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Golden Age (film)
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth: The Golden Age is a 2007 sequel to the 1998 film Elizabeth
, directed by Shekhar Kapur
and produced by Universal Pictures
and Working Title Films
. It stars Cate Blanchett
in the title role and is loosely based on events during the latter part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England
. The screenplay was written by William Nicholson
and Michael Hirst
. The music score was composed by A. R. Rahman
and Craig Armstrong.
It was filmed at Shepperton Studios
and various locations around the United Kingdom with an estimated production budget
of 50 to 60 million USD. Guy Hendrix Dyas
was the film's production designer and co-visual effects supervisor and the costumes were created by Alexandra Byrne
.
The film premiered on 9 September 2007 at the Toronto International Film Festival
. It opened in wide release in the United States and Canada on October 12, 2007. It premiered in London on 23 October 2007 and is on general release from 2 November 2007 throughout the rest of the UK and Republic of Ireland. It opened in Australia and New Zealand on 15 November 2007.
The film won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design and Blanchett received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
's second wife, Queen Mary I of England
, died. They had wed in July 1554, a year after Mary's accession to the English throne, but the English Parliament had refused to grant him much real power as co-monarch of England. On Mary's death he had then tried unsuccessfully to persuade her sister and successor, Elizabeth I
, to marry him, but she would not agree. Phillip decides to take revenge and launches the Spanish Armada
, with the blessing of the Pope, to attack England
, Protestantism
, and Elizabeth herself. Sir Walter Raleigh, whom the Queen loves, marries a ward of her court after he learns she is carrying his child. Elizabeth I has both of them arrested.
(Jordi Molla
) is the most powerful country in Europe. Seeing Protestant England as a threat, and in retaliation for English piracy of Spanish ships, Philip intends to make war. He plans to take over England, and make his daughter Isabella
the Queen of England in Elizabeth's place.
In England, Elizabeth
(Cate Blanchett
) is being pressured to marry by her advisor, Sir Francis Walsingham (Geoffrey Rush
). She is aging and, with no child, the throne will pass to her next of kin, Mary, Queen of Scots (Samantha Morton
). The Queen is presented with portraits of appropriate suitors, but Elizabeth refuses to marry, particularly to the Archduke Charles of Austria
(Christian Brassington
), who has become infatuated with the Queen.
Walter Raleigh
(Clive Owen
) is presented at Elizabeth's court, having returned from the New World
, and offers her potatoes, tobacco, two Native Americans, and gold from Spanish ships that he claims were "unable to continue their journey". The Spanish ambassador protests. Elizabeth commands that the Native Americans be treated well, and refuses to accept the gold.
Elizabeth is attracted to Raleigh, enthralled by his tales of exploration, and asks Elizabeth Throckmorton
(Abbie Cornish
) (nicknamed Bess), her most favored lady-in-waiting
, to observe him. Bess also finds Raleigh attractive and secretly begins an affair with him. Elizabeth meanwhile seeks guidance from her astrologer, Dr. John Dee
(David Threlfall
) who predicts that two empires will go to war. However, he cannot predict which will triumph over the other, leaving Elizabeth to ponder her and England's fate.
Jesuits
in London
conspire with Philip to assassinate Elizabeth and replace her with Mary, in what Philip calls "The English Enterprise," and which is known to history as the Babington Plot
. Walsingham discovers the plot. From her imprisonment Mary sends secret correspondence to the Jesuits, who recruit Anthony Babington
(Eddie Redmayne
) to assassinate Elizabeth.
Walsingham continues to warn Elizabeth of Spain's rising power and of the Catholic plots against her. However she, unlike her predecessor and sister Mary I
, refuses to force her people (half of whom remain loyal to Catholicism
) to share her beliefs. Even then, those conspiring against Elizabeth are being hunted and murdered, including Bess's cousin, whom Bess had failed to protect. After learning of her cousin's torture and death at Walsingham's hands, Bess turns to Raleigh for comfort. The barely hidden closeness of Bess and Raleigh causes tension between them, testing her desire to keep him in England and increasing his desire to go back to the New World.
Walsingham's brother, a Papist
, knows of the plot against Elizabeth. It is revealed that Walsingham had known of the plot all along, intercepting letters, and his brother is jailed. He reveals the plot to Elizabeth, who angrily confronts the Spanish diplomats. The Spanish ambassador feigns ignorance and accuses Elizabeth of receiving Spanish gold from pirates and insinuating a sexual relationship with Raleigh. A sword fight nearly ensues between the queen's male escorts and the Spanish contingent. She throws the Spaniards out of court. Meanwhile, Philip is cutting the forests of Spain to build the Spanish Armada
to invade England.
Mary, Queen of Scots, writes letters condoning the plot. Babington storms into a cathedral where Elizabeth is praying and points a gun at her. Elizabeth opens her arms, seemingly fearless. He pulls the trigger, and the gun fires. At first Walsingham is unable to discern why the gun was harmless, though it is later revealed by the traitor in the torture chamber that there was no bullet in the gun.
Elizabeth learns of Mary's involvement, and Walsingham insists she be executed to quell any possible revolt. Elizabeth is reluctant, but nevertheless agrees. Mary is tried for high treason
. She is beheaded, ascending the block in a blood-red dress, red being the Catholic liturgical colour for martyrs. Walsingham sees that this was part of the Jesuit's plan all-along. Philip had never intended Mary to become queen. Since the Pope and other Catholic leaders regarded Mary as the true Queen of England, Philip uses Mary's death to obtain papal approval for war.
In England, Raleigh asks to leave for the New World, which Elizabeth forbids, instead knighting him and making him Captain of the Royal Guard. Bess discovers she is pregnant with Raleigh's child and, after telling him the news, she pleads with him to leave. He chooses not to, and the couple marry in secret. At the same time, Elizabeth awakes during a dream as the wedding is taking place. She confronts Bess a few weeks later, who confesses that she is indeed pregnant with Raleigh's child, and that Raleigh is her husband. An enraged Elizabeth berates Bess, reminding her that she cannot marry without royal consent. Feeling betrayed, the queen banishes Bess from court and has Raleigh imprisoned for the crime of seducing a ward of the Queen.
Walsingham arranges for his brother, William, who is eleven years Francis' junior, to be released and taken to France on the condition that he must never return to England.
The Armada begins its approach up the English Channel
, and Elizabeth forgives Bess and sets Raleigh free to join Sir Francis Drake in the battle. Elizabeth gives her Speech to the Troops at Tilbury
seated on a war horse wearing full plate armour
. The Spanish ships and army vastly outnumber England's, but at the last moment, a major storm
blows the Armada towards the beaches, endangering their formation and ships. They drop anchor, and the Armada becomes a sitting duck for English fire ship
s. Elizabeth, back at her coastal headquarters, walks out to the cliffs and watches the Spanish Armada sink in flames. Philip's plan is shattered.
Elizabeth visits Walsingham on his deathbed, telling her old friend to rest. She then visits Raleigh and Bess and blesses their child. Elizabeth seemingly triumphs personally through her ordeal, again resigned to her role as the Virgin Queen and mother to the English people.
Cate Blanchett
said: "It's terrifying that we are growing up with this very illiterate bunch of children, who are somehow being taught that film is fact, when in fact it's invention. Hopefully, though, a historical film will inspire people to go and read about the history. But in the end it is a work of history and selection". The most notable of the alleged historical inaccuracies is the representation that Elizabeth wanted to respect Catholicism, which is highly controversial (see discussion below). Other changes include the following:
, gave the film 1 star out of 5, remarking on the film's historical revisionism and melodrama. He writes: "Where Kapur's first Elizabeth was cool, cerebral, fascinatingly concerned with complex plotting, the new movie is pitched at the level of a Jean Plaidy romantic novel".
Although Cate Blanchett's performance was highly praised, the film received generally negative to mixed reviews from U.S.
critics. As of November 24, 2007 on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
, 34% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 145 reviews. On Metacritic
, the film had an average score of 45 out of 100, based on 32 reviews.
Roger Ebert
gave the film 2½ stars out of 4, saying 'there are scenes where the costumes are so sumptuous, the sets so vast, the music so insistent, that we lose sight of the humans behind the dazzle of the production'. Ebert did, however, praise many of the actors' performances, particularly that of Cate Blanchett
as Queen Elizabeth I. He said 'That Blanchett could appear in the same Toronto Film Festival playing Elizabeth and Bob Dylan
, both splendidly, is a wonder of acting'. Blanchett portrayed Bob Dylan in the film I'm Not There
and was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in both movies.
Colin Covert of the Minneapolis Star Tribune gave the film 3 stars out of 4 said '... as a pseudo-historical fable, a romantic triangle and a blood-and-thunder melodrama, the film can't be faulted' and also wrote, 'This isn't historical fabrication, it's mutilation. But for all its lapses, this is probably the liveliest, most vibrant Elizabethan production since Baz Luhrmann
's Romeo + Juliet. while Wesley Morris
of The Boston Globe
said, 'Historians might demand a little more history from "Elizabeth: The Golden Age". But soap opera loyalists could hardly ask for more soap'.
Michael Gove
, speaking on BBC Two's
Newsnight Review, said: 'It tells the story of England's
past in a way which someone who's familiar with the Whig tradition of history would find, as I did, completely sympathetic. It's amazing to see a film made now that is so patriotic ... One of the striking things about this film is that it's almost a historical anomaly. I can't think of a historical period film in which England and the English have been depicted heroically for the last forty or fifty years. You almost have to go back to Laurence Olivier's
Shakespeare's
Henry V
in which you actually have an English king and English armies portrayed heroically'.
and the Counter-Reformation
that polarised European politics. Several critics claimed the film was "anti-Catholic", and it followed a traditional English view of their own history. A British-based priest, Father Peter Malone, declared the film to be jingoistic
in his review at the (Cathport website).
In the U.S.
the National Catholic Register
film critic Steven D. Greydanus compared it to The Da Vinci Code
, and wrote: "The climax, a weakly staged destruction of the Spanish Armada
, is a crescendo of church-bashing imagery: rosaries floating amid burning flotsam, inverted crucifixes sinking to the bottom of the ocean, the rows of ominous berobed clerics slinking away in defeat. Pound for pound, minute for minute, Elizabeth: The Golden Age could possibly contain more sustained church-bashing than any other film I can think of". Greydanus asked: "How is it possible that this orgy of anti-Catholicism has been all but ignored by most critics?"
Stephen Whitty of the Newark
Star-Ledger
said: "This movie equates Catholicism with some sort of horror-movie cult, with scary close-ups of chanting monks and glinting crucifixes". Colin Covert of the Minneapolis
Star Tribune complained of what he saw as "ugly anti-Catholic imagery", and Bob Bloom of the Lafayette
Journal & Courier agreed that anti-Catholicism was one of the film's "sore points".
Monsignor
Mark Langham, Administrator of Westminster Cathedral
, was criticised by some Roman Catholics
for allowing scenes to be shot there; although praising the film as a 'must see', he suggested that 'it does appear to perpetuate the myth of “killer priests”'.
Historian Franco Cardini of the University of Florence
, alleged 'the film formed part of a "concerted attack on Catholicism, the Holy See
and Papism
" by an alliance of atheists
and "apocalyptic Christians
"'. 'Why put out this perverse anti-Catholic propaganda
today, just at the moment when we are trying desperately to revive our Western
identity in the face of the Islam
ic threat, presumed or real?'
Director Shekhar Kapur
rejected this criticism of his film, saying: “It is actually very, very deeply non anti-Catholic. It is anti extreme forms
of religion
. At that time the church
in Spain
, or Philip
had said that they were going to turn the whole world into a very pure form of Catholicism. So it's not anti-Catholic. It's anti an interpretation of the word of God
that is singular, as against what Elizabeth's
was, which was to look upon her faith as concomitant'. 'The fact is that the Pope
ordered her execution; he said that anybody who executes or assassinates Elizabeth would find a beautiful place in the kingdom of heaven. Where else have you heard these words about Salman Khan
or Salman Rushdie? That's why I made this film, so this idea of a rift between Catholicism and Protestants does not arise. My interpretation of Elizabeth is an interpretation of greater tolerance and Philip, which is absolutely true. It's completely true that she had this kind of feminine energy. It's a conflict between Philip, who had no ability to encompass diversity or contradiction, and Elizabeth who had the feminine ability to do that'.
Kapur extended this pluralist
defence to his own approach: 'I would describe all history as fiction and interpretation ... [A]sk any Catholic and they'll give you a totally different aspect of history ... History has always been an interpretation ... I do believe that civilizations that don't learn from history are civilizations that are doomed to make the same mistakes again and again, which is why this film starts with the idea of fundamentalism
against tolerance
. It's not Catholic against Protestant
; it's a very fundamental form of Catholicism. It was the time of the Spanish Inquisition
and against a woman whose half of her population was Protestant, half was Catholic. And there were enough bigots in her Protestant Parliament to say, “Just kill them all”, and she was constantly saying no. She was constantly on the side of tolerance. So you interpret history to tell the story that is relevant to us now'.
Alexandra Byrne
won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design
. Cate Blanchett
was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress
for her performance in the film, becoming the first female actor to receive another Academy Award nomination for the reprisal of the same role. Cate Blanchett was nominated for a Golden Globe Award
for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama for her performance in the film, and the Critic's Choice Award for Best Actress in a leading role, she was also nominated for a SAG Award. The film won two Satellite Awards
for Best Production Design for Guy Hendrix Dyas
and Best Costume Design for Alexandra Byrne
. Guy Hendrix Dyas
received a nomination from the Art Directors Guild
for Best Production Design in a Period Film, and Alexandra Byrne
a nomination from the Costume Designers Guild
for Best Costume in a Period Film. The film was also nominated for four BAFTA awards including Actress in a Leading Role, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design and Best Makeup.
At the 11th Pyongyang International Film Festival held on September 2008, one of the awards for special screening were conferred upon the film.
and Canada
, ranking #6 at the box office. In the United Kingdom
and Ireland
the film entered at #4 and earned £1.3 million ($2.7 million) on its opening weekend. the worldwide total was $74.2 million, including $16.4 million in the U.S. and Canada and $57.8 million elsewhere.
In 1998, the preceding film, Elizabeth
, opened in 9 theatres and grossed $275,131. Its widest release in the United States and Canada was in 624 theatres., and its largest weekend gross throughout its run in theatres was $3.4 million in 516 theatres, ranking #9 at the box office. The 1998 film Elizabeth
went on to gross $30 million in the United States and Canada, and a total of $82.1 million worldwide.
Elizabeth (film)
Elizabeth is a 1998 biographical film written by Michael Hirst, directed by Shekhar Kapur, and starring Cate Blanchett in the title role of Queen Elizabeth I of England, alongside Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Fiennes, Sir John Gielgud, Fanny Ardant and Richard Attenborough...
, directed by Shekhar Kapur
Shekhar Kapur
Shekhar Kapur is an Indian film director and producer. A critically acclaimed director, he rose to popularity with the movie Bandit Queen...
and produced by Universal Pictures
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
and Working Title Films
Working Title Films
Working Title Films is a British film production company, based in London, UK. The company was founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1983. It produces feature films and several television productions, including films starring comic actor Rowan Atkinson...
. It stars Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...
in the title role and is loosely based on events during the latter part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
. The screenplay was written by William Nicholson
William Nicholson (writer)
William Nicholson FRSL is a British screenwriter, playwright, and novelist.-Family:A native of Lewes, Sussex, William Nicholson was raised in a Catholic family in Gloucestershire. By the time he reached his tenth birthday, he had decided to become a writer. He was educated at Downside School,...
and Michael Hirst
Michael Hirst (writer)
Michael Hirst is an English screenwriter, best known for his films Elizabeth and Elizabeth: The Golden Age ....
. The music score was composed by A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
and Craig Armstrong.
It was filmed at Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio in Shepperton, Surrey, England with a history dating back to 1931 since when many notable films have been made there...
and various locations around the United Kingdom with an estimated production budget
Production budget
A film production budget determines how much money will be spent on the entire film project. It involves the identification and estimation of cost items for each phase of filmmaking ....
of 50 to 60 million USD. Guy Hendrix Dyas
Guy Hendrix Dyas
Guy Hendrix Dyas, Production Designer, most recently collaborated with Christopher Nolan on his ambitious science fiction thriller “Inception” which earned him an Academy Award Nomination®™ as well as a BAFTA award for best Production Design...
was the film's production designer and co-visual effects supervisor and the costumes were created by Alexandra Byrne
Alexandra Byrne
Alexandra Byrne is a costume designer. She trained on the Motley Theatre Design Course under Margaret Harris before embarking on her career as a costume designer in film...
.
The film premiered on 9 September 2007 at the Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
. It opened in wide release in the United States and Canada on October 12, 2007. It premiered in London on 23 October 2007 and is on general release from 2 November 2007 throughout the rest of the UK and Republic of Ireland. It opened in Australia and New Zealand on 15 November 2007.
The film won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design and Blanchett received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
Historical background
In 1558, King Philip II of SpainPhilip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
's second wife, Queen Mary I of England
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
, died. They had wed in July 1554, a year after Mary's accession to the English throne, but the English Parliament had refused to grant him much real power as co-monarch of England. On Mary's death he had then tried unsuccessfully to persuade her sister and successor, Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
, to marry him, but she would not agree. Phillip decides to take revenge and launches the Spanish Armada
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
, with the blessing of the Pope, to attack England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
, and Elizabeth herself. Sir Walter Raleigh, whom the Queen loves, marries a ward of her court after he learns she is carrying his child. Elizabeth I has both of them arrested.
Plot
In 1585, Roman Catholic Spain ruled by King Philip IIPhilip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
(Jordi Molla
Jordi Mollà
Jordi Mollá Perales is a Spanish actor, filmmaker, writer and artist.Mollà's artwork is represented in the Carmen De la Guerra Gallery in Madrid, Picasso Mio Gallery in Madrid and Barcelona and Cold Creation Gallery in Barcelona...
) is the most powerful country in Europe. Seeing Protestant England as a threat, and in retaliation for English piracy of Spanish ships, Philip intends to make war. He plans to take over England, and make his daughter Isabella
Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain
Isabella Clara Eugenia of Austria was sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands in the Low Countries and the north of modern France, together with her husband Albert. In some sources, she is referred to as Clara Isabella Eugenia...
the Queen of England in Elizabeth's place.
In England, Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
(Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...
) is being pressured to marry by her advisor, Sir Francis Walsingham (Geoffrey Rush
Geoffrey Rush
Geoffrey Roy Rush is an Australian actor and film producer. He is one of the few people who has won the "Triple Crown of Acting": an Academy Award, a Tony Award and an Emmy Award. He has won one Academy Award for acting , three British Academy Film Awards , two Golden Globe Awards and four Screen...
). She is aging and, with no child, the throne will pass to her next of kin, Mary, Queen of Scots (Samantha Morton
Samantha Morton
Samantha Jane Morton is an English actress and film director. She began her performing career with guest roles in television shows such as Soldier Soldier and Boon before making her film debut in the 1997 drama film This Is the Sea, playing the character of Hazel Stokes...
). The Queen is presented with portraits of appropriate suitors, but Elizabeth refuses to marry, particularly to the Archduke Charles of Austria
Charles II, Archduke of Austria
Charles II Francis of Austria was an Archduke of Austria and ruler of Inner Austria from 1564...
(Christian Brassington
Christian Brassington
Christian Brassington is a British actor. He trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and attended Basingstoke Stageschool from a young age.-Career:...
), who has become infatuated with the Queen.
Walter Raleigh
Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England....
(Clive Owen
Clive Owen
Clive Owen is an English actor, who has worked on television, stage and film. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for portraying the lead in the ITV series Chancer from 1990 to 1991...
) is presented at Elizabeth's court, having returned from the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
, and offers her potatoes, tobacco, two Native Americans, and gold from Spanish ships that he claims were "unable to continue their journey". The Spanish ambassador protests. Elizabeth commands that the Native Americans be treated well, and refuses to accept the gold.
Elizabeth is attracted to Raleigh, enthralled by his tales of exploration, and asks Elizabeth Throckmorton
Elizabeth Raleigh
Elizabeth, Lady Raleigh , née Throckmorton, was Sir Walter Raleigh's wife, and a Lady of the Privy Chamber to Queen Elizabeth I of England. Their secret marriage precipitated a long period of royal disfavour for Raleigh....
(Abbie Cornish
Abbie Cornish
Abbie Cornish is an Australian actress. She is well known in Australia for a number of film and television roles, particularly her award-winning lead performance in 2004's Somersault, and internationally for her role as Fanny Brawne in Bright Star and her appearance as Sweet Pea in Sucker Punch.-...
) (nicknamed Bess), her most favored lady-in-waiting
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
, to observe him. Bess also finds Raleigh attractive and secretly begins an affair with him. Elizabeth meanwhile seeks guidance from her astrologer, Dr. John Dee
John Dee (mathematician)
John Dee was an English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I. He devoted much of his life to the study of alchemy, divination and Hermetic philosophy....
(David Threlfall
David Threlfall
David Threlfall is an English stage, film and television actor and director best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's Manchester-based drama series Shameless. He has also directed several episodes of the show.-Early life:...
) who predicts that two empires will go to war. However, he cannot predict which will triumph over the other, leaving Elizabeth to ponder her and England's fate.
Jesuits
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
conspire with Philip to assassinate Elizabeth and replace her with Mary, in what Philip calls "The English Enterprise," and which is known to history as the Babington Plot
Babington Plot
The Babington Plot was a Catholic plot in 1586 to assassinate Queen Elizabeth, a Protestant, and put Mary, Queen of Scots, a Catholic, on the English throne. It led to the execution of Mary. The long-term goal was an invasion by the Spanish forces of King Philip II and the Catholic league in...
. Walsingham discovers the plot. From her imprisonment Mary sends secret correspondence to the Jesuits, who recruit Anthony Babington
Anthony Babington
Anthony Babington was convicted of plotting the assassination of Elizabeth I of England and conspiring with the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots...
(Eddie Redmayne
Eddie Redmayne
Edward John David "Eddie" Redmayne is an English actor and model. Redmayne won the 2010 Tony Award as best featured actor in a play for his performance in Red.-Early life:...
) to assassinate Elizabeth.
Walsingham continues to warn Elizabeth of Spain's rising power and of the Catholic plots against her. However she, unlike her predecessor and sister Mary I
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
, refuses to force her people (half of whom remain loyal to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
) to share her beliefs. Even then, those conspiring against Elizabeth are being hunted and murdered, including Bess's cousin, whom Bess had failed to protect. After learning of her cousin's torture and death at Walsingham's hands, Bess turns to Raleigh for comfort. The barely hidden closeness of Bess and Raleigh causes tension between them, testing her desire to keep him in England and increasing his desire to go back to the New World.
Walsingham's brother, a Papist
Papist
Papist is a term or an anti-Catholic slur, referring to the Roman Catholic Church, its teachings, practices, or adherents. The term was coined during the English Reformation to denote a person whose loyalties were to the Pope, rather than to the Church of England...
, knows of the plot against Elizabeth. It is revealed that Walsingham had known of the plot all along, intercepting letters, and his brother is jailed. He reveals the plot to Elizabeth, who angrily confronts the Spanish diplomats. The Spanish ambassador feigns ignorance and accuses Elizabeth of receiving Spanish gold from pirates and insinuating a sexual relationship with Raleigh. A sword fight nearly ensues between the queen's male escorts and the Spanish contingent. She throws the Spaniards out of court. Meanwhile, Philip is cutting the forests of Spain to build the Spanish Armada
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
to invade England.
Mary, Queen of Scots, writes letters condoning the plot. Babington storms into a cathedral where Elizabeth is praying and points a gun at her. Elizabeth opens her arms, seemingly fearless. He pulls the trigger, and the gun fires. At first Walsingham is unable to discern why the gun was harmless, though it is later revealed by the traitor in the torture chamber that there was no bullet in the gun.
Elizabeth learns of Mary's involvement, and Walsingham insists she be executed to quell any possible revolt. Elizabeth is reluctant, but nevertheless agrees. Mary is tried for high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
. She is beheaded, ascending the block in a blood-red dress, red being the Catholic liturgical colour for martyrs. Walsingham sees that this was part of the Jesuit's plan all-along. Philip had never intended Mary to become queen. Since the Pope and other Catholic leaders regarded Mary as the true Queen of England, Philip uses Mary's death to obtain papal approval for war.
In England, Raleigh asks to leave for the New World, which Elizabeth forbids, instead knighting him and making him Captain of the Royal Guard. Bess discovers she is pregnant with Raleigh's child and, after telling him the news, she pleads with him to leave. He chooses not to, and the couple marry in secret. At the same time, Elizabeth awakes during a dream as the wedding is taking place. She confronts Bess a few weeks later, who confesses that she is indeed pregnant with Raleigh's child, and that Raleigh is her husband. An enraged Elizabeth berates Bess, reminding her that she cannot marry without royal consent. Feeling betrayed, the queen banishes Bess from court and has Raleigh imprisoned for the crime of seducing a ward of the Queen.
Walsingham arranges for his brother, William, who is eleven years Francis' junior, to be released and taken to France on the condition that he must never return to England.
The Armada begins its approach up the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, and Elizabeth forgives Bess and sets Raleigh free to join Sir Francis Drake in the battle. Elizabeth gives her Speech to the Troops at Tilbury
Speech to the Troops at Tilbury
The Speech to the Troops at Tilbury was delivered on 9 August Old Style, 19 August New Style 1588 by Queen Elizabeth I of England to the land forces earlier assembled at Tilbury in Essex in preparation of repelling the expected invasion by the Spanish Armada....
seated on a war horse wearing full plate armour
Plate armour
Plate armour is a historical type of personal armour made from iron or steel plates.While there are early predecessors such the Roman-era lorica segmentata, full plate armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, especially in the context of the Hundred Years' War, from the coat of...
. The Spanish ships and army vastly outnumber England's, but at the last moment, a major storm
Protestant Wind
The phrase Protestant Wind has been used in more than one context, notably:#The storm that lashed the Spanish Armada. According to Protestant propaganda, the wind wrecked the Spanish fleet and thus saved England from invasion by the army of Philip II of Spain...
blows the Armada towards the beaches, endangering their formation and ships. They drop anchor, and the Armada becomes a sitting duck for English fire ship
Fire ship
A fire ship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, deliberately set on fire and steered into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy ships, or to create panic and make the enemy break formation. Ships used as fire ships were usually old and worn out or...
s. Elizabeth, back at her coastal headquarters, walks out to the cliffs and watches the Spanish Armada sink in flames. Philip's plan is shattered.
Elizabeth visits Walsingham on his deathbed, telling her old friend to rest. She then visits Raleigh and Bess and blesses their child. Elizabeth seemingly triumphs personally through her ordeal, again resigned to her role as the Virgin Queen and mother to the English people.
Cast
- Cate BlanchettCate BlanchettCatherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...
as Elizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty... - Geoffrey RushGeoffrey RushGeoffrey Roy Rush is an Australian actor and film producer. He is one of the few people who has won the "Triple Crown of Acting": an Academy Award, a Tony Award and an Emmy Award. He has won one Academy Award for acting , three British Academy Film Awards , two Golden Globe Awards and four Screen...
as Sir Francis WalsinghamFrancis WalsinghamSir Francis Walsingham was Principal Secretary to Elizabeth I of England from 1573 until 1590, and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". Walsingham is frequently cited as one of the earliest practitioners of modern intelligence methods both for espionage and for domestic security... - Clive OwenClive OwenClive Owen is an English actor, who has worked on television, stage and film. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for portraying the lead in the ITV series Chancer from 1990 to 1991...
as Sir Walter Raleigh - Abbie CornishAbbie CornishAbbie Cornish is an Australian actress. She is well known in Australia for a number of film and television roles, particularly her award-winning lead performance in 2004's Somersault, and internationally for her role as Fanny Brawne in Bright Star and her appearance as Sweet Pea in Sucker Punch.-...
as Elizabeth ThrockmortonElizabeth RaleighElizabeth, Lady Raleigh , née Throckmorton, was Sir Walter Raleigh's wife, and a Lady of the Privy Chamber to Queen Elizabeth I of England. Their secret marriage precipitated a long period of royal disfavour for Raleigh....
/Bess, Lady-in-waitingLady-in-waitingA lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
to Elizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty... - Samantha MortonSamantha MortonSamantha Jane Morton is an English actress and film director. She began her performing career with guest roles in television shows such as Soldier Soldier and Boon before making her film debut in the 1997 drama film This Is the Sea, playing the character of Hazel Stokes...
as Mary, Queen of Scots - Susan LynchSusan LynchSusan Lynch is an actor from Northern Ireland.-Early life:Lynch was born in Corrinshego, Newry, County Armagh, Northern Ireland to an Italian mother and Irish father. Her brother is actor John Lynch, she has a sister, Pauline, who is a drama teacher at St...
as Annette Fleming - Lady-in-waiting to Mary, Queen of Scots - Jordi MollàJordi MollàJordi Mollá Perales is a Spanish actor, filmmaker, writer and artist.Mollà's artwork is represented in the Carmen De la Guerra Gallery in Madrid, Picasso Mio Gallery in Madrid and Barcelona and Cold Creation Gallery in Barcelona...
as Philip II of SpainPhilip II of SpainPhilip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count.... - Rhys IfansRhys IfansRhys Ifans is a Welsh actor and musician. He is known for his portrayal of characters such as Spike in Notting Hill and Jed Parry in Enduring Love and as a member of the Welsh rock groups Super Furry Animals and The Peth. Ifans also appeared as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly...
as Robert Reston - Eddie RedmayneEddie RedmayneEdward John David "Eddie" Redmayne is an English actor and model. Redmayne won the 2010 Tony Award as best featured actor in a play for his performance in Red.-Early life:...
as Anthony BabingtonAnthony BabingtonAnthony Babington was convicted of plotting the assassination of Elizabeth I of England and conspiring with the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots... - Tom HollanderTom HollanderThomas Anthony "Tom" Hollander is a British actor who has appeared in productions such as Enigma, Gosford Park, Cambridge Spies, Pride and Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean, In the Loop, Valkyrie and Hanna.-Early life:Tom Hollander was born in Bristol and raised in Oxford, Oxfordshire, the son...
as Sir Amyas PauletAmias PauletSir Amias Paulet was an English diplomat, Governor of Jersey, and the gaoler for a period of Mary, Queen of Scots.-Life:... - David ThrelfallDavid ThrelfallDavid Threlfall is an English stage, film and television actor and director best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's Manchester-based drama series Shameless. He has also directed several episodes of the show.-Early life:...
as Dr. John DeeJohn Dee (mathematician)John Dee was an English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I. He devoted much of his life to the study of alchemy, divination and Hermetic philosophy.... - Adam GodleyAdam GodleyAdam Godley is an English actor.-Biography:Adam Godley has appeared in numerous movies including Love Actually, Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ....
as William Walsingham - Laurence FoxLaurence FoxLaurence Fox is an English actor best known for his leading role as Detective Sergeant James Hathaway in the British TV drama series Lewis...
as Christopher HattonChristopher HattonSir Christopher Hatton was an English politician, Lord Chancellor of England and a favourite of Elizabeth I of England.-Early days:... - William HoustonWill HoustonWill Houston , often credited as William Houston, is a British actor. Born in Sussex, he grew up in Northern Ireland....
as Don Gerau De SpesGuerau de EspésGuerau de Espés del Valle was a Spanish nobleman and diplomat. He served as Philip II of Spain's ambassador to Elizabeth I of England from 1568 to 1571 during one of the tensest moments in Anglo-Spanish relations and was expelled after being accused of complicity of the Ridolfi plot. He was a... - Christian BrassingtonChristian BrassingtonChristian Brassington is a British actor. He trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and attended Basingstoke Stageschool from a young age.-Career:...
as Archduke Charles of Austria - John ShrapnelJohn ShrapnelJohn Shrapnel is an English actor.Shrapnel was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, the son of Mary Lillian Myfanwy and journalist/author Norman Shrapnel....
as Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham
Dramatic license
As in the first film, some of the historical facts and dates have been changed by the film-makers for artistic purposes. Responding to concerns arising from this, leadLeading actor
A leading actor, leading actress, star, or simply lead, plays the role of the protagonist in a film or play. The word lead may also refer to the largest role in the piece and leading actor may refer to a person who typically plays such parts or an actor with a respected body of work...
Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...
said: "It's terrifying that we are growing up with this very illiterate bunch of children, who are somehow being taught that film is fact, when in fact it's invention. Hopefully, though, a historical film will inspire people to go and read about the history. But in the end it is a work of history and selection". The most notable of the alleged historical inaccuracies is the representation that Elizabeth wanted to respect Catholicism, which is highly controversial (see discussion below). Other changes include the following:
- Sir Walter Raleigh's role in the defeat of the Spanish Armada was relatively minor. The role of Sir Francis Drake, one of the key figures in the victory, is downplayed. In some episodes, such as the confrontation with the Spanish ambassador, Drake's historical actions are attributed to Raleigh. Similarly, Robert Dudley, 1st earl of Leicester, was lieutenant general at the armada crisis. His role at Tilbury camp is performed by Raleigh in the film, while Dudley is absent from the screen.
- Charles Howard, 1st earl of Nottingham, says, "We're losing too many ships." In reality, not a single English ship was lost during the battle.
- The film depicts Elizabeth frequently seeking the advice of Dr John Dee. Historically, however, Dee was travelling the continent throughout the period depicted and did not return until more than a year after the defeat of the Armada. Elizabeth's actual main advisor and chief minister, Sir William Cecil, is omitted from the film altogether.
- In 1588, Infanta Isabel of Spain is portrayed as a child. In reality, she was twenty-one by this time.
- In 1585, Elizabeth was fifty-two. The film shows various suitors being presented to the queen, with a view to marriage and children. These scenes presented actually took place much earlier in her reign. Erik of Sweden abandoned his proposals to marry Elizabeth after his trip to England was interrupted by the death of his father in 1560, when Elizabeth was twenty-seven.
- Several events that occurred during a different time during Elizabeth's life are shown coinciding. For example, her lady-in-waiting, Bess Throckmorton, became pregnant with Walter Raleigh's child in the summer of 1591 three years after the defeat of the Armada, not immediately before. Shortly after his birth, the baby, named Damerei, was relegated to a wet nurse and died shortly afterwards.
- Mary, queen of Scots, is depicted as having a Scottish accent when in actuality she probably had a pronounced French accent. She was raised at the French court from the age of five and did not return to Scotland until she was a young woman.
- Elizabeth is depicted as being a tolerant queen, which is debatable. In her forty-five year reign, only five people were burned at the stake in comparison to her sister Mary IMary I of EnglandMary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
(Bloody Mary), who burned alive almost three hundred Protestants during her much shorter time on the throne. While Elizabeth did not execute people strictly on the charges of their religion, some Catholic historians have suggested that some of those beheaded or hanged for treason were actually subject to fabricated accusations and that the treason was an excuse to be rid of papists. Monarchs during her time were typically critical of those who did not follow their religion, and while she may not have been as accepting as the portrayal, she was definitely more tolerant than most kings and queens were during the sixteenth century. - The film shows Spanish envoys and other members of court wearing swords during their audiences with Elizabeth. Because of continuous threats of assassination, only members of the Royal Guard were permitted to carry weapons near Elizabeth while she was in court.
- The execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, is portrayed as having happened very swiftly after her arrest, while she was still a young woman. However, the real Mary was held in custody in a number of castles and manor houses in England for 19 years before being executed in 1587, at the age of 44.
- In the movie, Elizabeth is confronted at the altar of Old St Paul's Cathedral by Anthony Babington with a pistol charged with powder but no shot. The real Babington Plot against the queen was thwarted while it was still being planned.
- Sir Walter Raleigh is shown being knighted in the castle against his will because the queen wishes him to stay in England. However, according to general belief, he was actually knighted on the deck of his ship after returning from a voyage and was not at all dismayed by it because by doing so Elizabeth was not attempting to keep him in the country. This was a way of honoring him for his service.
- There is no evidence that Elizabeth hit Bess Throckmorton on learning of the latter's pregnancy and elopement as the movie depicts. The only time Elizabeth is believed to have ever actually struck one of her ladies-in-waiting did not involve Throckmorton. However, she was expelled from court when the marriage was discovered and was not reinstated shortly after as portrayed. As a result of their elopement, which was illegal, Raleigh lived in disgrace for the next five years.
- In the film, when a young man who has been tortured is then hanged, the method of hanging is "the long drop" method, where the force of the fall coupled with a specific knot breaks the neck of the victim. This method of hanging was not invented until the nineteenth century by William MarwoodWilliam MarwoodWilliam Marwood was a hangman for the British government. He developed the technique of hanging known as the "long drop".-Early life:Marwood was originally a cobbler, of Church Lane, Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England.-Executioner:...
. - The Battle of the Spanish Armada was fought between Spanish and Portuguese ships (Portugal was at the time under the rule of Spain, and would reclaim its independence in 1640) against English and Dutch. The film creates a setting that Phillip II wished to invade England for religious purposes, using Mary Queen of Scots as a pawn and attacking a peaceful England, when in reality this battle was just a fragment of the Anglo-Spanish War between England and Holland against Spain and Portugal.
- In the film Phillip II of Spain is portrayed as an eerie absurd unsuccessful figure who is fixated on religion and world domination. In truth, although during Phillip II's reign Spain suffered economically, he was successful in foreign policy (e.g. Battle of Lepanto, destroying the Ottoman fleet and neutralising the Ottoman threat to Europe), war and expanding the Spanish Golden Age. During his reign Spain reach the height of its empire. He was known to be very hard-working, quite intelligent and a good administrator. His physical appearance was also different to the one that is shown in the movie, as he was blond.
Critical reception
Peter Bradshaw of The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, gave the film 1 star out of 5, remarking on the film's historical revisionism and melodrama. He writes: "Where Kapur's first Elizabeth was cool, cerebral, fascinatingly concerned with complex plotting, the new movie is pitched at the level of a Jean Plaidy romantic novel".
Although Cate Blanchett's performance was highly praised, the film received generally negative to mixed reviews from U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
critics. As of November 24, 2007 on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, 34% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 145 reviews. On Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the film had an average score of 45 out of 100, based on 32 reviews.
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film 2½ stars out of 4, saying 'there are scenes where the costumes are so sumptuous, the sets so vast, the music so insistent, that we lose sight of the humans behind the dazzle of the production'. Ebert did, however, praise many of the actors' performances, particularly that of Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...
as Queen Elizabeth I. He said 'That Blanchett could appear in the same Toronto Film Festival playing Elizabeth and Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, both splendidly, is a wonder of acting'. Blanchett portrayed Bob Dylan in the film I'm Not There
I'm Not There
I'm Not There is a 2007 biographical musical film directed by Todd Haynes, inspired by iconic American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Six actors depict different facets of Dylan's life and public persona: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Ben Whishaw...
and was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in both movies.
Colin Covert of the Minneapolis Star Tribune gave the film 3 stars out of 4 said '... as a pseudo-historical fable, a romantic triangle and a blood-and-thunder melodrama, the film can't be faulted' and also wrote, 'This isn't historical fabrication, it's mutilation. But for all its lapses, this is probably the liveliest, most vibrant Elizabethan production since Baz Luhrmann
Baz Luhrmann
Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for The Red Curtain Trilogy, which includes his films Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!...
's Romeo + Juliet. while Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris is a film critic at The Boston Globe where he reviews films alongside Ty Burr. Morris and Burr also make regular appearances on NECN to discuss the latest films and do the weekly Take Two film review video series on Boston.com...
of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
said, 'Historians might demand a little more history from "Elizabeth: The Golden Age". But soap opera loyalists could hardly ask for more soap'.
Michael Gove
Michael Gove
Michael Andrew Gove, MP is a British politician, who currently serves as the Secretary of State for Education and as the Conservative Party Member of Parliament for the Surrey Heath constituency. He is also a published author and former journalist.Born in Edinburgh, Gove was raised in Aberdeen...
, speaking on BBC Two's
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
Newsnight Review, said: 'It tells the story of England's
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
past in a way which someone who's familiar with the Whig tradition of history would find, as I did, completely sympathetic. It's amazing to see a film made now that is so patriotic ... One of the striking things about this film is that it's almost a historical anomaly. I can't think of a historical period film in which England and the English have been depicted heroically for the last forty or fifty years. You almost have to go back to Laurence Olivier's
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
Shakespeare's
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
Henry V
Henry V (1944 film)
Henry V is a 1944 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name. The on-screen title is The Cronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France . It stars Laurence Olivier, who also directed. The play was adapted for the screen by Olivier, Dallas...
in which you actually have an English king and English armies portrayed heroically'.
Claims of anti-Catholicism
The film depicts an important episode in the violent struggle between the ReformationProtestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
and the Counter-Reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
that polarised European politics. Several critics claimed the film was "anti-Catholic", and it followed a traditional English view of their own history. A British-based priest, Father Peter Malone, declared the film to be jingoistic
Jingoism
Jingoism is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as extreme patriotism in the form of aggressive foreign policy. In practice, it is a country's advocation of the use of threats or actual force against other countries in order to safeguard what it perceives as its national interests...
in his review at the (Cathport website).
In the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
the National Catholic Register
National Catholic Register
Not to be confused with the National Catholic Reporter or the Catholic RegisterThe National Catholic Register is the oldest national Catholic newspaper in the United States. It was founded on 8 November 1927 by Msgr. Matthew J...
film critic Steven D. Greydanus compared it to The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code (film)
The Da Vinci Code is a 2006 American mystery thriller film directed by Ron Howard. The screenplay was written by Akiva Goldsman and based on Dan Brown's worldwide bestselling 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code...
, and wrote: "The climax, a weakly staged destruction of the Spanish Armada
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
, is a crescendo of church-bashing imagery: rosaries floating amid burning flotsam, inverted crucifixes sinking to the bottom of the ocean, the rows of ominous berobed clerics slinking away in defeat. Pound for pound, minute for minute, Elizabeth: The Golden Age could possibly contain more sustained church-bashing than any other film I can think of". Greydanus asked: "How is it possible that this orgy of anti-Catholicism has been all but ignored by most critics?"
Stephen Whitty of the Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
said: "This movie equates Catholicism with some sort of horror-movie cult, with scary close-ups of chanting monks and glinting crucifixes". Colin Covert of the Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
Star Tribune complained of what he saw as "ugly anti-Catholic imagery", and Bob Bloom of the Lafayette
Lafayette, Indiana
Lafayette is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 67,140. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, which has a large impact on...
Journal & Courier agreed that anti-Catholicism was one of the film's "sore points".
Monsignor
Monsignor
Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
Mark Langham, Administrator of Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral in London is the mother church of the Catholic community in England and Wales and the Metropolitan Church and Cathedral of the Archbishop of Westminster...
, was criticised by some Roman Catholics
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
for allowing scenes to be shot there; although praising the film as a 'must see', he suggested that 'it does appear to perpetuate the myth of “killer priests”'.
Historian Franco Cardini of the University of Florence
University of Florence
The University of Florence is a higher study institute in Florence, central Italy. One of the largest and oldest universities in the country, it consists of 12 faculties...
, alleged 'the film formed part of a "concerted attack on Catholicism, the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
and Papism
Papist
Papist is a term or an anti-Catholic slur, referring to the Roman Catholic Church, its teachings, practices, or adherents. The term was coined during the English Reformation to denote a person whose loyalties were to the Pope, rather than to the Church of England...
" by an alliance of atheists
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
and "apocalyptic Christians
Premillennialism
Premillennialism in Christian end-times theology is the belief that Jesus will literally and physically be on the earth for his millennial reign, at his second coming. The doctrine is called premillennialism because it holds that Jesus’ physical return to earth will occur prior to the inauguration...
"'. 'Why put out this perverse anti-Catholic propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
today, just at the moment when we are trying desperately to revive our Western
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
identity in the face of the Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic threat, presumed or real?'
Director Shekhar Kapur
Shekhar Kapur
Shekhar Kapur is an Indian film director and producer. A critically acclaimed director, he rose to popularity with the movie Bandit Queen...
rejected this criticism of his film, saying: “It is actually very, very deeply non anti-Catholic. It is anti extreme forms
Extremism
Extremism is any ideology or political act far outside the perceived political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards...
of religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
. At that time the church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, or Philip
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
had said that they were going to turn the whole world into a very pure form of Catholicism. So it's not anti-Catholic. It's anti an interpretation of the word of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
that is singular, as against what Elizabeth's
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
was, which was to look upon her faith as concomitant'. 'The fact is that the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
ordered her execution; he said that anybody who executes or assassinates Elizabeth would find a beautiful place in the kingdom of heaven. Where else have you heard these words about Salman Khan
Salman Khan
Salman Khan is an Indian film actor. He has starred in more than 80 Hindi films.Khan, who made his acting debut with a minor role in the drama Biwi Ho To Aisi with Rekha in a lead role, had his first commercial success with the blockbuster Maine Pyar Kiya , for which he won a Filmfare Award for...
or Salman Rushdie? That's why I made this film, so this idea of a rift between Catholicism and Protestants does not arise. My interpretation of Elizabeth is an interpretation of greater tolerance and Philip, which is absolutely true. It's completely true that she had this kind of feminine energy. It's a conflict between Philip, who had no ability to encompass diversity or contradiction, and Elizabeth who had the feminine ability to do that'.
Kapur extended this pluralist
Religious pluralism
Religious pluralism is a loosely defined expression concerning acceptance of various religions, and is used in a number of related ways:* As the name of the worldview according to which one's religion is not the sole and exclusive source of truth, and thus that at least some truths and true values...
defence to his own approach: 'I would describe all history as fiction and interpretation ... [A]sk any Catholic and they'll give you a totally different aspect of history ... History has always been an interpretation ... I do believe that civilizations that don't learn from history are civilizations that are doomed to make the same mistakes again and again, which is why this film starts with the idea of fundamentalism
Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism is strict adherence to specific theological doctrines usually understood as a reaction against Modernist theology. The term "fundamentalism" was originally coined by its supporters to describe a specific package of theological beliefs that developed into a movement within the...
against tolerance
Toleration
Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...
. It's not Catholic against Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
; it's a very fundamental form of Catholicism. It was the time of the Spanish Inquisition
Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition , commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition , was a tribunal established in 1480 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms, and to replace the Medieval...
and against a woman whose half of her population was Protestant, half was Catholic. And there were enough bigots in her Protestant Parliament to say, “Just kill them all”, and she was constantly saying no. She was constantly on the side of tolerance. So you interpret history to tell the story that is relevant to us now'.
Awards and nominations
At the 80th Academy Awards80th Academy Awards
The 80th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films in 2007 and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008 . During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards in 24...
Alexandra Byrne
Alexandra Byrne
Alexandra Byrne is a costume designer. She trained on the Motley Theatre Design Course under Margaret Harris before embarking on her career as a costume designer in film...
won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design
Academy Award for Costume Design
The Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievement in film costume design....
. Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...
was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
for her performance in the film, becoming the first female actor to receive another Academy Award nomination for the reprisal of the same role. Cate Blanchett was nominated for a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama for her performance in the film, and the Critic's Choice Award for Best Actress in a leading role, she was also nominated for a SAG Award. The film won two Satellite Awards
Satellite Awards
The Satellite Awards are an annual award given by the International Press Academy. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards.- Film :*Best Actor – Drama*Best Actor – Musical or Comedy*Best Actress – Drama...
for Best Production Design for Guy Hendrix Dyas
Guy Hendrix Dyas
Guy Hendrix Dyas, Production Designer, most recently collaborated with Christopher Nolan on his ambitious science fiction thriller “Inception” which earned him an Academy Award Nomination®™ as well as a BAFTA award for best Production Design...
and Best Costume Design for Alexandra Byrne
Alexandra Byrne
Alexandra Byrne is a costume designer. She trained on the Motley Theatre Design Course under Margaret Harris before embarking on her career as a costume designer in film...
. Guy Hendrix Dyas
Guy Hendrix Dyas
Guy Hendrix Dyas, Production Designer, most recently collaborated with Christopher Nolan on his ambitious science fiction thriller “Inception” which earned him an Academy Award Nomination®™ as well as a BAFTA award for best Production Design...
received a nomination from the Art Directors Guild
Art Directors Guild
The Art Directors Guild is an American labor union and branch of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees representing almost 2,000 motion picture and television professionals....
for Best Production Design in a Period Film, and Alexandra Byrne
Alexandra Byrne
Alexandra Byrne is a costume designer. She trained on the Motley Theatre Design Course under Margaret Harris before embarking on her career as a costume designer in film...
a nomination from the Costume Designers Guild
Costume Designers Guild
The Costume Designers Guild , IATSE LOCAL 892 was founded in 1953 by a group of 30 motion picture costume designers. In 1986, the Costume Designers Guild joined the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and added Local 892 to its name...
for Best Costume in a Period Film. The film was also nominated for four BAFTA awards including Actress in a Leading Role, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design and Best Makeup.
At the 11th Pyongyang International Film Festival held on September 2008, one of the awards for special screening were conferred upon the film.
Box office performance
Elizabeth: The Golden Age grossed $6.1 million in 2,001 theatres during its opening weekend in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, ranking #6 at the box office. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
the film entered at #4 and earned £1.3 million ($2.7 million) on its opening weekend. the worldwide total was $74.2 million, including $16.4 million in the U.S. and Canada and $57.8 million elsewhere.
In 1998, the preceding film, Elizabeth
Elizabeth (film)
Elizabeth is a 1998 biographical film written by Michael Hirst, directed by Shekhar Kapur, and starring Cate Blanchett in the title role of Queen Elizabeth I of England, alongside Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Fiennes, Sir John Gielgud, Fanny Ardant and Richard Attenborough...
, opened in 9 theatres and grossed $275,131. Its widest release in the United States and Canada was in 624 theatres., and its largest weekend gross throughout its run in theatres was $3.4 million in 516 theatres, ranking #9 at the box office. The 1998 film Elizabeth
Elizabeth (film)
Elizabeth is a 1998 biographical film written by Michael Hirst, directed by Shekhar Kapur, and starring Cate Blanchett in the title role of Queen Elizabeth I of England, alongside Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Fiennes, Sir John Gielgud, Fanny Ardant and Richard Attenborough...
went on to gross $30 million in the United States and Canada, and a total of $82.1 million worldwide.