Elizabeth (film)
A 1998 film written by Michael Hirst and directed by Shekhar Kapur.
Shekhar Kapur is an Indian director known for films like Bandit Queen, The Four Feathers and the two films on Queen Elizabeth I, Elizabeth (1998) and Elizabeth. The Golden Age (2007). His first film about Elizabeth I deals with the early years of her reign and puts her self-discovery and growing self-confidence at the centre of attention. Elizabeth bides her time until her sister Mary dies, who had put her in the Tower (but hesitated to have her executed). Elizabeth has a passionate liaison with Lord Leicester, Robert Dudley, has to find out who is with and against her and she has to decide about the question of marriage and succession.
This film belongs to the genre of heritage movies. Heritage films establish pictures of a romanticised Britain, they create a vision of England and operate as cultural ambassadors. The setting, the landscape, costumes and props play a crucial role for this genre and explain the success of films like Elizabeth.
Queen Elizabeth is played by Cate Blanchett, Francis Walsingham by Geoffrey Rush and Robert Dudley, Lord Leicester, by Joseph Fiennes. The film was released in 1998 and was nominated for 7 Oscars.
Sources
- http://www.imdb.com/
- Elizabth. Universal Studios. 1998.DVD.
- Higson, Andrew. "Heritage Cinema and Television." In: Moreley, David/Robins, Kevin. British Cultural Studies. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
- Moss, David. "A Queen for whose Time? Elizabeth I as Icon for the twentieth Century." The Journal of Popular Culture, Vol. 39, No. 5, 2006.