March 13, 2025 • 43 mins
Queen Elizabeth I was a formidable leader who defied the norms of her time, cleverly balancing the expectations placed upon her as a woman with her ambitions as a ruler. An Indian director and an Australian lead actor came together to bring us a truly brilliant biographical drama on the ascension to the-then Catholic English throne of the Protestant Elizabeth I, in Shekhar Kapur's Elizabeth.
Queen Elizabeth I was a powerful female figure in a male-dominated society, and Elizabeth accurately emphasizes her real life ability to navigate political waters with grace and power. Cate Blanchett's performance as the young Elizabeth is not just iconic; it's a masterclass in acting, showcasing her transformation from a naive young woman to a formidable queen. That doesn't mean this movie is particularly historically accurate in other things, though.
There was no poisoned dress. It was totally fabricated. ;-)
Regardless of accuracy, Elizabeth's legacy gives us a glimpse of what life may have been like for the UK without the Virgin Queen's influence, and its implications for contemporary discussions on gender and power. Elizabeth herself is not just as a historical figure but a symbol of resilience and strength for women everywhere.
I would love to hear your thoughts on Elizabeth (1998) !
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(02:40):
Hi everyone. I'm Em, andwelcome to verbal diorama, episode
291, Elizabeth. This is thepodcast that's all about the history
and legacy of movies you knowand movies you don't. That may be
a woman, Sir William, but if Ichoose, I have the heart of a man.
I am my father's daughter. Iam not afraid of anything. As always,
(03:01):
welcome to Verbal Diorama.Whether you are a brand new listener
to this podcast, whether youare a regular returning listener,
welcome back to this podcast.Thank you for being here. Thank you
for choosing to listen to thispodcast out of all of the movie podcasts
you could possibly belistening to right now. I am so happy
to have you here for thehistory and legacy of Elizabeth.
And just FYI, I am currentlyrecovering from a bit of a cold,
(03:25):
so my voice isn't working aswell as it usually is, so it's a
little bit husky today. I doapologize if my voice doesn't sound
the same as it normally does,and I'm going to be editing out all
the coughing that I'm doingduring this episode. But of course,
I wanted to get this episoderecorded as soon as I possibly could
because it is women's historymonth. And this month on Verbal Diorama
(03:48):
is celebrating women from allwalks of life, from warriors to queens
to single mothers and to womenin sport. Last week we had the story
of the warrior women ofDahomey, the Agoji. And this week,
something a bit more English,a bit more Tudor. Huge thank you
to everyone who listens tothis podcast, has continued to listen
(04:10):
and support this podcast overthe last six years. It means so much
to have your support, and Ireally, genuinely am very grateful
that you are listening to thispodcast, and even I can tell that
my voice isn't right. So I'mhoping that this record comes out
okay. But one of the reasonsthat I wanted to cover Women's History
Month is obviously as a womanmyself in podcasting and just generally
(04:31):
as a woman, I am inspired byall sorts of women from all different
cultures, all religions, allprofessions. And it made complete
sense to me to focus on womenin film. And not only women in film,
but true stories of women putto film. Because that's what Women's
History Month is all about.It's all about celebrating those
true stories of the women whocame before us and who inspired virus
(04:55):
and basically who shaped theworld for women like me and Girls
today in 2025. Now, if you'velistened to my previous episode on
the Woman King, you'llremember I mentioned the heavy criticism
it got for being inaccurate.But the movie Elizabeth said, hold
my beer, because there arethings in this movie that either
(05:16):
didn't happen at all or didn'thappen at the start of her reign
when this movie is depicted. Ifind this movie completely fascinating.
I absolutely love this movie.I think it is great. I think Cate
Blanchett is great. But let'sgo into it, inaccuracies and all.
Here's the trailer for Elizabeth.
(08:15):
When her Catholic half sister,Queen Mary I, dies, the line of succession
goes to Elizabeth, theProtestant half sister Mary was not
prepared to execute. The newqueen finds herself surrounded by
advisors, some supportive, butsome plotting to restore the Catholic
line by almost any means.She's also under pressure to marry
(08:35):
and produce an heir. But herlover, Lord Robert Dudley, is not
considered suitable. Elizabethrealises she has some decisions to
make, the most important beingthe running of her beloved England.
Let's run through the cast ofthis movie. We have Kate Blanchetti
as Queen Elizabeth FirstGeoffrey Rush as Francis Walsingham,
Joseph Fiennes as RobertDudley, the first earn of Leicester.
(08:59):
Richard Attenborough asWilliam Cecil, 1st Baron Burleigh.
Christopher Eccleston asThomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
James Frayne as Alvaro de laCuadra Eric Cantona as Paul de Foy
Vincent Cassel as Henry, Dukeof Anjou Cathy Burke as Queen Mary
I Fanny Ardent as Mary ofGuise Emily Mortimer as Kat Ashley,
(09:23):
Kelly McDonald as IsabelKnollys Jamie Foreman as the Earl
of Sussex, Daniel Craig asJohn Ballard and John Gielgud as
Pope Pius V. Elizabeth waswritten by Michael Hurst and directed
by Shekhar Kapur. So as Imentioned, the last episode of this
podcast was on the Woman King,a truly incredible historical epic
(09:45):
that is a must watch if you'venot seen it and then the episode
is then a must listen. Nudge,nudge, wink, wink. But that movie
got quite a lot of criticismlevied towards it for historical
inaccuracy. It's true, themovie doesn't exactly represent the
true horrors of the Atlanticslave trade happening at the time,
but the timeline is at leastfairly accurate to the kingdom of
(10:07):
Dahomey in 1823. So we move onto Elizabeth, from the woman King
to the Virgin Queen. Or wasshe? The movie does seem to suggest
otherwise. Good for her. Butas a holy British podcast with their
British host who used to livein the town where Queen Elizabeth
I famously Visited Robertdudley for a 19 day party. I feel
(10:30):
like I am somewhat qualifiedto tell the story of Elizabeth and
how an Indian and anAustralian came together to tell
a lavish, dynamic version ofthe story, full of the emotions and
essence of history. As ShekharKapoor put it, Elizabeth, the real
queen, has mostly been reveredthroughout history as not only one
(10:51):
of our country's longestserving monarchs with a 44 year,
127 day reign, she was alsothe last Tudor monarch and her reign
and its effect on history andculture would lead to an entire era
being named after her. TheElizabethan. Unlike her father, whose
history has been somewhatrevisioned throughout, Elizabeth's
has not. While during hisreign he was feared and adored, Henry
(11:15):
VIII was actually a bit of aswine and certain modern historians
tend to focus more on the manynegative things he did, such as his
many wives and divorcing,beheading died. Divorcing, beheading
survived. But Henry VIII'sreign did ultimately influence Elizabeth.
She had no memory of hermother, Anne Boleyn, who was beheaded
for adultery when Elizabethwas 2 years old. Like her father,
(11:38):
she was highly intelligent.Unlike him, she was vivacious and
energetic. She was fluent insix languages, including Latin, Greek,
French and Italian. She onceremarked to an ambassador that she
knew many languages betterthan her own. She was educated in
theology, history, philosophyand rhetoric and was an accomplished
(11:59):
sportswoman. She wasn't quitethe wallflower the movie makes her
out to be. Henry VIII was theone who originally broke from Rome
to annul his first marriage toCatherine of Aragon to marry Elizabeth's
mother, Anne Boleyn. Thisdecision was retracted when his Catholic
eldest daughter, Mary I,ascended the throne. Mary was known
to have executed 300 hereticsand was referred to as Bloody mary.
(12:23):
She was 37 when she becameQueen. She was the first Queen to
become Queen in her own rightand not as Queen consort, marrying
Philip II of Spain thefollowing year purely to secure the
Catholic reign, but also inorder to prevent Elizabeth, a Protestant,
to ever become queen. At thispoint, Elizabeth was imprisoned in
(12:44):
1554 and spent a year underhouse arrest. Under the Third Succession
act, passed in 1543 by theparliament of England, Elizabeth
was recognised as Mary's heirunless Mary were to have a child.
In 1555, Elizabeth returned tocourt to await and witness the impending
birth of Mary's child.However, Mary wasn't pregnant. In
(13:08):
1558, after another phantompregnancy, Elizabeth became Queen
upon Mary's death on 17November 1558. It's worth adding
at this point that theTimeline of this movie is heavily
compressed and rearranged.Events that occurred over many years
are presented as happeningwithin a short period. It simplifies
years of intricate diplomaticand religious maneuvering into a
(13:31):
more straightforward, dramaticconfrontation. Some events in this
movie just didn't happen atall. So let's go through quickly
what is fact and what isfiction in this movie. Robert Dudley
was indeed Elizabeth'sfavorite and one of her most trusted
advisors and friends. He neverbetrayed her by being secretly married,
(13:52):
nor did he commit treason byworking with the Spanish ambassador.
In reality, he remained one ofher most trusted advisors throughout
her reign, as she knew of hismarriage to Amy Dudley. Amy Dudley
actually died in mysteriouscircumstances in 1560, and there
were rumours that Elizabethknew and that she would consider
marrying Dudley should hiswife die. After Amy Dudley's violent
(14:15):
death, though, Elizabethcouldn't risk her reputation by marrying
him. Whether they did sleeptogether or not, we'll never truly
know for sure, but the moviemakes clear that she did and then
chose to reclaim her virginityby being married to England. In reality,
the rumors of her entanglementwith Dudley were damaging and almost
cost her the throne. No man isworth that hassle, not even Joseph
(14:37):
Fiennes in a flowing shirt.Many historians think that the whole
Virgin Queen title wasliterally just branding. But maybe
Elizabeth was the influencerof her day and that it was all just
clever Tudor propaganda. Therewere rumors Elizabeth did have children
too, and several people wereimprisoned for suggesting she had.
Author Henry Hawking said ofRobert Dudley in 1581, quote, that
(15:00):
my lord, Robert hath fivechildren by the queen, and she never
goeth in progress but to bedelivered. Meaning that her many
tours of the country were tohide her pregnancies. Many unwanted
royal children were brought upin the houses of noblemen as changeling
children. Usually thishappened by male monarchs, but who's
(15:21):
to say that Elizabeth alsodidn't do the same? Many historians,
though, believe she did indeedremain childless for her entire life.
William Cecil wasn't anelderly man. He was only 13 years
older than Elizabeth. Hissupport for her was kept secret.
But he was also theadministrator of her lands, so they
didn't need to meet in secret.Elizabeth never forced him into retirement.
(15:43):
Him becoming Lord Burniewasn't for his retirement, and the
following year he was givenmore power at court as Lord Treasurer.
Similarly, Cat Ashley,Elizabeth's chief lady in waiting,
wasn't her age, but actuallyolder than Elizabeth and was a mother
figure rather than a friend.Isabel Knollys and Lettuce Howard
didn't exist but LettuceKnollys did. She ended up marrying
(16:06):
Robert Dudley. There was nopoisoned dress. It was entirely fabricated.
Holding for applause there.While Elizabeth did have assassination
plots against her, mostly toremove her as Queen in favor of her
Catholic cousin, Mary, Queenof Scots, nothing ever materialized.
Okay, I'll stop now. Mostpeople had her death as a par for
(16:28):
the course, and there wereplenty of opportunities to do it,
like the Northern earlsRebellion of 1569, the Ridolfi plot
of 1571, Throckmorton plot of1583, and the Babington plot, 1585.
The Duke of Norfolk did planto marry Mary, Queen of Scots, and
he ended up imprisoned. But onhis release, he became embroiled
(16:49):
in another plot to dethroneElizabeth, and he was executed for
it. Francis Walsingham wasexiled as a Protestant and returned
as a minor politician beforebecoming Elizabeth's spymaster. About
10 years into her reign, hedid dissolve numerous plots against
the Queen, including one whichsaw the execution of the Duke of
Norfolk. But he didn't murderMary of Guise. She fell suddenly
(17:13):
ill and died of dropsy, whichis basically fluid retention. Mary
of Guise was related to theDuke of Anjou, but very distantly.
Henry, Duke of Anjou, whowould become King. Henry III of France
never actually traveled toEngland to call the Queen that on.
It fell instead to his youngerbrother, Francois, who became Duke
of Anjou in 1576 and was theonly one of Elizabeth's many suitors
(17:37):
to court her in person. Butthis happened much later in Elizabeth's
reign, when she was 46 and hewas 24, and Elizabeth did not shave
her head, put on white makeupand begin England's golden age dressed
as Gloriana, the Virgin Queen.Four years into her reign, she caught
smallpox and the scarring wasso bad she covered it with white
(17:58):
makeup, which was actuallycarcinogenic. The actual golden age
came 30 years into her reignwith the defeat of the Spanish Armada,
or alternatively, in 2007,with the release of the sequel, Elizabeth,
the Golden Age. Now, ofcourse, all of this doesn't mean
that everything isn'taccurate, though the general political
tension between Catholics andProtestants at the time is simplified
(18:21):
but fairly true to life. Thethreat from Francis, Mary of Guise,
and of a possible overthrow byher daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots,
was a real concern. DuringElizabeth's early reign, there was
heavy pressure from the courtand Elizabeth's closest advisors
to marry and produce an heiras soon as possible with her late
half sister, Mary's widower,the Catholic Philip II of Spain.
(18:44):
One of the frontrunners,Elizabeth was seen to be considering
the offers of marriage, butshe knew that as soon as she took
her husband, her power wouldbe immediately diminished, which
is exactly what had happenedto her elder sister Mary. The excommunication
from the Vatican was aresponse to Elizabeth's religious
policies over more than adecade, rather than an immediate
(19:05):
reaction to her coronation asdepicted in the movie. England was
excommunicated by Pope pius Vin 1570, about 12 years into Elizabeth's
reign. This declared herillegitimate as queen, release her
subjects from any allegianceto her, and encourage Catholics to
depose her. There wasbasically a bounty on Elizabeth's
(19:26):
head from the head of theCatholic Church. The excommunication
came after Elizabeth hadalready established the Protestant
Church of England andimplemented religious settlements
that restored Protestantpractices after her Catholic sister
Mary's reign. It hadsignificant consequences for English
Catholics, though, forcingthem to choose between religious
loyalty to Rome and politicalloyalty to the queen. It also increased
(19:50):
tensions between England andCatholic powers like Spain, contributing
to the political climate thateventually led to the Spanish Armada
in 1588. The woman kingdoesn't look quite so inaccurate
now, right? I'm being a littlefacetious here, but my point being
historical accuracy isn'tsomething movies like this are particularly
(20:10):
known for. Michael Hirst wastasked with writing a biographical
historical drama, but it alsohad to be compelling and interesting.
So some events were made up,some were moved around, but the focus
was always on Elizabeth andhow she grew into becoming the influential
queen she became. DirectorShekhar Kapur was known for his cult
classic debut, Massoum, in1983, and then gained widespread
(20:34):
international recognition withBandit Queen, the biographical action
adventure about infamousIndian bandit and politician Fulan
Demi. He openly admitted hewasn't interested in the history
of Queen Elizabeth, but moreon the emotional and psychological
truth of Elizabeth's situationthan with strict historical accuracy.
Kapur has spoken about how hisown background as an Indian director
(20:57):
gave him a differentperspective on England's religious
history. He has suggested thatcoming from outside of Britain allowed
him to approach the materialwithout some of the ingrained cultural
attitude that might influenceBritish filmmakers. Kapur admitted
to deliberately usingreligious imagery and iconography
throughout the film to showthe blending of politics and religion
(21:18):
in Tudor England, and also tohighlight Elizabeth's own transformation
into a figure who incorporatedelements of both Protestant and Catholic
visual symbolism in craftingher image as the Virgin Queen. But
of course, the casting ofElizabeth herself was the most crucial
decision that Kapur andcasting directors Simone Ireland
and Vanessa Pereira had tomake. Emily Watson was first choice
(21:42):
for the role, but she turnedit down to star in Hillary and Jackie.
Kapur saw a trailer for themovie Oscar and Lucinda and lead
actress Cate Blanchett.Blanchett was primarily known in
her native Australia for hertheater work and smaller film and
TV roles. This was Blanchettinternational breakthrough role,
and her performance earned heran Academy Award nomination. The
(22:03):
production took a risk on therelatively unknown Blanchett, which,
as always with Cate Blanchett,paid off tremendously. Generally
speaking, if you go to a CateBlanchett movie, you know she's going
to be great. At the veryleast, even in Borderlands. And the
idea of an Indian director andan Australian lead actor might have
caused a few raised eyebrowsin the British film industry. The
(22:25):
idea that they could fully beable to tell a very English story,
especially with Kapur openlynot being that interested in the
actual history. But Kapurcleverly filled the rest of the cast
with great British film andtheater actors, bringing gravitas
to the sometimes smallerroles, like legendary stage and screen
actor Sir John Gielgud as PopePius V and the excellent Kathy Burke
(22:49):
as Queen Mary. Even EricCantona, famous French footballer,
got in there as Paul du Foix.But mostly it was having Geoffrey
Rush, who would also star inShakespeare in Love that year too,
as Francis Walsingham, who isjust excellent in this movie. Christopher
Eccleston isn't given much todo as the Duke of Norfolk, but Kapoor
told him to just walkmenacingly, so he walks a lot. There's
(23:12):
also a blink and you'll missit cameo from British pop star Lily
Allen, who was 12 at the timeas one of Elizabeth's ladies in waiting,
and also her brother, actorAlfie Allen, best known for his role
as Theon Greyjoy in Game ofThrones, as Arundel's son. Their
mother, Alison Owen, was oneof the producers of this movie. So
principal photography began on2 September 1997 and finished on
(23:37):
2 December 1997. The recurringmotif of the movie was, shall we
say, style over substance, ifsubstance was historical accuracy.
The production designer wasJohn Meyer, who crafted a distinctive
visual approach that balancedhistorical atmosphere with artistic
intelligence interpretation.Rather than aiming for perfect period
(23:57):
accuracy, Maya developed astylized Tudor world. The buildings
were medieval rather thantypically Tudor, with stone walls
instead of wood beams. But thefilm did use authentic historical
locations wherever possible.Durham Cathedral provided the massive
stone corridors and interiorsthat represented parts of Westminster,
while Haddon hall inDerbyshire served as one of Elizabeth's
(24:20):
residences. York Minster andAlnwick Castle were also featured
prominently, and the interiorswere deliberately designed to feel
cold and imposing. Theproduction team used a lot of stone
and dark woods and oftenemphasized the height and scale of
rooms to make Elizabeth seemvulnerable, especially in the early
scenes of the movie. As thefilm progresses and Elizabeth gains
(24:42):
power, the spaces she occupiesbegin to feel slightly smaller and
more controlled. Many of thecostumes, while again highly stylized,
are based on period sourcesand portraits, most famously Elizabeth's
coronation portrait. Thecostume designer was Alexandra Byrne.
She would end up earning anAcademy Award nomination for her
(25:02):
work on this movie. Byrne usedcostumes not just for historical
context, but also as a visuallanguage to tell Elizabeth's story
of transformation from avenerable young woman to to a powerful
monarch through deliberatecolor progression and design evolution.
At the beginning of the movie,Elizabeth wears soft fabrics and
light colours, reflecting herrelative naivety and innocence, as
(25:25):
well as a pretty carefreelife. Just being the young Elizabeth,
she can frolic in fields withher ladies and frolic in rooms with
Robert Dudley. Her costumes atthe start are more relaxed in style
and less regal and proper.After Elizabeth becomes queen, the
political pressures mount onthe character and her costumes become
more structured and formal.The colours deepen to rich reds and
(25:47):
darker tones, symbolizing bothher growing power and the political
danger she's almost always in.The final transformation into the
Virgin Queen is a structuredwhite gown with an elaborate rough
collar. Her face is paintedwhite with a bright red wig, creating
the iconic image that woulddefine her reign. This costume is
(26:07):
deliberately reminiscent ofreligious iconography, particularly
the Virgin Mary, visuallyreinforcing Elizabeth's declaration
that she is now married toEngland. Director Shekhar Kapoor
would comment on the criticismof the portrayal of Catholics in
the movie that he wasportraying specific political threats
to Elizabeth rather thanmaking a statement about Catholicism
(26:28):
as a whole. He viewed theCatholic conspirators in the film
as political opponents firstand religious figures second. But
that didn't mean that manyCatholics weren't particularly happy
with the depictions ofCatholics in this movie. And there
never is an easy way to segueinto the obligatory Keanu reference
unless I state that Keanu isnot Catholic and so therefore wouldn't
(26:52):
have been offended by theCatholic representation in this movie.
But this is a part of thepodcast where I linked the movie
that I'm featuring with KeanuReeves for no reason other than Keanu
is the best of men and wouldhave been a great advisor to Elizabeth
I. And really, the easiest wayto link Keanu to this movie is that
Keanu starred with Elizabethherself, Cate Blanchett, In Sam Raimi's
(27:16):
2000 supernatural thriller theGift, which I have not seen, but
I'm guessing it's yet anotherphenomenal Cate Blanchett performance.
So if you have seen the Gift,then let me know. What do you think
of Cate Blanchett'sperformance and is it similarly phenomenal
to everything else that thatwoman does? Because Cate Blanchett
is terrific and obviously sois Keanu Reeves. This score for Elizabeth
(27:37):
was composed by DavidHirschfelder and it would go on to
win the BAFTA Award for BestFilm Music and be nominated for the
Academy Award for BestOriginal Dramatic Score, which it
would lose to the score forLife Is Beautiful. Elizabeth premiered
in September 1998 at theVenice Film Festival and had its
UK premiere on 2 October 1998.It premiered in the US on 13 October
(28:03):
1998. It opened wide in the UKon 23 October 1998 and opened in
a limited release in ninecinemas on 6 November 1998. In the
US it increased to a peak of555 cinemas across the US after several
weeks. It wouldn't peak higherthan eight in the US box office chart,
(28:26):
but it did do well over theThanksgiving weekend of 1998. On
its $30 million budget,Elizabeth grossed at $30.1 million
domestically in the US and$52.1 million worldwide, for an $82.2
million worldwide gross.Elizabeth also has a score of 84%
(28:48):
on Rotten Tomatoes andsummarizes it as no mere historical
drama. Elizabeth is a rich,suspenseful journey into the heart
of British royal politics andfeatures a typically outstanding
performance from KateBlanchett. It did receive some criticism
for historical accuracy aswell as accusations of anti Catholicism
(29:09):
depicting the Pope as schemingand other Catholic characters as
dark, cruel, devious. But weneed to move on to awards season
because 1998 was the only yearthe two performers were nominated
for Academy Awards for playingthe same character in two different
films. So we had CateBlanchett, who was nominated for
(29:30):
Best Actress for portrayingElizabeth I in this film, and we
had Judi Dench nominated forBest Actress in a supporting Role
playing Queen Elizabeth I inShakespeare in Love. Judi Dench won
her Best Actress in aSupporting Role for her playing Liz
the first, but Cate Blanchettwould not win for her role in playing
(29:51):
Elizabeth the first. Elizabethwas nominated for seven Academy Awards,
including Best Picture, BestActress, Cate Blanchett, Best Art
Direction, BestCinematography, Best Costume Design,
Best Makeup and Best OriginalDramatic Score. It would only win
for Best Makeup. It would losebest cinematography to Saving Private
Ryan, best original dramaticscore, as I've said, to Life Is Beautiful
(30:15):
and everything else toShakespeare in Love. And here's the
thing. I really likeShakespeare in Love. I think it's
a fun movie and I think it'sreally great. I've done an episode
on Shakespeare in Love. That'show much I like the movie Shakespeare
in Love. But if you comparethe two, there really is no comparison.
The performances of GwynethPaltrow in Shakespeare in Love and
(30:37):
Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth.Cate Blanchett is so much better
in Elizabeth, but there is ahuge story behind Shakespeare in
Love and why it won so manyawards. So have a listen to the episode
that I did on Shakespeare inLove. It is episode 252 of this podcast
and it does go into all ofthat story in quite a bit of detail
(31:00):
because it involves someonewho I very much don't like to talk
about on this podcast. But hewas instrumental in making sure that
Shakespeare in Love won asmany Academy Awards as possible.
Anyway, Elizabeth would alsobe nominated for 12 Baftas and it
would win five, including bestactress and Outstanding British Film.
It was nominated for threeGolden Globes and Cate Blanchett
(31:23):
won the Golden Globe for BestActress as well. The sequel, Elizabeth
the Golden Age came out in2007 and in 2017 Shekhar Kapoor was
working on Elizabeth the DarkAge. He said in an interview with
Variety, quote, it is afuturistic idea that I wrote about
Elizabeth in the future. Thestate of the monarchy and the state
(31:45):
of civilization based on adystopian view of what will happen
in Europe and what will happenin the UK and the Western world.
The recall of the monarchywhich was by then dead and gone.
Why was the monarchy recalledand what was happening? It is a futuristic
idea of why this 18 or 19 yearold girl who is actually a prostitute,
(32:06):
was recalled to the throne,unquote. Now Elizabeth the Dark Age
has seemingly vanished fromWarner Brothers slate though, so
chances are we won't ever seethe very weird, very crazy idea that
Shekhar Kapoor had on screen.While this movie has its inaccuracies,
one thing it does remarkablywell is highlight the reign of Queen
(32:29):
Elizabeth the First andfrankly, how important that reign
was for England and even nowthe UK as a whole. It's also visually
stunning and Cate Blanchett isa literal queen. And I mean it when
I say that if I see CateBlanchett in a cast, I feel like
I know she's at least going tobe good. Even if the Rest of the
movie around her isn't. She isone of the greatest actors of her
(32:50):
generation for good reason.And it really all stemmed from Elizabeth.
She is spirited and beautifuland regal and just embodies the queen
in such a way that she is thevisual representation that we all
have now for the youngElizabeth. All cheekbones, English,
rose complexion, fierystrawberry blonde hair. And while
she may not be as physicallybadass as Viola Davis's Naniska was
(33:14):
in the last episode, the womanking Elizabeth brings her intelligence
and her political prowess tothe forefront to deal with a society
that didn't value her, didn'twant her as queen, even though she
was technically a princess andthen a queen, just because she was
a woman and they were men. Itmay not be completely historically
accurate, but Elizabeth isempowering and feels modern in how
(33:37):
she has to work 10 times ashard as any man to be listened to.
Ask any woman in your life,she'll get it. Her sister may have
been the first queen in herown right, but Elizabeth showed the
world how it was done anddidn't want to have to share her
power with any king consort.But you believe it from Blanche's
portrayal, Elizabeth was abadass queen. She established a model
(34:01):
of pragmatic governance thatprioritised stability and national
interest over ideologicalpurity. She navigated Catholic and
Protestant powers whilemaintaining England's independence
and sovereignty. Her approachto governance, which was consulting
advisors while retaining finalauthority, demonstrated her effective
leadership that balancedconsultation with decisive action.
(34:23):
Under Elizabeth, England beganits transformation from a relatively
minor European kingdom to asignificant naval force. Sir Francis
Drake's circumnavigation ofthe globe and the defeat of the Spanish
Armada in 1588 marked pivotalmoments in England's rise as a seafaring
nation, setting the stage forits later empire. While most of the
(34:44):
attempts to establish overseascolonies during her reign were unsuccessful,
the English navy grew and bythe end of her reign, England was
the greatest sea power in theworld. Culturally, the Elizabethan
Age represents some of thebest and most well known of English
arts and literature. WilliamShakespeare, Christopher Marlowe,
Edmund Spenser and many othersproduce works that remain cornerstones
(35:07):
of English literature.Elizabeth was an active patron of
the arts, as she understoodtheir importance in projecting royal
power and national identity.Religiously, Elizabeth forged what
became known as theElizabethan settlement, finding a
middle path between Catholicand Protestant extremes. This compromise,
while imperfect, prevented thekind of devastating religious wars
(35:30):
that ravaged continentalEurope. The Church of England as
we know it today owes much toto Elizabeth's pragmatic approach
to religion. Elizabeth alsoheld forge a sense of English national
identity that transcendedreligious divine. Her famous Tilbury
speech before the SpanishArmada, I know I have the body of
a weak and feeble woman, but Ihave the heart and stomach of a king
(35:54):
exemplified how she connectedher personal rule with national destiny.
Her decision to remainunmarried and rule in her own right,
becoming the Virgin Queenmarried to England instead of a man,
created a powerful politicalmythology that influenced how monarchy
was understood. As Imentioned, she knew her brand. Her
reign demonstrated that awoman could rule effectively in her
(36:16):
own right and challengedprevailing notions about gender and
power. Put simply, England hashad notorious infamous monarchs like
Henry viii, but QueenElizabeth I was the first in a line
of monarchs who modernized andchanged the country. I don't think
it's a coincidence that themost famous monarchs in English and
British history are allqueens. Two of them are called Elizabeth,
(36:41):
the other is Victoria. TheVictorian era was a time of great
wealth and power for GreatBritain and saw significant scientific
and technological development.And obviously the late Queen Elizabeth
II may not have overseen amassive empire, but she navigated
the country through post warBritain and became the national symbol
for the keep calm and carry onaesthetic. Watching this movie, it's
(37:02):
easy to see how life here inBritain could have been so very different.
Had Elizabeth either notascended to the throne or had anything
happened during her reign tooverthrow her, we might have easily
become a Catholic countryagain. There would be no Church of
England. She could have easilymarried and had an heir and the Royal
family would look verydifferent. She could have buried
(37:23):
the King of Spain and we couldstill be in a historic alliance with
the Spanish. Who knows? Ourlives today in the UK are so intrinsically
linked to Elizabeth's reignand this movie is a great interpretation
of that life. Basically whatI'm saying is yes Queen, thank you
for listening. As always, Iwould love to hear your thoughts
(37:44):
on Elizabeth and as always,thank you for your continued support
of this podcast. If you haveenjoyed this podcast and you want
to take a moment to help thispodcast grow, you could tell your
friends and family about thispodcast. You could leave a rating
or review wherever you foundthis podcast. And if you want to
help share this podcast andget it out there, you could find
(38:05):
me on social media. Iam@VerbalDiorama on all of the social
medias and you can like postson social media, you can share posts,
you can comment on post. Everylittle helps in spreading the word
of this podcast. And if youlike this episode on Elizabeth, you
might also like episode 252 onShakespeare in Love. It is a drastically
(38:26):
different movie in everyrespect, but it's also got Elizabeth
the first in it and it is thelegendary Dame Judi Dench, so why
would you not? So the nextepisode, Elizabeth the Queen is definitely
a template for modern women,but it's also really hard to make
a true story when your subjectis long past. So about another absolute
(38:51):
badass with a true story whowas still alive to not only consult
on the movie of her incredibletrue story of David and what's his
name, but also have a littlecameo in the movie too. Coming next
week, the accuracy rate shootsup for the true story of how an unemployed
single mother took down abillion dollar corporation for groundwater
(39:15):
contamination in Hinckley,California. The next episode is on
the history and legacy and the98% accurate according to her movie
of the story of ErinBrockovich. I really love that movie.
So please join me for the nextepisode on Erin Brockovich. And I
always say this podcast isfree and it always will be free.
(39:36):
There will never be any chargeto listen this podcast. It is not
free to make a podcasthowever, and I do rely on some incredibly
generous people to help fundthis podcast. You are under no obligation
to join them, but if you wishto do so, there are two ways you
can do that. You can go toverbaldiorama.com tips and give a
one off tip. Or you can go toverbaldiorama dot com patreon and
(39:59):
you can join the incrediblepatrons of this podcast. Claudia,
Simon, Laurel, Derek, Katie,Andy, Mike, Luke, Michael, Scott,
Brendan, Lisa, Sam, Jack,Dave, Stuart, Nicholas, so, Kev,
Pete, Heather, Danny, Ali,Stu, Brett, Philip M, Michelle, Zenos,
Sean, Rhino, Philip K, Adam,Elaine, Kyle and Aaron. If you want
(40:21):
to get in touch you can emailverbaldioramail.com you can also
go to my website which isverbaldiorama.com and fill out the
contact form. You can alsofind every single episode on there.
And you can also see a littlebit about me as well. You can also
find bits that I do atfilmstories.co.uk, you can find articles
and magazines and all sorts ofreally fun things. And finally.
(42:51):
Bye.
Hi everyone. I'm Em, andwelcome to verbal diorama, episode
291, Elizabeth. This is thepodcast that's all about the history
and legacy of movies you knowand movies you don't. That may be
a woman, Sir William, but if Ichoose, I have the heart of a man.
I am my father's daughter. Iam not afraid of anything. As always,
(03:01):
welcome to Verbal Diorama.Whether you are a brand new listener
to this podcast, whether youare a regular returning listener,
welcome back to this podcast.Thank you for being here. Thank you
for choosing to listen to thispodcast out of all of the movie podcasts
you could possibly belistening to right now. I am so happy
to have you here for thehistory and legacy of Elizabeth.
And just FYI, I am currentlyrecovering from a bit of a cold,
(03:25):
so my voice isn't working aswell as it usually is, so it's a
little bit husky today. I doapologize if my voice doesn't sound
the same as it normally does,and I'm going to be editing out all
the coughing that I'm doingduring this episode. But of course,
I wanted to get this episoderecorded as soon as I possibly could
because it is women's historymonth. And this month on Verbal Diorama
(03:48):
is celebrating women from allwalks of life, from warriors to queens
to single mothers and to womenin sport. Last week we had the story
of the warrior women ofDahomey, the Agoji. And this week,
something a bit more English,a bit more Tudor. Huge thank you
to everyone who listens tothis podcast, has continued to listen
(04:10):
and support this podcast overthe last six years. It means so much
to have your support, and Ireally, genuinely am very grateful
that you are listening to thispodcast, and even I can tell that
my voice isn't right. So I'mhoping that this record comes out
okay. But one of the reasonsthat I wanted to cover Women's History
Month is obviously as a womanmyself in podcasting and just generally
(04:31):
as a woman, I am inspired byall sorts of women from all different
cultures, all religions, allprofessions. And it made complete
sense to me to focus on womenin film. And not only women in film,
but true stories of women putto film. Because that's what Women's
History Month is all about.It's all about celebrating those
true stories of the women whocame before us and who inspired virus
(04:55):
and basically who shaped theworld for women like me and Girls
today in 2025. Now, if you'velistened to my previous episode on
the Woman King, you'llremember I mentioned the heavy criticism
it got for being inaccurate.But the movie Elizabeth said, hold
my beer, because there arethings in this movie that either
(05:16):
didn't happen at all or didn'thappen at the start of her reign
when this movie is depicted. Ifind this movie completely fascinating.
I absolutely love this movie.I think it is great. I think Cate
Blanchett is great. But let'sgo into it, inaccuracies and all.
Here's the trailer for Elizabeth.
(08:15):
When her Catholic half sister,Queen Mary I, dies, the line of succession
goes to Elizabeth, theProtestant half sister Mary was not
prepared to execute. The newqueen finds herself surrounded by
advisors, some supportive, butsome plotting to restore the Catholic
line by almost any means.She's also under pressure to marry
(08:35):
and produce an heir. But herlover, Lord Robert Dudley, is not
considered suitable. Elizabethrealises she has some decisions to
make, the most important beingthe running of her beloved England.
Let's run through the cast ofthis movie. We have Kate Blanchetti
as Queen Elizabeth FirstGeoffrey Rush as Francis Walsingham,
Joseph Fiennes as RobertDudley, the first earn of Leicester.
(08:59):
Richard Attenborough asWilliam Cecil, 1st Baron Burleigh.
Christopher Eccleston asThomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
James Frayne as Alvaro de laCuadra Eric Cantona as Paul de Foy
Vincent Cassel as Henry, Dukeof Anjou Cathy Burke as Queen Mary
I Fanny Ardent as Mary ofGuise Emily Mortimer as Kat Ashley,
(09:23):
Kelly McDonald as IsabelKnollys Jamie Foreman as the Earl
of Sussex, Daniel Craig asJohn Ballard and John Gielgud as
Pope Pius V. Elizabeth waswritten by Michael Hurst and directed
by Shekhar Kapur. So as Imentioned, the last episode of this
podcast was on the Woman King,a truly incredible historical epic
(09:45):
that is a must watch if you'venot seen it and then the episode
is then a must listen. Nudge,nudge, wink, wink. But that movie
got quite a lot of criticismlevied towards it for historical
inaccuracy. It's true, themovie doesn't exactly represent the
true horrors of the Atlanticslave trade happening at the time,
but the timeline is at leastfairly accurate to the kingdom of
(10:07):
Dahomey in 1823. So we move onto Elizabeth, from the woman King
to the Virgin Queen. Or wasshe? The movie does seem to suggest
otherwise. Good for her. Butas a holy British podcast with their
British host who used to livein the town where Queen Elizabeth
I famously Visited Robertdudley for a 19 day party. I feel
(10:30):
like I am somewhat qualifiedto tell the story of Elizabeth and
how an Indian and anAustralian came together to tell
a lavish, dynamic version ofthe story, full of the emotions and
essence of history. As ShekharKapoor put it, Elizabeth, the real
queen, has mostly been reveredthroughout history as not only one
(10:51):
of our country's longestserving monarchs with a 44 year,
127 day reign, she was alsothe last Tudor monarch and her reign
and its effect on history andculture would lead to an entire era
being named after her. TheElizabethan. Unlike her father, whose
history has been somewhatrevisioned throughout, Elizabeth's
has not. While during hisreign he was feared and adored, Henry
(11:15):
VIII was actually a bit of aswine and certain modern historians
tend to focus more on the manynegative things he did, such as his
many wives and divorcing,beheading died. Divorcing, beheading
survived. But Henry VIII'sreign did ultimately influence Elizabeth.
She had no memory of hermother, Anne Boleyn, who was beheaded
for adultery when Elizabethwas 2 years old. Like her father,
(11:38):
she was highly intelligent.Unlike him, she was vivacious and
energetic. She was fluent insix languages, including Latin, Greek,
French and Italian. She onceremarked to an ambassador that she
knew many languages betterthan her own. She was educated in
theology, history, philosophyand rhetoric and was an accomplished
(11:59):
sportswoman. She wasn't quitethe wallflower the movie makes her
out to be. Henry VIII was theone who originally broke from Rome
to annul his first marriage toCatherine of Aragon to marry Elizabeth's
mother, Anne Boleyn. Thisdecision was retracted when his Catholic
eldest daughter, Mary I,ascended the throne. Mary was known
to have executed 300 hereticsand was referred to as Bloody mary.
(12:23):
She was 37 when she becameQueen. She was the first Queen to
become Queen in her own rightand not as Queen consort, marrying
Philip II of Spain thefollowing year purely to secure the
Catholic reign, but also inorder to prevent Elizabeth, a Protestant,
to ever become queen. At thispoint, Elizabeth was imprisoned in
(12:44):
1554 and spent a year underhouse arrest. Under the Third Succession
act, passed in 1543 by theparliament of England, Elizabeth
was recognised as Mary's heirunless Mary were to have a child.
In 1555, Elizabeth returned tocourt to await and witness the impending
birth of Mary's child.However, Mary wasn't pregnant. In
(13:08):
1558, after another phantompregnancy, Elizabeth became Queen
upon Mary's death on 17November 1558. It's worth adding
at this point that theTimeline of this movie is heavily
compressed and rearranged.Events that occurred over many years
are presented as happeningwithin a short period. It simplifies
years of intricate diplomaticand religious maneuvering into a
(13:31):
more straightforward, dramaticconfrontation. Some events in this
movie just didn't happen atall. So let's go through quickly
what is fact and what isfiction in this movie. Robert Dudley
was indeed Elizabeth'sfavorite and one of her most trusted
advisors and friends. He neverbetrayed her by being secretly married,
(13:52):
nor did he commit treason byworking with the Spanish ambassador.
In reality, he remained one ofher most trusted advisors throughout
her reign, as she knew of hismarriage to Amy Dudley. Amy Dudley
actually died in mysteriouscircumstances in 1560, and there
were rumours that Elizabethknew and that she would consider
marrying Dudley should hiswife die. After Amy Dudley's violent
(14:15):
death, though, Elizabethcouldn't risk her reputation by marrying
him. Whether they did sleeptogether or not, we'll never truly
know for sure, but the moviemakes clear that she did and then
chose to reclaim her virginityby being married to England. In reality,
the rumors of her entanglementwith Dudley were damaging and almost
cost her the throne. No man isworth that hassle, not even Joseph
(14:37):
Fiennes in a flowing shirt.Many historians think that the whole
Virgin Queen title wasliterally just branding. But maybe
Elizabeth was the influencerof her day and that it was all just
clever Tudor propaganda. Therewere rumors Elizabeth did have children
too, and several people wereimprisoned for suggesting she had.
Author Henry Hawking said ofRobert Dudley in 1581, quote, that
(15:00):
my lord, Robert hath fivechildren by the queen, and she never
goeth in progress but to bedelivered. Meaning that her many
tours of the country were tohide her pregnancies. Many unwanted
royal children were brought upin the houses of noblemen as changeling
children. Usually thishappened by male monarchs, but who's
(15:21):
to say that Elizabeth alsodidn't do the same? Many historians,
though, believe she did indeedremain childless for her entire life.
William Cecil wasn't anelderly man. He was only 13 years
older than Elizabeth. Hissupport for her was kept secret.
But he was also theadministrator of her lands, so they
didn't need to meet in secret.Elizabeth never forced him into retirement.
(15:43):
Him becoming Lord Burniewasn't for his retirement, and the
following year he was givenmore power at court as Lord Treasurer.
Similarly, Cat Ashley,Elizabeth's chief lady in waiting,
wasn't her age, but actuallyolder than Elizabeth and was a mother
figure rather than a friend.Isabel Knollys and Lettuce Howard
didn't exist but LettuceKnollys did. She ended up marrying
(16:06):
Robert Dudley. There was nopoisoned dress. It was entirely fabricated.
Holding for applause there.While Elizabeth did have assassination
plots against her, mostly toremove her as Queen in favor of her
Catholic cousin, Mary, Queenof Scots, nothing ever materialized.
Okay, I'll stop now. Mostpeople had her death as a par for
(16:28):
the course, and there wereplenty of opportunities to do it,
like the Northern earlsRebellion of 1569, the Ridolfi plot
of 1571, Throckmorton plot of1583, and the Babington plot, 1585.
The Duke of Norfolk did planto marry Mary, Queen of Scots, and
he ended up imprisoned. But onhis release, he became embroiled
(16:49):
in another plot to dethroneElizabeth, and he was executed for
it. Francis Walsingham wasexiled as a Protestant and returned
as a minor politician beforebecoming Elizabeth's spymaster. About
10 years into her reign, hedid dissolve numerous plots against
the Queen, including one whichsaw the execution of the Duke of
Norfolk. But he didn't murderMary of Guise. She fell suddenly
(17:13):
ill and died of dropsy, whichis basically fluid retention. Mary
of Guise was related to theDuke of Anjou, but very distantly.
Henry, Duke of Anjou, whowould become King. Henry III of France
never actually traveled toEngland to call the Queen that on.
It fell instead to his youngerbrother, Francois, who became Duke
of Anjou in 1576 and was theonly one of Elizabeth's many suitors
(17:37):
to court her in person. Butthis happened much later in Elizabeth's
reign, when she was 46 and hewas 24, and Elizabeth did not shave
her head, put on white makeupand begin England's golden age dressed
as Gloriana, the Virgin Queen.Four years into her reign, she caught
smallpox and the scarring wasso bad she covered it with white
(17:58):
makeup, which was actuallycarcinogenic. The actual golden age
came 30 years into her reignwith the defeat of the Spanish Armada,
or alternatively, in 2007,with the release of the sequel, Elizabeth,
the Golden Age. Now, ofcourse, all of this doesn't mean
that everything isn'taccurate, though the general political
tension between Catholics andProtestants at the time is simplified
(18:21):
but fairly true to life. Thethreat from Francis, Mary of Guise,
and of a possible overthrow byher daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots,
was a real concern. DuringElizabeth's early reign, there was
heavy pressure from the courtand Elizabeth's closest advisors
to marry and produce an heiras soon as possible with her late
half sister, Mary's widower,the Catholic Philip II of Spain.
(18:44):
One of the frontrunners,Elizabeth was seen to be considering
the offers of marriage, butshe knew that as soon as she took
her husband, her power wouldbe immediately diminished, which
is exactly what had happenedto her elder sister Mary. The excommunication
from the Vatican was aresponse to Elizabeth's religious
policies over more than adecade, rather than an immediate
(19:05):
reaction to her coronation asdepicted in the movie. England was
excommunicated by Pope pius Vin 1570, about 12 years into Elizabeth's
reign. This declared herillegitimate as queen, release her
subjects from any allegianceto her, and encourage Catholics to
depose her. There wasbasically a bounty on Elizabeth's
(19:26):
head from the head of theCatholic Church. The excommunication
came after Elizabeth hadalready established the Protestant
Church of England andimplemented religious settlements
that restored Protestantpractices after her Catholic sister
Mary's reign. It hadsignificant consequences for English
Catholics, though, forcingthem to choose between religious
loyalty to Rome and politicalloyalty to the queen. It also increased
(19:50):
tensions between England andCatholic powers like Spain, contributing
to the political climate thateventually led to the Spanish Armada
in 1588. The woman kingdoesn't look quite so inaccurate
now, right? I'm being a littlefacetious here, but my point being
historical accuracy isn'tsomething movies like this are particularly
(20:10):
known for. Michael Hirst wastasked with writing a biographical
historical drama, but it alsohad to be compelling and interesting.
So some events were made up,some were moved around, but the focus
was always on Elizabeth andhow she grew into becoming the influential
queen she became. DirectorShekhar Kapur was known for his cult
classic debut, Massoum, in1983, and then gained widespread
(20:34):
international recognition withBandit Queen, the biographical action
adventure about infamousIndian bandit and politician Fulan
Demi. He openly admitted hewasn't interested in the history
of Queen Elizabeth, but moreon the emotional and psychological
truth of Elizabeth's situationthan with strict historical accuracy.
Kapur has spoken about how hisown background as an Indian director
(20:57):
gave him a differentperspective on England's religious
history. He has suggested thatcoming from outside of Britain allowed
him to approach the materialwithout some of the ingrained cultural
attitude that might influenceBritish filmmakers. Kapur admitted
to deliberately usingreligious imagery and iconography
throughout the film to showthe blending of politics and religion
(21:18):
in Tudor England, and also tohighlight Elizabeth's own transformation
into a figure who incorporatedelements of both Protestant and Catholic
visual symbolism in craftingher image as the Virgin Queen. But
of course, the casting ofElizabeth herself was the most crucial
decision that Kapur andcasting directors Simone Ireland
and Vanessa Pereira had tomake. Emily Watson was first choice
(21:42):
for the role, but she turnedit down to star in Hillary and Jackie.
Kapur saw a trailer for themovie Oscar and Lucinda and lead
actress Cate Blanchett.Blanchett was primarily known in
her native Australia for hertheater work and smaller film and
TV roles. This was Blanchettinternational breakthrough role,
and her performance earned heran Academy Award nomination. The
(22:03):
production took a risk on therelatively unknown Blanchett, which,
as always with Cate Blanchett,paid off tremendously. Generally
speaking, if you go to a CateBlanchett movie, you know she's going
to be great. At the veryleast, even in Borderlands. And the
idea of an Indian director andan Australian lead actor might have
caused a few raised eyebrowsin the British film industry. The
(22:25):
idea that they could fully beable to tell a very English story,
especially with Kapur openlynot being that interested in the
actual history. But Kapurcleverly filled the rest of the cast
with great British film andtheater actors, bringing gravitas
to the sometimes smallerroles, like legendary stage and screen
actor Sir John Gielgud as PopePius V and the excellent Kathy Burke
(22:49):
as Queen Mary. Even EricCantona, famous French footballer,
got in there as Paul du Foix.But mostly it was having Geoffrey
Rush, who would also star inShakespeare in Love that year too,
as Francis Walsingham, who isjust excellent in this movie. Christopher
Eccleston isn't given much todo as the Duke of Norfolk, but Kapoor
told him to just walkmenacingly, so he walks a lot. There's
(23:12):
also a blink and you'll missit cameo from British pop star Lily
Allen, who was 12 at the timeas one of Elizabeth's ladies in waiting,
and also her brother, actorAlfie Allen, best known for his role
as Theon Greyjoy in Game ofThrones, as Arundel's son. Their
mother, Alison Owen, was oneof the producers of this movie. So
principal photography began on2 September 1997 and finished on
(23:37):
2 December 1997. The recurringmotif of the movie was, shall we
say, style over substance, ifsubstance was historical accuracy.
The production designer wasJohn Meyer, who crafted a distinctive
visual approach that balancedhistorical atmosphere with artistic
intelligence interpretation.Rather than aiming for perfect period
(23:57):
accuracy, Maya developed astylized Tudor world. The buildings
were medieval rather thantypically Tudor, with stone walls
instead of wood beams. But thefilm did use authentic historical
locations wherever possible.Durham Cathedral provided the massive
stone corridors and interiorsthat represented parts of Westminster,
while Haddon hall inDerbyshire served as one of Elizabeth's
(24:20):
residences. York Minster andAlnwick Castle were also featured
prominently, and the interiorswere deliberately designed to feel
cold and imposing. Theproduction team used a lot of stone
and dark woods and oftenemphasized the height and scale of
rooms to make Elizabeth seemvulnerable, especially in the early
scenes of the movie. As thefilm progresses and Elizabeth gains
(24:42):
power, the spaces she occupiesbegin to feel slightly smaller and
more controlled. Many of thecostumes, while again highly stylized,
are based on period sourcesand portraits, most famously Elizabeth's
coronation portrait. Thecostume designer was Alexandra Byrne.
She would end up earning anAcademy Award nomination for her
(25:02):
work on this movie. Byrne usedcostumes not just for historical
context, but also as a visuallanguage to tell Elizabeth's story
of transformation from avenerable young woman to to a powerful
monarch through deliberatecolor progression and design evolution.
At the beginning of the movie,Elizabeth wears soft fabrics and
light colours, reflecting herrelative naivety and innocence, as
(25:25):
well as a pretty carefreelife. Just being the young Elizabeth,
she can frolic in fields withher ladies and frolic in rooms with
Robert Dudley. Her costumes atthe start are more relaxed in style
and less regal and proper.After Elizabeth becomes queen, the
political pressures mount onthe character and her costumes become
more structured and formal.The colours deepen to rich reds and
(25:47):
darker tones, symbolizing bothher growing power and the political
danger she's almost always in.The final transformation into the
Virgin Queen is a structuredwhite gown with an elaborate rough
collar. Her face is paintedwhite with a bright red wig, creating
the iconic image that woulddefine her reign. This costume is
(26:07):
deliberately reminiscent ofreligious iconography, particularly
the Virgin Mary, visuallyreinforcing Elizabeth's declaration
that she is now married toEngland. Director Shekhar Kapoor
would comment on the criticismof the portrayal of Catholics in
the movie that he wasportraying specific political threats
to Elizabeth rather thanmaking a statement about Catholicism
(26:28):
as a whole. He viewed theCatholic conspirators in the film
as political opponents firstand religious figures second. But
that didn't mean that manyCatholics weren't particularly happy
with the depictions ofCatholics in this movie. And there
never is an easy way to segueinto the obligatory Keanu reference
unless I state that Keanu isnot Catholic and so therefore wouldn't
(26:52):
have been offended by theCatholic representation in this movie.
But this is a part of thepodcast where I linked the movie
that I'm featuring with KeanuReeves for no reason other than Keanu
is the best of men and wouldhave been a great advisor to Elizabeth
I. And really, the easiest wayto link Keanu to this movie is that
Keanu starred with Elizabethherself, Cate Blanchett, In Sam Raimi's
(27:16):
2000 supernatural thriller theGift, which I have not seen, but
I'm guessing it's yet anotherphenomenal Cate Blanchett performance.
So if you have seen the Gift,then let me know. What do you think
of Cate Blanchett'sperformance and is it similarly phenomenal
to everything else that thatwoman does? Because Cate Blanchett
is terrific and obviously sois Keanu Reeves. This score for Elizabeth
(27:37):
was composed by DavidHirschfelder and it would go on to
win the BAFTA Award for BestFilm Music and be nominated for the
Academy Award for BestOriginal Dramatic Score, which it
would lose to the score forLife Is Beautiful. Elizabeth premiered
in September 1998 at theVenice Film Festival and had its
UK premiere on 2 October 1998.It premiered in the US on 13 October
(28:03):
1998. It opened wide in the UKon 23 October 1998 and opened in
a limited release in ninecinemas on 6 November 1998. In the
US it increased to a peak of555 cinemas across the US after several
weeks. It wouldn't peak higherthan eight in the US box office chart,
(28:26):
but it did do well over theThanksgiving weekend of 1998. On
its $30 million budget,Elizabeth grossed at $30.1 million
domestically in the US and$52.1 million worldwide, for an $82.2
million worldwide gross.Elizabeth also has a score of 84%
(28:48):
on Rotten Tomatoes andsummarizes it as no mere historical
drama. Elizabeth is a rich,suspenseful journey into the heart
of British royal politics andfeatures a typically outstanding
performance from KateBlanchett. It did receive some criticism
for historical accuracy aswell as accusations of anti Catholicism
(29:09):
depicting the Pope as schemingand other Catholic characters as
dark, cruel, devious. But weneed to move on to awards season
because 1998 was the only yearthe two performers were nominated
for Academy Awards for playingthe same character in two different
films. So we had CateBlanchett, who was nominated for
(29:30):
Best Actress for portrayingElizabeth I in this film, and we
had Judi Dench nominated forBest Actress in a supporting Role
playing Queen Elizabeth I inShakespeare in Love. Judi Dench won
her Best Actress in aSupporting Role for her playing Liz
the first, but Cate Blanchettwould not win for her role in playing
(29:51):
Elizabeth the first. Elizabethwas nominated for seven Academy Awards,
including Best Picture, BestActress, Cate Blanchett, Best Art
Direction, BestCinematography, Best Costume Design,
Best Makeup and Best OriginalDramatic Score. It would only win
for Best Makeup. It would losebest cinematography to Saving Private
Ryan, best original dramaticscore, as I've said, to Life Is Beautiful
(30:15):
and everything else toShakespeare in Love. And here's the
thing. I really likeShakespeare in Love. I think it's
a fun movie and I think it'sreally great. I've done an episode
on Shakespeare in Love. That'show much I like the movie Shakespeare
in Love. But if you comparethe two, there really is no comparison.
The performances of GwynethPaltrow in Shakespeare in Love and
(30:37):
Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth.Cate Blanchett is so much better
in Elizabeth, but there is ahuge story behind Shakespeare in
Love and why it won so manyawards. So have a listen to the episode
that I did on Shakespeare inLove. It is episode 252 of this podcast
and it does go into all ofthat story in quite a bit of detail
(31:00):
because it involves someonewho I very much don't like to talk
about on this podcast. But hewas instrumental in making sure that
Shakespeare in Love won asmany Academy Awards as possible.
Anyway, Elizabeth would alsobe nominated for 12 Baftas and it
would win five, including bestactress and Outstanding British Film.
It was nominated for threeGolden Globes and Cate Blanchett
(31:23):
won the Golden Globe for BestActress as well. The sequel, Elizabeth
the Golden Age came out in2007 and in 2017 Shekhar Kapoor was
working on Elizabeth the DarkAge. He said in an interview with
Variety, quote, it is afuturistic idea that I wrote about
Elizabeth in the future. Thestate of the monarchy and the state
(31:45):
of civilization based on adystopian view of what will happen
in Europe and what will happenin the UK and the Western world.
The recall of the monarchywhich was by then dead and gone.
Why was the monarchy recalledand what was happening? It is a futuristic
idea of why this 18 or 19 yearold girl who is actually a prostitute,
(32:06):
was recalled to the throne,unquote. Now Elizabeth the Dark Age
has seemingly vanished fromWarner Brothers slate though, so
chances are we won't ever seethe very weird, very crazy idea that
Shekhar Kapoor had on screen.While this movie has its inaccuracies,
one thing it does remarkablywell is highlight the reign of Queen
(32:29):
Elizabeth the First andfrankly, how important that reign
was for England and even nowthe UK as a whole. It's also visually
stunning and Cate Blanchett isa literal queen. And I mean it when
I say that if I see CateBlanchett in a cast, I feel like
I know she's at least going tobe good. Even if the Rest of the
movie around her isn't. She isone of the greatest actors of her
(32:50):
generation for good reason.And it really all stemmed from Elizabeth.
She is spirited and beautifuland regal and just embodies the queen
in such a way that she is thevisual representation that we all
have now for the youngElizabeth. All cheekbones, English,
rose complexion, fierystrawberry blonde hair. And while
she may not be as physicallybadass as Viola Davis's Naniska was
(33:14):
in the last episode, the womanking Elizabeth brings her intelligence
and her political prowess tothe forefront to deal with a society
that didn't value her, didn'twant her as queen, even though she
was technically a princess andthen a queen, just because she was
a woman and they were men. Itmay not be completely historically
accurate, but Elizabeth isempowering and feels modern in how
(33:37):
she has to work 10 times ashard as any man to be listened to.
Ask any woman in your life,she'll get it. Her sister may have
been the first queen in herown right, but Elizabeth showed the
world how it was done anddidn't want to have to share her
power with any king consort.But you believe it from Blanche's
portrayal, Elizabeth was abadass queen. She established a model
(34:01):
of pragmatic governance thatprioritised stability and national
interest over ideologicalpurity. She navigated Catholic and
Protestant powers whilemaintaining England's independence
and sovereignty. Her approachto governance, which was consulting
advisors while retaining finalauthority, demonstrated her effective
leadership that balancedconsultation with decisive action.
(34:23):
Under Elizabeth, England beganits transformation from a relatively
minor European kingdom to asignificant naval force. Sir Francis
Drake's circumnavigation ofthe globe and the defeat of the Spanish
Armada in 1588 marked pivotalmoments in England's rise as a seafaring
nation, setting the stage forits later empire. While most of the
(34:44):
attempts to establish overseascolonies during her reign were unsuccessful,
the English navy grew and bythe end of her reign, England was
the greatest sea power in theworld. Culturally, the Elizabethan
Age represents some of thebest and most well known of English
arts and literature. WilliamShakespeare, Christopher Marlowe,
Edmund Spenser and many othersproduce works that remain cornerstones
(35:07):
of English literature.Elizabeth was an active patron of
the arts, as she understoodtheir importance in projecting royal
power and national identity.Religiously, Elizabeth forged what
became known as theElizabethan settlement, finding a
middle path between Catholicand Protestant extremes. This compromise,
while imperfect, prevented thekind of devastating religious wars
(35:30):
that ravaged continentalEurope. The Church of England as
we know it today owes much toto Elizabeth's pragmatic approach
to religion. Elizabeth alsoheld forge a sense of English national
identity that transcendedreligious divine. Her famous Tilbury
speech before the SpanishArmada, I know I have the body of
a weak and feeble woman, but Ihave the heart and stomach of a king
(35:54):
exemplified how she connectedher personal rule with national destiny.
Her decision to remainunmarried and rule in her own right,
becoming the Virgin Queenmarried to England instead of a man,
created a powerful politicalmythology that influenced how monarchy
was understood. As Imentioned, she knew her brand. Her
reign demonstrated that awoman could rule effectively in her
(36:16):
own right and challengedprevailing notions about gender and
power. Put simply, England hashad notorious infamous monarchs like
Henry viii, but QueenElizabeth I was the first in a line
of monarchs who modernized andchanged the country. I don't think
it's a coincidence that themost famous monarchs in English and
British history are allqueens. Two of them are called Elizabeth,
(36:41):
the other is Victoria. TheVictorian era was a time of great
wealth and power for GreatBritain and saw significant scientific
and technological development.And obviously the late Queen Elizabeth
II may not have overseen amassive empire, but she navigated
the country through post warBritain and became the national symbol
for the keep calm and carry onaesthetic. Watching this movie, it's
(37:02):
easy to see how life here inBritain could have been so very different.
Had Elizabeth either notascended to the throne or had anything
happened during her reign tooverthrow her, we might have easily
become a Catholic countryagain. There would be no Church of
England. She could have easilymarried and had an heir and the Royal
family would look verydifferent. She could have buried
(37:23):
the King of Spain and we couldstill be in a historic alliance with
the Spanish. Who knows? Ourlives today in the UK are so intrinsically
linked to Elizabeth's reignand this movie is a great interpretation
of that life. Basically whatI'm saying is yes Queen, thank you
for listening. As always, Iwould love to hear your thoughts
(37:44):
on Elizabeth and as always,thank you for your continued support
of this podcast. If you haveenjoyed this podcast and you want
to take a moment to help thispodcast grow, you could tell your
friends and family about thispodcast. You could leave a rating
or review wherever you foundthis podcast. And if you want to
help share this podcast andget it out there, you could find
(38:05):
me on social media. Iam@VerbalDiorama on all of the social
medias and you can like postson social media, you can share posts,
you can comment on post. Everylittle helps in spreading the word
of this podcast. And if youlike this episode on Elizabeth, you
might also like episode 252 onShakespeare in Love. It is a drastically
(38:26):
different movie in everyrespect, but it's also got Elizabeth
the first in it and it is thelegendary Dame Judi Dench, so why
would you not? So the nextepisode, Elizabeth the Queen is definitely
a template for modern women,but it's also really hard to make
a true story when your subjectis long past. So about another absolute
(38:51):
badass with a true story whowas still alive to not only consult
on the movie of her incredibletrue story of David and what's his
name, but also have a littlecameo in the movie too. Coming next
week, the accuracy rate shootsup for the true story of how an unemployed
single mother took down abillion dollar corporation for groundwater
(39:15):
contamination in Hinckley,California. The next episode is on
the history and legacy and the98% accurate according to her movie
of the story of ErinBrockovich. I really love that movie.
So please join me for the nextepisode on Erin Brockovich. And I
always say this podcast isfree and it always will be free.
(39:36):
There will never be any chargeto listen this podcast. It is not
free to make a podcasthowever, and I do rely on some incredibly
generous people to help fundthis podcast. You are under no obligation
to join them, but if you wishto do so, there are two ways you
can do that. You can go toverbaldiorama.com tips and give a
one off tip. Or you can go toverbaldiorama dot com patreon and
(39:59):
you can join the incrediblepatrons of this podcast. Claudia,
Simon, Laurel, Derek, Katie,Andy, Mike, Luke, Michael, Scott,
Brendan, Lisa, Sam, Jack,Dave, Stuart, Nicholas, so, Kev,
Pete, Heather, Danny, Ali,Stu, Brett, Philip M, Michelle, Zenos,
Sean, Rhino, Philip K, Adam,Elaine, Kyle and Aaron. If you want
(40:21):
to get in touch you can emailverbaldioramail.com you can also
go to my website which isverbaldiorama.com and fill out the
contact form. You can alsofind every single episode on there.
And you can also see a littlebit about me as well. You can also
find bits that I do atfilmstories.co.uk, you can find articles
and magazines and all sorts ofreally fun things. And finally.
(42:51):
Bye.
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