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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2014
The best show about the Virgin Queen yet made. It's more than forty years old now, and it's still better than anything made since. The show of course suffers from the tiny budget available for British television in those days, so it's almost all shot on a sound stage. If you can live with that and haven't seen Elizabeth R, you're in for a treat. Standing alone or as a sequel to Six Wives of Henry VIII it's history at its best. Glenda Jackson becomes Elizabeth, and her supporting cast is equally outstanding. From her ascencion at 25 to her death at 69, every important phase of the great queen's life is portrayed here. Her constant juggling of suitors, knowing that if she married a foreign king she would be relegated to second place, yet more concerned about her country's welfare than her own power. Putting off marrying the man she truly loves, yet insanely jealous when he tires of waiting for her and marries someone else.
Also part of the well-told story is the role played by Philip II of Spain, husband of Elizabeth's older sister Mary I, suitor to Elizabeth herself, and finally the force behind the Armada and the attempted invasion of England. The fleet and the battles are far beyond the meager budget allowed, so the battles are relayed by third-person narrators. Fortunately they are relayed so well that what happened is far more understandable to the viewer than the much more expensive graphics of more recent movies, which looked great but made no sense at all.
Elizabeth R is more than worth the money. If you are interested in the period at all then it, like its companion piece, is a must-have.
Also part of the well-told story is the role played by Philip II of Spain, husband of Elizabeth's older sister Mary I, suitor to Elizabeth herself, and finally the force behind the Armada and the attempted invasion of England. The fleet and the battles are far beyond the meager budget allowed, so the battles are relayed by third-person narrators. Fortunately they are relayed so well that what happened is far more understandable to the viewer than the much more expensive graphics of more recent movies, which looked great but made no sense at all.
Elizabeth R is more than worth the money. If you are interested in the period at all then it, like its companion piece, is a must-have.
