Blanchett and the film powerfully embody the range of Elizabeth's mind and the force of her intellect, along with the necessary balance between moral scruple and realpolitik.
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Clive Owen, Rhys Ifans, Samantha Morton
Screenwriter: William Nicholson, Michael Hirst
Producer: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Jonathan Cavendish
Composer: Craig Armstrong, A.R. Rahman
DVD Info
Release:
May 2, 2008
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Snap Case
- Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English, French, Spanish
- Subtitles - English (SDH), French, Spanish - Optional
Additional Release Material:
- Audio Commentary - Shekhar Kapur - Director
- Deleted Scenes
- Featurette - 1. THE REIGN CONTINUES: Making ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE
- 2. INSIDE ELIZABETH'S WORLD
- 3. COMMANDING THE WINDS: CREATING THE ARMADA
- 4. TOWERS, COURTS AND CATHEDRALS
Reviews
Shekhar Kapur's Elizabeth sequel is a beautifully shot, impeccably designed and largely entertaining drama, providing you're not a stickler for historical accuracy.
If this is a film that irritates nearly as much as it pleases, we do get a sense of the times, and of the lady in question. The eyes, if not the brain, are certainly given a workout that they will remember.
See it anyway for Blanchett's soulful modulation between queenly command and womanly anguish.
The pity of this botched follow-up is that it never once touches us.
For all the shortcomings of its clunky, stubbornly anachronistic dialogue, the first instalment of the Elizabeth saga packed a real punch.
Where Kapur's first Elizabeth was cool, cerebral, fascinatingly concerned with complex plotting, the new movie is pitched at the level of a Jean Plaidy romantic novel.
Rich in colour, sumptuous costumes, political intrigues and the personal relationships which dominate Elizabeth once more.
Kapur’s film is visually arresting, each frame a work of art in miniature. But there is something rather breathless about the storytelling.
Despite all that’s going for it, you can’t help thinking this movie could have been so much better.
The film is just about worth seeing for the wigs and costumes. But Elizabeth: The Golden Age sank without trace in American cinemas, and I fear it will do the same here.
A lesser movie compared to its 1998 predecessor, this sequel nonetheless delivers the sort of stirring drama and sweeping spectacle its subject demands. Blanchett, meanwhile, shines brightly enough in the title role to make Elizabeth III a certainty.
Making soap of statecraft, the film has plenty of juicy moments, but offers an inconsistent rather than complex view of Elizabeth.
Sidelines Sir Francis Drake in favour of the dashing Raleigh, nicely summing up the film: all flash, very little bang.
Over-indulgent and melodramatic, as is the nature of artistic mythmaking, The Golden Age will beguile and repel in equal measure. The performances are supreme, although some viewers may struggle to reconcile the director’s epic intentions.
Even though the script plays fast and loose with historical facts, that indomitable bulldog spirit rings true and holds you captive for the duration.
Emphasises the costumes, hair and sets over historical accuracy and depth of character. But it's still hugely entertaining.
But saddled with this dopey script, [Blanchett] is stuck pulling a series of poses and wearing one ornate gown after another.
Blanchett is again director Shekhar Kapur's greatest asset. His weakness is his tendency to fall back on silly, melodramatic contrivance better suited to popcorn fare than to a believable meditation on Elizabethan England.
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Elizabeth: The Golden Age at IGN
Elizabeth: The Golden Age at AskMen


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