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MOVIES / ON DVD / ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE
Elizabeth: The Golden Age

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Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)

34%
42%
60%
N/A
N/A
N/A
34 %
Reviews Counted: 155 Fresh: 52  Rotten:103 Average Rating: 5.1/10
 
Consensus: Lacks the heart and creativity of the original Elizabeth. This sequel is full of lavish costumes and elaborate sets, but lacks the heart and creativity of the original Elizabeth more
 
Rated: 12A
Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins
Theatrical Release: 02-11-2007
Synopsis:
Reprising the roles they originated in seven-time Academy Award®-nominated Elizabeth, Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush return for a gripping historical thriller laced with treachery and romance--The Golden Age. Joining them in the epic is Clive Owen as Sir Walter Raleigh, a dashing... [More]
Reprising the roles they originated in seven-time Academy Award®-nominated Elizabeth, Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush return for a gripping historical thriller laced with treachery and romance--The Golden Age. Joining them in the epic is Clive Owen as Sir Walter Raleigh, a dashing seafarer and newfound temptation for Elizabeth. Elizabeth: The Golden Age finds Queen Elizabeth I (Oscar®-winner Cate Blanchett) facing bloodlust for her throne and familial betrayal. Growing keenly aware of the changing religious and political tides of late 16th century Europe, Elizabeth finds her rule openly challenged by the Spanish King Philip II (Jordi Molla)--with his powerful army and sea-dominating armada--determined to restore England to Catholicism. Preparing to go to war to defend her empire, Elizabeth struggles to balance ancient royal duties with an unexpected vulnerability in her love for Raleigh. But he remains forbidden for a queen who has sworn body and soul to her country. Unable and unwilling to pursue her love, Elizabeth encourages her favorite lady-in-waiting, Bess (Abbie Cornish), to befriend Raleigh to keep him near. But this strategy forces Elizabeth to observe their growing intimacy. As she charts her course abroad, her trusted advisor, Sir Francis Walsingham (Academy Award® winner Geoffrey Rush), continues his masterful puppetry of Elizabeth's court at home--and her campaign to solidify absolute power. Through an intricate spy network, Walsingham uncovers an assassination plot that could topple the throne. But as he unmasks traitors that may include Elizabeth's own cousin Mary Stuart (Samantha Morton), he unknowingly sets England up for destruction. Elizabeth: The Golden Age tells the thrilling tale of an era...the story of one woman's crusade to control love, crush enemies and secure her position as a beloved icon of the western world. --© Universal Pictures [Less]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Clive Owen, Rhys Ifans, Samantha Morton

Director: Shekhar Kapur
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 Details]

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

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
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Ratings Image

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.

Full Review | Comment
11/17/07 04:35 AM
Philip French
Observer [UK]
Ratings Image

Shekhar Kapur's Elizabeth sequel is a beautifully shot, impeccably designed and largely entertaining drama, providing you're not a stickler for historical accuracy.

Full Review | Comment
11/02/07 10:31 AM
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
Ratings Image

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.

Full Review | Comment
11/02/07 10:23 AM
Derek Malcolm
This is London
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See it anyway for Blanchett's soulful modulation between queenly command and womanly anguish.

Full Review | Comment
11/02/07 09:57 AM
Anthony Quinn
Independent
Ratings Image

The pity of this botched follow-up is that it never once touches us.

Full Review | Comment
11/02/07 09:34 AM
Sukhdev Sandhu
Daily Telegraph
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

For all the shortcomings of its clunky, stubbornly anachronistic dialogue, the first instalment of the Elizabeth saga packed a real punch.

Full Review | Comment
11/02/07 09:11 AM
Karl French
Financial Times
Ratings Image

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.

Full Review | Comment
11/02/07 08:36 AM
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Rich in colour, sumptuous costumes, political intrigues and the personal relationships which dominate Elizabeth once more.

Full Review | Comment
11/02/07 08:24 AM
Sun Online
Ratings Image

Kapur’s film is visually arresting, each frame a work of art in miniature. But there is something rather breathless about the storytelling.

Full Review | Comment
11/02/07 08:05 AM
Wendy Ide
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Despite all that’s going for it, you can’t help thinking this movie could have been so much better.

Full Review | Comment
11/02/07 06:17 AM
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]
Ratings Image

A handsome but shallow sequel.

Full Review | Comment
11/02/07 05:37 AM
Leigh Singer
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

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.

Full Review | Comment
11/02/07 05:25 AM
Christopher Tookey
Daily Mail [UK]
Ratings Image

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.

Full Review | Comment
11/02/07 04:08 AM
Neil Smith
Total Film
Ratings Image

Making soap of statecraft, the film has plenty of juicy moments, but offers an inconsistent rather than complex view of Elizabeth.

Full Review | Comment
11/01/07 09:37 AM
Ben Walters
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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Sidelines Sir Francis Drake in favour of the dashing Raleigh, nicely summing up the film: all flash, very little bang.

Full Review | Comment
11/01/07 09:04 AM
Rob Daniel
Sky Movies
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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.

Full Review | Comment
11/01/07 05:52 AM
William Thomas
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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Even though the script plays fast and loose with historical facts, that indomitable bulldog spirit rings true and holds you captive for the duration.

Full Review | Comment
10/30/07 03:15 AM
Stella Papamichael
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Emphasises the costumes, hair and sets over historical accuracy and depth of character. But it's still hugely entertaining.

Full Review | Comment
10/11/07 04:41 PM
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
Ratings Image

But saddled with this dopey script, [Blanchett] is stuck pulling a series of poses and wearing one ornate gown after another.

Full Review | Comment
05/01/08 03:58 PM
Alonso Duralde
MSNBC
Ratings Image

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.

Full Review | Comment
04/10/08 12:45 AM
Rossiter Drake
San Francisco Examiner
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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• Elizabeth: The Golden Age at Rotten Tomatoes
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