ELIZABETH: DVD
SYNOPSIS:
In 1554, after Queen Mary’s (Kathy Burke) death, Princess Elizabeth (Cate Blanchett) is crowned Queen of England. The country is racked by financial and religious instability and her advisor Sir William Cecil (Richard Attenborough) says she must marry with political astuteness in order to secure her position. She is urged to marry either the French Duke of Anjou (Vincent Cassel) or her dead sister’s husband King Philip of Spain, although her heart lies with her childhood sweetheart, Robert Dudley (Joseph Fiennes). Elizabeth puts her faith in her confidante, Sir Francis Walsingham (Geoffrey Rush), in her quest to overcome conspiracy and assassination attempts. But in the process, her heart pays a high price for her loyalty to her country and crown.
"The very first thing I noticed about Elizabeth on DVD is the excellent, quality
packaging. This marvellous film is packaged in a solid casing that doesn't look as though
it will crack at the first opportunity. The enclosed colour brochure details the features
(in German and Dutch as well as English), in addition to providing storyline and actors
biographies. It even gives you pointers how to select one of the 21 scenes. There are
interviews with the cast and crew and we go behind the scenes to get an insight into the
making of this remarkable film with rich production design, seductive direction and
extraordinary performances. The solid packaging however, is only the exterior indication
of what a piece of solid gold this is. Director Shekar Kapur talks about his vision, while
the producers discuss the project. Cate Blanchett notes that while there is much
documented about Elizabeth I in her older years, there has been little to shed light on
her early, vulnerable years and why she became the Virgin Queen. Elizabeth, with its
marvellous soundtrack that soars in digital format, is a great addition to your DVD
library."
Louise Keller
"It's glorious, of course, on the faithful DVD format, and Elizabeth benefits from
the intimacy that DVD offers the viewer in the home. We're closer to the screen - and even
though the screen is smaller, the images are full of punch. Pity, then, that the format is
not widescreen; a surprising decision to avoid it, given the visual splendour of the film.
The other nuisance is the absence of running time on the various extra features. I know
this is not unusual, but that's no excuse. Just as feature film running time is a useful
consumer service, so is running time for the additional features. The features themselves
are nothing extraordinary, although interesting enough: we learn from one of the
producers, Alison Owen, that director Shakar Kapur likes to create his own chaos and
that's what brings out the best in him - although it can be a bit trying on the rest of
the crew. The feature called Interviews and The Making Of Elizabeth are basically two
parts of the same Making Of featurette, and there are other grabs with Geoffrey Rush and
another producer, Tim Bevan, as well as Joseph Fiennes and Christopher Eccleston. But in
this case, the value of the DVD is all in the film."
Andrew L. Urban
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See our REVIEWS
ELIZABETH (M)
(UK)
CAST: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Joseph Fiennes, Richard Attenborough, Christopher
Eccleston,
DIRECTOR: Shekhar Kapur
AUSTRALIAN DVD DISTRIBUTOR: Universal
AUSTRALIAN DVD RELEASE: December 1, 1999
RRP: $34.95
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We gratefully acknowledge the complimentary use of a DVD
player from Philips.
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