A chronicle of the life of 18th-century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was revered for her extravagant political and personal life.A chronicle of the life of 18th-century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was revered for her extravagant political and personal life.A chronicle of the life of 18th-century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was revered for her extravagant political and personal life.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 8 wins & 21 nominations total
Andrew Armour
- Burleigh
- (as Andy Armour)
Bruce Mackinnon
- Sir Peter Teazle
- (as Bruce MacKinnon)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe current Duchess of Devonshire invited Keira Knightley to her stately home to inspect artefacts that belonged to the real Georgiana. One of these was her debt book. Georgiana was a gambling addict in real life and racked up considerable debts. Knightley was keen to have this aspect of her character worked into the film but it proved to be a nut that the writers and production team failed to crack.
- GoofsGeorgiana, Duchess of Devonshire was born in 1757. Charles Grey was seven years younger, born in 1764. According to the subtitle, the scene depicting a wager among the young ladies over a footrace between Charles Grey and other young men was held in 1774. Georgiana was correctly seventeen at the time, but Charles Grey was ten. He would have been a boy, not the young man about to attend Cambridge portrayed in the film.
- Quotes
Duke of Devonshire: This will be the mistake of your life.
Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire: No, I made that many years ago. I trust you can see yourself out.
- Alternate versionsParamount Vantage preferred a PG-13 version for the United States and in order to get that rating some cuts and alternate shots were used.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Orange British Academy Film Awards (2009)
- SoundtracksAllemande from French Suite V in G Major
Written by Johann Sebastian Bach
Featured review
More fun in corsets
The latest slice of period drama to grace our screens is this biopic on Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who during the 1770s was patroness of the Whig party and prisoner of a marriage which made her, among other things, suffer the indignity of having her husband's mistress living under the same roof. These heritage dramas are an industry all by themselves; the armies of prop hirers, wig and costume makers, researchers, production designers, location scouts and (mostly) British actors who go to make them must find themselves in almost permanent employ. The BBC does them, the Americans have a go at them, and the public can't seem to get enough of them. The Duchess is a superior example of the genre, though nowhere in the league of Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, and combines the spectacle of Keira Knightley looking glamorous in a range of frocks and wigs, while at the same time honing her acting talents (no more those rictus grins), with the guilty pleasure of following the uncomfortable parallels between the fortunes and indiscretions of the ancestress of Lady Diana Spencer with those of the Princess of Wales herself. Lowering over the whole proceedings is the truly superb presence of Ralph Fiennes's Duke of Devonshire, Fiennes an actor who can convey polite discomfiture or threatening ire with slightest twitch of the mouth. In his hands the Duke becomes far less a melodramatic villain than a product of his time, and you almost feel sorry for him. Go and see The Duchess; only those who have had children will balk at the liberties taken with childbirth and breastfeeding. But not even that will spoil the fun.
helpful•4022
- Rave-Reviewer
- Oct 7, 2008
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Nữ Công Tước
- Filming locations
- Somerset House, Strand, London, England, UK(Devonshire House exteriors)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £13,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $13,848,978
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $190,426
- Sep 21, 2008
- Gross worldwide
- $43,343,384
- Runtime1 hour 50 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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![Ralph Fiennes, Keira Knightley, Dominic Cooper, and Hayley Atwell in The Duchess (2008)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTU1MTQzMjgzNl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNTQxMzk3MQ@@._V1_QL75_UY133_CR0,0,90,133_.jpg)