Customer Reviews
Great movie. Nice video even though DVD 
2008-02-24
Even I bought the DVD, not Hi-Def, the video is vivid and bright. The audio was good.
The movie itself is one of my best epic movie.
Two thumbs up to actors and director.
Blanchett is stupendous! 
2008-02-06
I cannot believe they awarded the best actress oscar to Paltrow over Blanchett. Its criminal! Two completely different performances, yes, but if you had to pick a best actress, Cate should have been it. She was marvelous in this and no one could have played the queen better. The movie itself is beautifully shot, the screenplay rich and informative, while being highly entertaining. Its dramatic and romantic and nail biting all at once. I love watching period films/costume dramas; whatever you wanna call it, this one is up there as one of the best made. Hands down, no question. It may be a bit confusing at first watch, but after a couple more viewings, you really appreciate just how wonderful this film is.
Greatest Elizabeth 2008-01-20
Elizabeth I is by far my favorite historical figure, a powerful and fair woman who defined an entire age, lifting her country out of squalor into greatness. Although historically inaccurate, Kapur's Elizabeth is a masterpiece of cinematography. Cate Blanchett, a virtual unknown when she was cast for the role, couldn't have been a better choice for the role of this ageless monarch.
The film covers approximately five years of Elizabeth's reign, from her life as a Princess, to her ascendancy to the throne on 17 November 1558 to her maturing as a monarch, taking the reigns of power from advisors. Again, ignoring the fact that some events in the film are not accurate (Kapur explains this in the bonus features), Elizabeth is a fantastic portrayal of the Tudor dynasty that died with Elizabeth I. Joseph Fiennes was the perfect choice for the Earl of Leicester (whom Elizabeth called "My Eyes"), as Fiennes is a well known Shakespearean actor, who portrayed Shakespeare the same year Elizabeth came out in "Shakespeare in Love".
Great cast, including Geoffrey Rush and Sir Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth is a feast of photography, words, history and acting. I highly recommend this film, and am looking forward to Elizabeth: The Golden Age.
Elizabeth 2007-12-21
I found the way the picture has been edited gave great depth to an historic character, who was both strong and forthright. Kate Blanchet's portrayal of Elizabeth Tudor was masterful as was Geffory Rush's performance. I casn't wait to buy Elizabeth the Golden age
Excellent Historic Film 2007-12-12
This is a captivating film with amazing acting and scenery. Not surprising that this is an award winning film. Cate Blanchett is superbly cast for this role.
excellent movie 2008-05-24
Elizabeth and Elizabeth the Golden Age are 2 excellent movies. Cate Blanchett does an excellent job of being the "red haired" queen. The story line is excellent.
Elizabeth from princess to icon: One mistress and no master. 2008-04-18
Among Great Britain's monarchs, two queens stand out in particular: Elizabeth I. and Queen Victoria. Both came to power at extremely young ages, and at times of political instability which would have set the odds of survival against any new ruler, but particularly so, against a woman. Both beat those odds in ways few people would have foreseen: They not only persevered but ruled for a nearly unparalleled long time, and during their reign achieved to both strengthen England's economy and international stance and give new direction to its society. We have long come to identify their reign as "the Victorian Age" and "the Elizabethan Age," respectively. Yet, while "Victorian England" is an expression often used synonymously with moral conservativism, Elizabeth I. fostered not only the development of science but also the theater and arts; providing fertile ground for the works of Shakespeare, Marlowe and many others. (Influenced by her husband, Queen Victoria supported the exploration of new scientific developments, but the dominant force of her formative years as a ruler was conservative prime minister Lord Melbourne, who once advised her not to read Dickens because his books were "full of unpleasant subjects.") And while Queen Victoria derived strength from her long, stable marriage to German-born Prince Albert, Elizabeth I. resisted the pressure to marry at all and became known as "the Virgin Queen."
Looking back at Elizabeth's reign, we see less a woman than an icon; the symbol of what her rule has come to stand for. Shekhar Kapur's 1998 movie explores, as the director explains in the DVD's "Making of" feature, the making of that icon; the formative processes, influences and personalities surrounding the young princess's ascent to the throne and her first years in power -- and of course, at the center of it all, Elizabeth herself, magnificently portrayed by Cate Blanchett (who should have won the Academy Award for her performance). The princess, as this movie sees her, certainly knew her insecurities about her role in life and in English politics, her people's expectations, and the intrigues of her own court. But she was also, as Kapur has her affirm to her protector and spymaster Walsingham, "[her] father's daughter" -- the proud, headstrong daughter of Henry VIII., who quickly learned from her mistakes and assumed true leadership early on. Having inherited a country deeply torn in religious conflict, and having barely survived the machinations of the court of her Catholic half sister and predecessor, "Bloody" Mary I., to find her, the "heretic," guilty of treason and execute her, one of Elizabeth's first acts in power was to have parliament pass the Act of Uniformity, reestablishing the Church of England formed by her father. And while she respected her Secretary of State Sir William Cecil, she eventually came to realize that his advice was overly guided by the hope that she marry and produce an heir to secure her kingdom, and she reluctantly retired him into his status as Lord Burghley.
Indeed, there was not one single man who dominated Elizabeth's life but several, and Kapur was able to secure an extraordinary cast to surround then-newcomer Blanchett. Richard Attenborough plays Sir William Cecil with a humility and quiet dignity that few besides him could have brought to the screen. Christopher Eccleston bristles as the powerful, ambitious Catholic Duke of Norfolk, that key player from the inner circle of Mary's court who retained his position after her death and became the one member of Elizabeth's council most dangerous to her reign. Joseph Fiennes reprises his role as a burning-eyed, handsome lover from the almost simultaneously released "Shakespeare in Love" (which, while a splendid movie in its own rights, eclipsed much of the limelight that "Elizabeth" would so richly have deserved), playing the man most closely romantically linked to Elizabeth, "Sweet" Lord Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, whose love for her -- at least, as this movie would have it -- is ultimately his own undoing. "You're still my Elizabeth," the erstwhile princess's lover insists at a ball some time after her coronation. "I am no man's Elizabeth," the queen retorts, and affirms for all the court to hear: "I will have one mistress here, and no master!"
Most impressive of all the queen's men is Geoffrey Rush's portrayal as her protector, secret advisor and supreme spymaster Francis Walsingham, the creator of what much later became Britain's MI-5, whose role Rush approached, inspired by the description Kapur had given him, much like the Hindu god Krishna, as "a very wise man who can kill people ... while smiling," as he explains in the DVD's "Making of" featurette -- an ability which his young, unfaithful companion in exile learns to know as much as powerful Marie de Guise (Fanny Ardant), aunt to Elizabeth's would-be suitor Henri d'Anjou and mother of her later rival Mary of Scots; who had refused Henry VIII.'s suit remarking "I may be big in person, but my neck is small," only to find herself terminally surrendering to Walsingham's unmatched cunning.
Key to any great historical movie is the authenticity of its production design, and "Elizabeth" overflows with the rich and luxurious colors of the queen's renaissance court and its balls, gowns and pageants. But there are also the vast, high stone halls of the palace and the royal cathedral, symbolizing the perpetuity of the monarchy reestablished by Elizabeth I. At last, when contemplating a statute of the Virgin Mary, Elizabeth wonders whether, to perpetuate her reign, she must be "made of stone;" and it is again Walsingham who answers: "Aye, Madam, to reign supreme, [because] all men ... must be able to touch the divine here on earth" and as yet, "they have found nothing to replace [Mary]." And so, this movie tells us, the icon we all know was created - and like a nun married to God, a dehumanized Elizabeth reenters her council and holds out her hand to her old Secretary of State: "Observe, Lord Burghley: I am married to England!"
A Little History, Professor... 2008-04-10
I was interested about English history and this film, along with Elizabeth: The Golden Age, are great for understanding the beginning and continuance of the Elizabethan Age. Extremely well put together and superb acting make this film a keeper.
Wonderful 2008-03-03
Wonderful performances by Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush. The quality of this DVD is much better than the original release. I am very pleased with this DVD.
Reality or fantasy 
2008-02-28
Customes are great but the plot is confusing? History and this movie don't mix very well. Definitely not on the acting level of Flora Robson and her 1940's movies on Elizabeth.
