Elizabeth (1998)

I can't believe Cate Blanchett didn't win an Oscar for this. Good strong characters are all superbly portrayed. Unlikely to appeal much to a younger audience but a brilliant film particularly if you enjoy history.

Good film, entertaining history rewarding to watch!

Absolutely fantastic! Our Cate is awesome. Great piece of historical drama - amazing costumes and acting was supurb.

Wish I had seen it on the big screen but still great. Cate was superb as usual. Historical drama at its best.

I can not but give this movie a 5-star rating; it is a movie underpinning several sub-themes: romantic, leadership, and religeous in an overall historic theme... could watch it again

Quite enjoyable

Confusing story line. Elizabeth 1 played by Helen Mirren much better.

Interesting historical movie on Queen Elizabeth's young years. Cate Blanchett does a very good performance.

Excellent movie, was great to watch it again. Cate Blanchette at her best

Can't say I overly enjoyed this one. Very slow, and kind of dull. I was impressed by Geoffrey Rush however. Probably not worth the watch unless you feel like something slow.

To follow the early part of this movie it helps to know that burning at the stake of both clergy and commoners was common in Queen Mary's reign. She was a devout catholic and was determined to halt the spread of protestantism. The Duke of Norfolk, a catholic, and his supporters feared the accession of Mary's half-sister, Elizabeth, for not being a true catholic. They brought a trumped-up charge of treason against Elizabeth, but the evidence was so thin that Mary couldn't bring herself to sign the death warrant before she died. When the 25 year-old Elizabeth, still unmarried, succeeded Mary, she immediately appointed the aged Sir William Cecil (Richard Attenborough) as her private secretary, who was adamant that she should not marry her lover, Robert Dudley (Joseph Fiennes), but marry into the royal family of either Spain or France to stop them ganging up against England. Both countries sent their ambassadors to push the claims of their masters, as each would benefit from an alliance. For Philip II of Spain the arrangement would be purely formal and sharing a bed would not be expected. For the Duke of Alencon of France (Vincent Cassel), Elizabeth would just become one of his many lovers, which became apparent when he came to London at her invitation. An episode later on has Mary Guise (Fanny Ardant) a French aristocrat, married to the King of Scotland and mother of Mary Queen of Scots, dining with Elizabeth. Scotland was not yet part of England and had always allied itself to France to keep England at bay. In fact a large contingent of French troops were stationed in Scotland at the time of the conversation. One other player in the drama should be mentioned, Sir Francis Walsingham (Geoffrey Rush). He went abroad during Mary's reign, but became a secretary of state soon after her death. Concerned very much with foreign affairs, there was little going on in domestic politics that he didn't know about. He was happy to use bribery and deception if he thought it was necessary in the service of the queen. Thankfully this movie is reasonably faithful to the facts with only an adjustment to the time scale here and there. An impressive movie which has received accolades far and wide.

Fabulous film, no wonder Cate Blanchett won the BAFTA award. Exquisite costuming and scenery. All backed up by stellar supporting cast.

A good insight into Englands so called virgin queen. Excellent performances by the Aussies. Highly recommended.

Great performances. Thoroughly recommend this one.

Good to watch this together with "Elizabeth the golden age."

Fine quality historical drama with the kind of gothic camera angles that you would expect from a horror genre director. Gets to the hub of the issues surrounding Elizabeth's reign quite quickly (some of these are more fully played out in the follow-up film) - fast paced & interesting.

Really enjoyed this movie about Elizabeth. Great performance by the young Cate Blanchett and the mysterious Geoffrey Rush. Would highly recommend this movie.

After watching Elizabeth, I am left wondering how the monarchy could not be involved in the death of Diana?

I really enjoyed it. I loved music, dance and act by Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush who took me into one of historical fact but became reality to me while I was watching it.

Great performances from the aussie actors. More like an excellent BBC production than a hollywood blockbuster.

Very good Elizabethan theatre with star performances from Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush. Recommended

Seen it before but watched it again with plans to view the recently released sequel. Excellent work by Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush. Great drama and costumes.

Was a bit slow, but Cate Blanchette performance was weorth watching.

A exceptional performance by Cate Blanchett of an exceptional woman. It was fascinating to see her gradually "come of age", from a young, inexperienced girl to a mature & confident woman, against all those conniving & self promoting men who continually plotted against her, & to maintain & indeed increase the affection & devotion of her true advisors & her subjects as a whole. Visuably superb with a whole raft of very powerful performances. Not to be missed & one to watch again & again. Blanchett was definitely robbed of her Oscar.

Quite enjoyable

A really good movie on Queen Elizabeth. Could watch it again.

Great costumes, great performance by Cate - but love interest seemed a little mismatched and story a little drawn out for the content.