Elizabeth: The Golden Age is out now. And I want to see it even though the Trib called it "silly." I love period films. I was talking about Elizabeth movies with Martha the other day at work and told her my favorite of the recent Elizabeth I films. They are as follows:
3rd Place goes to Helen Mirren's Elizabeth I (made for HBO). She's fine. Jeremy Irons is fine. But I don't feel the love between them. And it's the most violent of the three I'll mention here. Blech. Pulling out the intestines of a man while he's still alive outside in broad daylight. Not even the darkness of a dungeon to cover it up. I'm a sensitive viewer, you know.
2nd Place goes to Cate Blanchett's Elizabeth. It's great. She's great. It's beautiful. It's powerful. Well done.
1st Place goes to Elizabeth I: The Virgin Queen (Masterpiece Theatre). Wow, oh wow. Anne-Marie Duff is fantastic. Kick a hole in the wall fantastic. The music is edgey and modern, and it works to set off the more dramatic scenes. The film spans the queen's life and focuses on her love for Robert Dudley. It breaks my heart and makes me cry.
What are some of your favorite historical films?
One reader's thoughts as she steps from book to book.
Books I've Finished
- "A Christmas Memory"
- by Truman Capote 12/8/12
- "Child's Christmas in Wales"
- by Dylan Thomas 12/7/12
- "One Christmas"
- by Truman Capote 11/29/12
- "The Thanksgiving Visitor"
- by Truman Capote 11/29/12
- Inside Mrs. B's Classroom
- by Leslie Baldacci 11/28/12
- The Bee Eater
- by Richard Whitmire 11/15/12
- There Are No Shortcuts
- by Rafe Esquith 10/28/12
- I'd Like to Apologize to
- Every Teacher I Ever Had
- by Tony Danza 10/21/12
- Corked
- by Kathryn Borel 10/15/12
- Year of Learning Dangerously
- by Quinn Cummings 9/30/12
- A Hologram for the King
- by Dave Eggers 8/23/12
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- by Harper Lee 7/18/12
About Me
- Christine
- I often have a few books with bookmarks in them at once. I enjoy classics more than contemporary works of fiction, often read historical fiction, and love to get glimpses into other people's lives by reading memoirs and biographies.
9 comments:
Oooooh, I'm dying to see The Golden Age too!! I didn't even know about it until just recently (I live under a rock, don'cha know). I watched the trailer online, and dang...I can't wait till it hits video! (I'd love to see it in the theater, but that's not likely to happen, so I'm going to be all antsy for a few months until it comes out on dvd. Patience is a virtue...)
Period movies are a deep favourite of mine. The first Cate Blanchett Elizabeth was amazing. Amadeus was incredibly well done as well. It might not be considered "historic", as it's so recent, but Shawshank Redemption is in my top three favourite movies EVER, as is Road To Perdition. I have a particular thing for the first fifty years of the twentieth century. :-) The sappy side of me quite likes Pride & Prejudice, though I'm not generally a huge Austen fan. I LOVE Dances With Wolves, for rather obvious reasons, though it's almost too painful to watch again. The English Patient was fascinating, though I always want to smack adulterers around for being so bloody selfish.
Honestly, I could go on all day...
Love, love, love The Virgin Queen. So great--I could watch it day in and day out. I've been disappointed never to find the story of Anne Boleyn (my all-time favorite historical figure, sorry she's an adulterer, Heather) treated with the same genius.
The other period movie I love that comes to mind is Bleak House (also Masterpiece Theater). I really enjoyed that one (probably because I watched it before reading the book). DRD
Thank you for your thoughtful answers.
Heather, Amadeus is one of my very favorite movies ever. But I prefer the originally released version to the director's cut. I also agree with you about English Patient. They caused their own trouble.
DRD, I might have to look into Bleak House since you give it a nod.
Oh, I just thought of another one, the Beethoven one with Oldman, Immortal Beloved. It's the poor man's Amadeus, but it's still pretty good.
Anyone care to rank the film versions of Jane Eyre? Pride and Prejudice?
I like the Jane Eyre with William Hurt and Charlotte Gainesburg. My P&P vote goes to the BBC one with Colin Firth.
And one last thing, about a year ago, Olivia and I watched three versions of Little Women to see which one we liked the best. We expected to like the Katherine Hepburn one best (1933), but actually preferred June Allyson as Jo (1949) with an unmatchable Elizabeth Taylor as Amy. The 1994 version with Winona Ryder and Susan Sarandon was our least favorite.
Also giving fangirl love to Amadeus and the BBC Pride and Prejudice (thanks, Christine, for lending it). I gotta 'fess up to a guilty pleasure "historical" film, Gladiator directed by Ridley Scott. Accurate? Nah, not hardly. Violent? Yup. Entertaining? As heck.
Erin, have you seen the Masterpiece Theatre Virgin Queen? You would love it.
Christine:
Haven't seen the Masterpiece Theatre Virgin Queen, but from what I've read here I'd watch it in a heartbeat. Thanks for the recommendation.
Wow, you guys hit all my favorites. Put me down for Christine's top two Elizabeth dramas, Amadeus, Immortal Beloved, Pride and Pred., Dances with Wolves, and Gladiator! I'll add Sense and Sensibility, my favorite Jane Austen.
Jim says Gangs of New York. He loves Scorsese. And I think he would leave me for Daniel Day Lewis.
C, you and Jim have got to get Last of the Mohicans. I'd put it on my list of loves.
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