Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Director: Shekhar Kapur Shekhar Kapur

Overview

Actress Cate Blanchett returns to her Oscar-nominated role and director Shekhar Kapur steps back into the director's chair for this belated sequel to the critically acclaimed 1998 biopic Elizabeth that explores the 16th century romance between the "Virgin Queen" and noted adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen). Michael Hirst teams with William Nicholson to pen the screenplay, and actor Geoffrey Rush returns to the role of Sir Francis Walsingham.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/05/2008
UPC:	0025193333223
Original Release:	2007
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	STUDIO DISTRIBUTION SERVS LLC
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:55:00
Sales rank:	31,374

Special Features

The Reign Continues: Making Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen and Geoffrey Rush join director Shekhar Kapur in this exclusive look at how the next chapter in the monarch's life came to the big screen; Commanding the Winds: Creating the Armada - an insider's look at how the film's massive ships and dramatic battles were created; Inside Elizabeth's World - Discover the secrets behind the film's elaborate production design; Towers, Courts and Cathedrals - Explore the historic and sacred locations that provided the glorious settings for the film

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Jordi Mollà	King Philip ll of Spain(as Jordi Molla)
Aimee King	Infanta
Cate Blanchett	Queen Elizabeth I
Laurence Fox	Sir Christopher Hatton
John Shrapnel	Lord Howard
Geoffrey Rush	Sir Francis Walsingham
Susan Lynch	Annette
Elise McCave	Laundry Woman
Samantha Morton	Mary Stuart
Abbie Cornish	Bess Throckmorton
Penelope McGhie	Margaret
Rhys Ifans	Robert Reston
Eddie Redmayne	Thomas Babington
Stuart McLoughlin	Savage
Clive Owen	Sir Walter Raleigh
Adrian Scarborough	Calley
Tim Preece	Actor
Robert Styles	Palace Doorkeeper
Sam Spruell	Actor
William Houston	Don Guerau De Spes
Coral Beed	First Court Lady
Jordi Molla	Actor
Rosalind Halstead	Second Court Lady
Steven Loton	Manteo
Martin Baron	Wanchese
David Armand	Walsingham's Agent
Steven Robertson	Francis Throckmorton
Jeremy Barker	Ramsey
George Innes	Burton
Adam Godley	William Walsingham

Technical Credits

William Nicholson

Michael Hirst

William Nicholson	Screenwriter
Michael Hirst	Screenwriter,Executive Producer
Shekhar Kapur	Director
Liza Chasin	Executive Producer
Debra Hayward	Executive Producer
Tim Bevan	Producer
Jonathan Cavendish	Producer
Eric Fellner	Producer

Editorial Reviews

As it stands on its own, Elizabeth: The Golden Age is a delightfully bombastic period melodrama, full of sex and war and beautiful dresses. Unfortunately, as a sequel to 1998's Elizabeth (which dealt with earlier events in the 16th century monarch's reign) it's a pale imitator to the throne. The original Elizabeth grandly showcased the epic nature of a historical turning point, while simultaneously succeeding as both a political thriller and a passionately doomed romance. Add to that themes about God, power, and the manifestations of masculinity and femininity, and you had something so incredible that simply calling it a "period film" would be like calling The Godfather just another gangster movie. This gave The Golden Age a lot to live up to as a sequel, and unfortunately, it would appear that director Shekhar Kapur just didn't attempt to do so on all fronts. That's not to say that Elizabeth: The Golden Age isn't a great film. While it may lack the power and subtext we're looking for, it still offers its share of stunning rises and falls in a somewhat historically accurate story, not to mention some fascinating glimpses into the inner lives of its characters. This comes thanks in no small part to lead actor Cate Blanchett, who handles the nuance of her larger-than-life title character with impossible ease. Rather than simply portraying a woman with alternate moments of fire and vulnerability, Blanchett creates a fully realized person, capable of being both stalwart and afraid, both powerful and unsure. A particularly impressive appearance is made by Samantha Morton, who, in a small role as Mary, Queen of Scots, evokes the intangibility of royalty perhaps best of all, with a hauntingly ephemeral performance. Failing in her bid to overthrow the English throne, she embodies the ghostly contradiction inherent in the life of a would-be monarch: she believes the crown is hers by Divine Right, and yet she is imprisoned by the lock and key of mortal men. This storytelling in The Golden Age differs greatly from its predecessor in that rather than grandly rising to each epic crescendo, it instead flows like water from one event to another -- be it the English defeat of the Spanish Armada or the forbidden love between a chambermaid and a privateer. This is indeed an odd choice for a movie built around such thunderous and high-flown happenings. Still, between its subject matter and its performances, The Golden Age can't help but be interesting -- or at least nice to look at when it lags.