die from wearing the dress. Upon this finding, Queen Elizabeth sends Lord Walsingham to France and he kills Mary the Guise. However, this incidence is historically inaccurate; Mary the Guise never sent a poisoned dress to Queen Elizabeth, and historical facts suggest that Mary the guise died from natural causes and not by Walsingham. Finally, the role of Walsingham is overemphasized, since he was not active in politics until the second century of Queen Elizabeth’s reign. Also, the movie suggests that Sir Walsingham is homosexual with young boys, whereas facts suggest that he was happily married with his wife. This movie portrays some of the historical aspects of Queen Elizabeth’s life story accurately to a limited degree; but many parts, especially the romantic relationship between Queen Elizabeth and Lord Roberts, are overdramatized to make a movie about political unrest more exciting. The movie starts in the year of 1554 when Queen Mary was in reign. The setting of time periods were two or three centuries out of date because the movie displays lifestyles closer to twelfth-and-thirteenth-centuries and not of sixteenth-century. In the beginning, Elizabeth is running across the fields and dancing with Lord Roberts. Later, a group of Mary’s troops come to lock her into a throne by herself. However, Lord Robert was actually already incarcerated in the tower previous to Elizabeth because he took part in his father’s attempt to enthrone his daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey. The customs of the movie are considered accurate. Most of Queen’s dresses are based out of the paintings of that time and the many had detailed accuracy of those paintings. Lord Roberts and other characters’ clothings were fairly accurate, but it can be argued that some pieces were missing. The ages of the characters were inaccurate; for example, William Cecil, in the movie, is shown as very old, where in reality, he was in his thirties when Queen Elizabeth was in her first century of ruling. Also, she never retires him.
“Elizabeth,” seems to focus heavily on the romantic struggles of Queen Elizabeth and the visual presentation of the events. The costumes and makeup of the characters are very vivid and interesting, and they are considered somewhat historically accurate as well. Even though the plot line of the movie was very different from the historical records, the movie was very enjoyable with the dramatized relationships between her and Lord Roberts and the many suitors at hand. The actress who played the role of Queen Elizabeth, Cate Blanchett, did a great job in highlighting the Queen’s strong personality. The facial expressions and visual look of Cate Blanchett is very similar to the paintings of Queen Elizabeth that present her as very composed. The other actors were also very good in playing their parts. One of the issues of this movie was its attempt to cover Queen Elizabeth’s twenty years of reign into a two-hour movie. There were too many events overlapping in a single time-period, and the scenes change too quickly for the audience to keep up with the storyline. This makes it difficult for the audience to fully see a clear sequence of events that lead to a developing climax. The audience should not expect to see a clear sequence of the historical events that partook during Queen Elizabeth’s reign, as the movie focuses on presenting a more visually appealing film of her life and time period. This movie is to be watched more as enjoyment than as for educational purposes. This film could be made better in contemporary time period if the movie were to be presented with the same dramatic elements but with more historical accuracy either in a longer movie or series of television shows. Overall, the presentation and characters of the movie were all worth applauding, but it is the historical inaccuracies that limit this movie from being a true biography of Queen Elizabeth I of England.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
There were several plots, rebellions and other disastrous events that led to Elizabeth changing her policy towards Catholics. Many of these were set off by Mary, Queen of Scots’ arrival in England in May 1658 when she fled from Scotland. This strong Catholic provided a figurehead for English Catholics to rally around and her arrival triggered a number of rebellions and plots.…
- 986 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Elizabeth had inherited the throne of England in 1558 from a Catholic queen Mary who had attempted to re-convert England back to Catholicism and to allow the country to take part in the Catholic reformation of Europe. The accession of Elizabeth was met with anxiety and tension as to discover what she was to do in response to religion and how the Catholic powers of Europe as well as the Catholics within England at the time would treat any changes. The immediate rise to power was met with little hostility as Elizabeth had made very cautious changes to start with as she thought it wise not to provoke hostility from abroad considering the position of England at the time as a small, weak protestant nation. The start of Elizabeth’s reign was fairly peaceful however tensions rose and a Catholic threat seemed more imminent as her reign drew to the end.…
- 2682 Words
- 11 Pages
Powerful Essays -
The American Presidents have a distinct aura that surrounds them and covers their true identity with a faulty exterior, only portraying stoic, standup men. Elizabeth Keckley in her memoir Behind the Scenes gives us an inside look at President Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd Lincoln, as well as a look into her own life. Elizabeth Keckley was a black slave who bought her freedom, and worked for rich families as a seamstress, including working in the White House for Marry Todd Lincoln. She became close friends with Mrs. Lincoln and one of her only confidantes in the time after President Lincoln was assassinated (Dasher-Alston 1). In her piece Keckley explains how she sees the Lincolns at some of the best times that they have while in the White House as well as some of the worst times they have. Keckley 's memoir gives us a deep look into three fascinating people’s true characteristics that would almost be unknown otherwise: Abraham Lincoln was a fun-loving, uncomplicated, caring man; Mary Todd Lincoln was an irritable, brash, strong woman; and Elizabeth Keckley was a hardworking, honest, and loyal woman.…
- 1323 Words
- 6 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Elizabeth I is a one of the main known rulers of England. She brought in the “Golden Age” of Britannia. Many books that are written about Elizabeth chronologically tell about her decisions and how they affect England and the rest of Europe. Most of the books are biographies but, Christopher Haigh’s book Elizabeth I is not merely a biography but a detailed account on how Elizabeth and the people around her influenced each other and how that affected Elizabeth’s reign. In Christopher Haigh’s book Elizabeth I: Profiles in Power, his main argument and thesis is that Elizabeth had to play a dangerous game throughout her life and rule to keep England balanced with illusion.…
- 650 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
From the age of thirteen, Elizabeth knew she didn’t want to marry. She thought that if a princess is wed she would die or be cast off. She watched what happened to her mothers and didn’t want the same to happen to her. Elizabeth had no example of true love in her life. Her father never really loved his wives and to him marriage was only temporary. She didn’t want to rule the way her mothers did, she wanted to be independent. Elizabeth did fall in love a couple times, but she rejected every proposal she received. The House of Commons, the lower level of Parliament, wanted to find her a suitable husband, but she refused. She didn’t believe that she needed a husband to help her rule, she could do it alone. They wanted her to marry and start a family. Elizabeth said, “In the end, this shall be for me sufficient, that a marble stone shall declare that a Queen, having reigned such a time lived and died a virgin.” Elizabeth stayed true to her word a remained a virgin her whole life. That is why she is considered the Virgin…
- 628 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
This film shows victimization in two aspects of Elizabeth’s life with her husband and her Mother. The film first introduces Charles, who from the outset directly controls Elizabeth’s perceptions of him and their relationship. For example, Charles asserts that it was…
- 1346 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
The Elizabethans thought of the Irish to be less then human, this attitude was particularly expressed by an contemporary English observer who said ' ....are more uncivil, more uncleanly, more barbarous in their customs and demeanours than in any part of the world known'. This shows how their habits and customs had been critiqued and used against them in a negative nature. Furthermore, Ireland assumed England's new government was going to be ineffective like the last which held as an excuse for the governments rigour ' the Irish live like beasts' emphasising how they didn't see the Irish as humans but as animals. Therefore allowing them to justify their reasons for wanting to sort out Ireland. It also shows that Elizabeth knew what Ireland thought of her and how they somewhat undermined her authority by their assumptions, therefore influencing how she treated the Irish back.…
- 1354 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
All substantial threats to Elizabeth’s position as Queen were symptoms of the tension between Catholicism and Protestantism. The threats posed by Mary Queen of Scots, as well as those of the Spanish Armada of 1588 and the war with Spain (which dominated the last twenty years of Elizabeth’s reign), were consequences of a Catholic desire to gain supremacy in England. However, the extent to which the Catholic threat was centred on Mary Queen of Scots is debateable. Whilst she was undoubtedly a figurehead for Catholic opposition to Elizabeth’s rule and was the monarchical figure around whom several treasonous plots were designed, there is much evidence for the view that Mary became a focal point for a Catholic threat that would have existed even if she had been absent. The extent to which the structure given to the Catholic cause by Mary’s presence strengthened the Catholic threat is also debateable. There were others who could have become the rallying point for Catholic opposition (as Philip II of Spain did after Mary’s death), although none had as good a claim to the throne as Mary. A great threat was presented by Catholic opposition to Elizabeth’s rule, but Mary’s influence over this, and therefore the threat that she posed as an individual, may be called into question.…
- 1576 Words
- 7 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Elizabeth and Johns relationship is certainly not an easy one. Although having been married with two children the intrusion of Abigail could not have come at a worse time. With Elizabeth ill and Abigail’s personality being such a contrast John felt it as an escape from his wife’s absence. The affair that John had with Abigail puts a strain on their relationship creating a physical and emotional divide that the audience easily pick up on. On top of the affair, living in a puritan society which can be demeaning to women makes the situation and the divide even more prominent. However the couple’s actions towards each other and Johns anger towards himself over the affair that he had shows how much they really love each other. Even without the affair, difference in character and living in a harsh puritan society is any relationship ever ‘easy’?…
- 1931 Words
- 8 Pages
Better Essays -
The plot grew out of two originally separate plans. The first involved a Spanish invasion of England with the purpose of deposing Elizabeth and replacing her with Mary; the second was a plot by English Catholics to assassinate Elizabeth. However, both plots were hatched…
- 518 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
There was much historical accuracy within this film. The setting where the movie was filmed was in the actual palace of Versailles. The costumes of the 18th century period were depicted very well within this film. They showed the latest fashions of the French court. The movie even won an award for the best costume design. Also, Marie had a lack of education and that was shown when she had signed her name on a certificate her signature looked really sloppy compared to Louis’.…
- 515 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Elizabeth, she creates a hysteria of witchcraft in hopes to get her killed for the opportunity of…
- 530 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In this portrait of Queen Elizabeth it shows Spanish armada in the right hand corner and the English in top left. Her hand is placed on the globe and the crown is on her right. She wearing necklaces of pearls and has a peacock feather on the top of her head. She is showing her hair in plain view. She is also wearing expensive and fashionable clothes.…
- 519 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Most of Elizabeth’s people were never able to ever see her in real life especially those in lower class, as in labourers, servants, and the poor. For the people who have never seen Queen Elizabeth, the only way of seeing her was by the pictures of her on the coins, medals and most certainly portraits. Many nobles would love to have paintings of her in their houses for all to see in their country houses and portraits of her were normally given as gifts to foreign rulers and were sent abroad. Portraits of Elizabeth are never actually meant to show exactly what she looked like and always carried on their own messages and propagandas. As Elizabeth grew older she got less and less appealing on appearance and so her appearance had to become more and more disguised. In 1562 Elizabeth caught smallpox and left scarring all across her face and then by the 1590s her teeth turned black and she had a lot of wrinkles and had to wear a wig because all her hair had fell of. Even though Elizabeth did not like having her portrait painted she realised how important they are, and used portraits to create an image she wanted her people to believe and by also adding propagandas. Before Artists were aloud to paint a portrait of her they had to get permission from the government first and had to use approved fabrics, jewels and faces. Portraits of Elizabeth never actually was precisely meant to look…
- 1871 Words
- 8 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Queen Elizabeth II is the Queen of sixteen independent states and their overseas territories and their dependencies. She was born on April 21, 1926 and was already known to take the place of her father’s throne, since she was the only child. She was baptized in the Private Chapel on the grounds of the Buckingham Palace. Elizabeth was named after her mother, in whom her two middle names were given from her paternal great-grandmother, Queen Alexandra, and her grandmother, Queen Mary. Queen Elizabeth’s full name is Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor. She grew up educated by her father and her grandmother Queen Mary. Her parents always took an easy-going way to their daughters education, but they made a great effort to prepare Elizabeth for her future as a queen. Her father gave her newspaper articles to familiarize her with politics, and her mother, taught her about the history of the British constitution. Queen Elizabeth II was trained by her mother Queen Elizabeth I. When she was thirteen year old, she was introduced to her future husband, who’s name was Prince Phillip. She had automatically fallen in love with him and when he left for the Navy, she wrote him. In 1947, Princess Elizabeth went on her first overseas visit with her parents and sister to South Africa. During the trip, she turned twenty-one and made an historic radio broadcast in which she pledged to dedicate her whole life to the British people. She quoted, “I declare you that my whole life, whether is be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial Commonwealth to which we all belong,” she said. “But I shall not have strength to carry out this resolution unless you join in it with me, as I now invite you to do; I know that your support will be unfailingly given. God Bless all of you who are willing to share it.”…
- 776 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays