Sunday, February 8, 2015

February 8 - Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Today’s movie is a period drama with a scene that happens on February 8. Watch it tonight and enjoy.

ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE  

Elizabeth is Queen of England in 1585, but there is concern as she is unmarried and facing a possible Catholic revolt in favor of her cousin, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. Walter Raleigh comes to court and intrigues both the Queen and her chief lady-in-waiting Bess Throckmorton.  An assassin is sent in to kill Elizabeth. A cousin of Bess’s who is Catholic asks for her help in assassinating the Queen, but she refuses. Bess was followed to their meeting and her cousin is later arrested and tortured into revealing the Spanish plan, “the Enterprise of England” an invasion.   Elizabeth’s horoscope foretells one empire will fall and one will rise but can’t disclose which is which. Elizabeth refuses to let Walter Raleigh return to Virginia and he seduces Bess. An attempted assassination fails and Mary Stuart is tried, convicted of treason and executed on February 8, 1587. [1:09:58 to 1:13:18] Bess learns she is pregnant, and she secretly weds Raleigh. The Queen learns of this, is outraged and Raleigh is imprisoned. The Armada is sighted and Raleigh is released to man his ship against them. Elizabeth gives a stirring address to her troops. The English attack the Spanish with fire ships, then storms scatter the Armada, saving the country.  Elizabeth forgives Bess and Raleigh.

A good period drama. Especially good at developing the relationship between the Queen, Bess and Raleigh. Good cinematography and costumes. 

Scotland: The Story of a Nation by Magnus Magnusson (Atlantic Monthly Press, NewYork, 2000) at page 380 gives the execution date

Producer - Tom Bevan, Eric Fellner and Jonathan Cavendish

Director - Shekhar Kapur

Screenplay - William Nicholson & Michael Hirst

Awards - Won Oscar for Best Costume Design and Cate Blanchett was nominated for Best Actress

Running Time - 1 hour 54 minutes

Released - October 12, 2007

Starring - 

Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth I of England
Geoffrey Rush as Sir Francis Walsingham
Clive Owen as Sir Walter Raleigh
Abbie Cornish as Elizabeth 'Bess' Throckmorton
Samantha Morton as Mary, Queen of Scots
Jordi Mollà as Philip II of Spain
Eddie Redmayne as Anthony Babington
Tom Hollander as Sir Amyas Paulet
David Threlfall as Dr. John Dee
Adam Godley as William Walsingham
Laurence Fox as Christopher Hatton
Will Houston as Don Gerau De Spes
Christian Brassington as Archduke Charles of Austria
John Shrapnel as  Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham


Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2015. 




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