Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Theatrical Release Date: 2007 10 12 (USA)

UPC: 025192046858

Studio: Universal Studios

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Violence, Nudity, Sexual Situations]

Summary: Actress Cate Blanchett returns to her Oscar-nominated role and director Shekhar Kapur steps back into the director's chair for this belated sequel to the critically acclaimed 1998 biopic Elizabeth that explores the 16th century romance between the "Virgin Queen" and noted adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen). Michael Hirst teams with William Nicholson to pen the screenplay, and actor Geoffrey Rush returns to the role of Sir Francis Walsingham. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Historical Film

Awards: Film Presented – Toronto International Film Festival Best Actress – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama – null Best Actress – Screen Actors Guild Best Art Direction in a Period Film – Art Directors Guild Best Actress – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Production Design – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Production Design – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Costume Design – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Makeup and Hair – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Costume Design – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: Deleted Scenes
The Reign Continues: Making Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen and Geoffrey Rush join Director Shekhar Kapur in this exclusive look at how the next chapter in the monarch's life came to the big screen

Inside Elizabeth's World
Discover the Secrets behind the film's elaborate Production Design

Commanding The Winds: Creating the Armada
An Insider's look at how the film's massive ships and dramatic battles were created

Towers, Courts and Cathedrals
Explore the Historic and Sacred Locations that provided the glorious settings for the film

Feature Commentary with Director Shekhar Kapur

D-Box Motion Enabled

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 04/27/2010

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DHMA null, DTS Digital Theater Systems

Runtime: 60 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French,German,Spanish

Subtitles: English,French,German,Spanish

Cammila Albertson

As it stands on its own, Elizabeth: The Golden Age is a delightfully bombastic period melodrama, full of sex and war and beautiful dresses. Unfortunately, as a sequel to 1998's Elizabeth (which dealt with earlier events in the 16th century monarch's reign) it's a pale imitator to the throne. The original Elizabeth grandly showcased the epic nature of a historical turning point, while simultaneously succeeding as both a political thriller and a passionately doomed romance. Add to that themes about God, power, and the manifestations of masculinity and femininity, and you had something so incredible that simply calling it a "period film" would be like calling The Godfather just another gangster movie. This gave The Golden Age a lot to live up to as a sequel, and unfortunately, it would appear that director Shekhar Kapur just didn't attempt to do so on all fronts. That's not to say that Elizabeth: The Golden Age isn't a great film. While it may lack the power and subtext we're looking for, it still offers its share of stunning rises and falls in a somewhat historically accurate story, not to mention some fascinating glimpses into the inner lives of its characters. This comes thanks in no small part to lead actor Cate Blanchett, who handles the nuance of her larger-than-life title character with impossible ease. Rather than simply portraying a woman with alternate moments of fire and vulnerability, Blanchett creates a fully realized person, capable of being both stalwart and afraid, both powerful and unsure. A particularly impressive appearance is made by Samantha Morton, who, in a small role as Mary, Queen of Scots, evokes the intangibility of royalty perhaps best of all, with a hauntingly ephemeral performance. Failing in her bid to overthrow the English throne, she embodies the ghostly contradiction inherent in the life of a would-be monarch: she believes the crown is hers by Divine Right, and yet she is imprisoned by the lock and key of mortal men. This storytelling in The Golden Age differs greatly from its predecessor in that rather than grandly rising to each epic crescendo, it instead flows like water from one event to another -- be it the English defeat of the Spanish Armada or the forbidden love between a chambermaid and a privateer. This is indeed an odd choice for a movie built around such thunderous and high-flown happenings. Still, between its subject matter and its performances, The Golden Age can't help but be interesting -- or at least nice to look at when it lags. ~ Cammila Albertson, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Sam Spruell  Actor 
Tim Preece  Actor 
Tim Bevan  Producer 
Eric Fellner  Producer 
Michael Hirst  Executive Producer 
Michael Hirst  Screenwriter 
William Nicholson  Screenwriter 
Jonathan Cavendish  Producer 
Shekhar Kapur  Director 
Liza Chasin  Executive Producer 
Debra Hayward  Executive Producer 
Craig Armstrong  Composer (Music Score) 
A.R. Rahman  Composer (Music Score) 
Cate Blanchett  Actor 
Geoffrey Rush  Actor 
Clive Owen  Actor 
Rhys Ifans  Actor 
Jordi Mollà  Actor 
Abbie Cornish  Actor 
Samantha Morton  Actor 
Tom Hollander  Actor 
Antony Carrick  Actor 
David Threlfall  Actor 
Eddie Redmayne  Actor 
John Shrapnel  Actor 
Laurence Fox  Actor 
Adrian Scarborough  Actor 
Steven Robertson  Actor 

Country: UK