I really thought I'd be able to get through all the Tudors in the last column, but that whole Anne/Henry thing messed with my noggin. Anne's noggin too, but in a very different way.
To sum up, I'm just back from London (a few hours ago) and the last two columns have been about movies about the Kings and Queens of England cause that's what's on my mind when I'm wandering around Castles and seeing plays at the Globe.
Today, we're picking up with Queen Elizabeth I.
Elizabeth was crowned in 1558 at the age of 25 after her sister Mary died. Mary had hoped to leave her own child on the throne, as she was suspicious of Elizabeth's Protestant leanings. When it was clear that Mary would be leaving no heir, even her husband, King Philip of Spain, started making overtures to Elizabeth. Elizabeth went from being a sometimes prisoner of the Tower to Queen, but her position was not always secure, as various Catholic forces fought against her. Her advisors were usually pressuring her to marry someone.
Elizabeth never married and is thus remembered as the Virgin Queen (Virginia is named after her). Various movies have either shown Elizabeth as too heart-broken to take a lover, or as too moral to take one, or as lucky enough to take them and get away with it. Elizabeth is primarily remembered as being the Queen under whom England prospered. Under her, England's naval supremacy was established, England's role in the New World expanded, and England's playwrights wrote some amazing stuff (and some crap, too, let's remember). It was the Elizabethan Age.
Despite all this grand achievement, movies tend to focus on romance. Thus, most movies are about Elizabeth's relationship with Robert Dudley, whom she had known since childhood, and who was married. Some films that delve into her later life note her attentions to Robert Dudley's son when he came of age.
ELIZABETH I, a miniseries on HBO, covered Elizabeth's whole life. Helen Mirren was spectacular as Elizabeth and Jeremy Irons was her would-be paramour. This movie also briefly shows the King who would take over rule after
Fiennes has bedroom, shower, bent over the kitchen table eyes
Elizabeth, James I. This is the James who had the KING JAMES BIBLE made, complete with alterations. This is the James who wrote DAEMONOLOGIE, in which he explains exactly how the devil can impregnate someone. (He was very afraid of witches. He had the line that originally said "Thou shalt not suffer a poisoner to live" changed to "witch." He's not the only translator who did so, though.) Elizabeth gets to be snarky with him in the movie and he totally deserves it.
One of the greatest actresses ever, Bette Davis, was Elizabeth in THE VIRGIN QUEEN. This movie changes the main love interest to Sir Walter Raleigh, who did work for the Queen. In an earlier film, Davis played Elizabeth against Errol Flynn's Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex—THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX. Robert Devereux won a place in the Queen's heart, as Robert Dudley had and sought her hand (though he was not noble enough for that to ever happen). Eventually, he supported a coup against her and was executed for treason.
Davis hated Flynn—in the scene where her character slaps his, she really let him have it. You can see his reaction—he's trying very hard not to hit her back:
Davis says her eyebrows never grew back after getting rid of them and about two inches of hairline to prepare for the role. Most movies show that many women, especially those around Elizabeth, copied her look (including Robert Dudley's second wife). High foreheads were seen as a mark of nobility and attractiveness. You can see this in Shakespeare's ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA when a messenger, reassuring Cleopatra that her rival is unattractive, says of her, "and her forehead [is] As low as she would wish it."
Take a look at everyone who isn't played by Gwyneth Paltrow in SHAKESPEARE IN
LOVE—high foreheads all. Paltrow's character is spared this because we're supposed to find her attractive and we have different standards of beauty. Judi Dench is perfect as Elizabeth in this movie, which is why she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
Joseph Fiennes's Shakespeare is a man who enters into a sexual relationship with a young woman without disclosing the fact that he is married. He played basically the same role in another movie that came out that year: ELIZABETH. This movie also nominated Cate Blanchett for HER performance of the Queen. Both SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE and ELIZABETH featured Geoffrey Rush and Fiennes. ELIZABETH is about Elizabeth's early years and her romance with Lord Dudley. Dudley does not disclose his marriage and cheats on Elizabeth with one of the women of her court. Fiennes had quite the sexy, but naughty boy year.
Queen Elizabeth is part of the story of MARY OF SCOTLAND, which featured Katharine Hepburn in the lead. Mary took the throne of Scotland and many wanted her to be Queen of England, as she would provide Catholic rule. Mary was in line to the throne, as she was Elizabeth's cousin. At one point, Elizabeth considered making Robert Dudley marry Mary in order to control the threat (this was when Dudley was between marriages). Eventually, Elizabeth ordered Mary's execution to protect herself (people kept trying to assassinate her in an attempt to put Mary on the throne). Although most movies have them speak directly, the cousins never saw each other in real life.
With the end of the Tudors, we have a very long interlude before we get any interesting people to make movies about. Until we get to George III, that is. George is the one we Americans rebelled against, the King who lost a really big colony. George lost it in his later years and THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE chronicles the tense period when everyone has to listen to someone suffering from dementia. Helen Mirren, who has played more Queens than you can find in a deck of cards (it seems), plays Queen Charlotte.
Mirren was stunning in THE QUEEN, for which she won an
is that Scott or Helen?
Oscar. This Queen is our current one—Elizabeth II. The time is Diana's death. Elizabeth was criticized first for her non-reaction and then for a relatively cold one. Elizabeth has always had that British stiff-upper lip, but it didn't quite work for a country in mourning for their princess. The brilliance of the film is largely due to Stephen Frears, a brilliant director. One wish if you ever talk to me about this film: don't bring up the symbolism of the stag.
Personally, I think Mirren must have studied the following KIDS IN THE HALL sketch. Scott Thompson has always been a convincing Elizabeth for me. Whenever I see money in Canada or the U.K., which features the face of the Queen, I feel like I'm looking at Scott:
Did I cover absolutely every movie made about the English royals in the last six weeks of columns? No. I'm only one woman. A quite jet-lagged woman.
I'll leave you with the following discoveries I unearthed in my European adventure. Did you know we weren't the first generation to write self-help books? Here's a sampling of what past generations used:
Finding the Trojan Horse Within
Ourbodies, Ourselves: A Guide to Finding and Removing Your Witch's Mark
Eleusian Mysteries and the Art of Chariot Maintenance
Men are Ares, Women are from Aphrodite (original Greek version)
10 Habits for Highly Moral People (by Moses, with suspected Ghost Writer)
The Road Less Traveled: A Crusader's Guide
How to Make Friends and Influence People by Marie Antoinette (reportedly, Rasputin published something with the same title)
Dr. Karma is a silly, nerdy know-it-all, but in a good way. She brings all her overeducation to discuss that which truly matters: comedy. As some famous guy once said: “And if I laugh at any mortal thing, ‘tis that I may not weep.” Or something like that.
Contact
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