#1Oct 22nd, 2007
It was filmed at --, London and various locations around the UK. -- was the production designer and the costumes were created by --.
The film premiered --, -- at the --. It opened in wide release in the United States and Canada on October 12, 2007. It will premiere in -- on October 23, 2007 and will open November 2, 2007 in the --.--
Back in 1558, --’s second wife, -- – “Bloody Mary" – had died (Bloody Mary was Queen Elizabeth I's sister. She was so named as she was a Catholic Queen of England despite England being a Protestant nation, and she executed 300 of her Protestant fellow citizens during her reign). They had wed in July 1554, a year after Mary’s accession to the English throne, but the English Parliament had refused to crown him jointly with Mary so he had little power in England. On Mary’s death he had then tried unsuccessfully to persuade her sister and successor, --, to marry him.
Plot
The film opens in 1585; -- Spain is the most powerful country in Europe (and probably the world), with King -- on her throne. Seeing -- England as a threat as well as in retaliation for England's constant piracy of Spanish ships, Philip intends to make war on his long-time enemy in order to take over the land that is now England and add it to what is already Spain, making his daughter -- Queen of England.
Meanwhile, in England, -- (--) is still being pressured to marry by her advisor, -- (--). She is aging in years (she was actually born in --) and, with no child, the throne will pass to her next of kin, her second cousin --. The Queen is presented with many portraits of crowned heads of Europe and princes; these include --, --, an -- and a French prince. As always, Elizabeth refuses to take someone's hand in marriage, particularly that of the young Austrian archduke who has become infatuated with the Queen.
-- (--) is presented at Elizabeth's court, having returned from the --, and offers her some of the New World's riches: --, --, and two --. Raleigh also offers her gold from Spanish ships that he claims could not carry them, but the Spanish ambassadors who are present protest that Raleigh is a pirate and should not be welcomed. Elizabeth commands that the Native Americans should be treated well, but refuses to accept the gold.
Elizabeth quickly finds Raleigh attractive. She becomes enamoured of Raleigh's tales of high-seas adventure and asks -- (--), her most favoured lady-in-waiting, to observe him. Bess also finds Raleigh an attractive man and secretly begins an affair with the explorer.
Elizabeth meanwhile seeks guidance and advice from -- who predicts that two empires will go to war. However, he cannot predict which will triumph over the other, leaving Elizabeth to ponder her fate.
Meanwhile, a -- group in -- conspires with Philip to assassinate Elizabeth and replace her on the throne with -- in what is referred to between Philip and the group as "The English Enterprise", and is known to history as the --. Mary sends secret correspondence from her prison in Scotland to the Jesuits, who recruit -- to assassinate Elizabeth.
Walsingham constantly warns Elizabeth of Spain's rising power and of Catholic plots against her life.
However she, unlike her predecessor and sister --, does not force her people (half of whom remain loyal to --) to share her -- beliefs. Even then, those conspiring against Elizabeth are being hunted and murdered, including Bess's cousin, whom she tries to protect but fails to do so. After learning of her cousin's death, Bess turns to Raleigh for comfort. The barely hidden closeness of Bess and Raleigh causes tension between Elizabeth and Raleigh to mount, testing her desire to keep him in England and increasing his desire to go back to the New World.
Walsingham's brother is a -- who knows of the plot against Elizabeth. It is revealed, though, that Walsingham had known of the plot all along, intercepting letters, and his brother is jailed. He reveals the plot to Elizabeth, who angrily confronts the Spanish diplomats. The top ambassador (Ivan the Terrible) feigns ignorance and accuses Elizabeth of recieving Spanish gold from pirates and insinuating a sexual relationship with Raleigh. She throws them out of court promising to 'strip Spain bare' if Philip attempts to attack England. Meanwhile, Philip is cutting the forests of Spain to build The -- in order to do so.
Mary, Queen of Scots writes a letter condoning the plot. Anthony Babington storms into a cathedral where Elizabeth is praying and points a gun at her. Elizabeth opens her arms, seemingly fearless. He pulls the trigger, and the Queen falls. It is later revealed by the traitor in the torture chamber that there was no bullet in the gun.
Elizabeth learns of Mary's involvement and Walsingham insists she be executed to quell any English Catholic revolt. Elizabeth is reluctant, but nevertheless Mary is tried for --. Mary ascends the block in a blood-red dress, symbolic of Catholic martyrs. She is beheaded on February 8, --.
This officially puts the war with Spain in motion. Philip tries to get approval from the Pope to declare war. The Pope and other Catholic leaders regard Mary as the true Queen of England so Philip was given the just cause of avenging the queen's death and overthrowing Elizabeth's court.
In England, Elizabeth forbids Raleigh from returning to the New World instead knighting him and making him Head of the Queen's Guard. Bess discovers she is pregnant with Raleigh's child and after telling him the news, she pleads him to leave. He chooses not to and the couple marry in secret; at the same time, Elizabeth awakes during a dream as the wedding is taking place. She confronts Bess a few weeks later, who confesses that she is indeed pregnant with her husband's child. An enraged Elizabeth confronts her, reminding Bess that she cannot marry without royal consent. Feeling betrayed, the queen banishes Bess from court and has Raleigh imprisoned for seducing a ward of the Queen. At the same time, Walsingham arranges for his brother, William, who is eleven years Francis' junior, to leave for France on the condition that he never returning to England.
The -- begins its approach across the --, and Elizabeth sets out on the coast in battle armour to rally the troops for a ground invasion. She forgives Bess and sets Raleigh free. The Spanish ships vastly outnumber England's, but at the last moment a -- begins to blow the Armada towards the beaches, potentially wrecking their formation. Dropping anchor, the Armada becomes a sitting duck for English --. Raleigh and Sir -- set their ships on fire and direct their sails to steer into the heart of the fleet while abandoning ship. Elizabeth, back at her coastal headquarters, walks out to the cliffs and watches the Spanish Armada sink in flames.
Philip's plan is shattered, and the Spanish naval fleet suffers their most humiliating loss in history.
As the film ends, Elizabeth visits Walsingham on his deathbed, telling her old friend to rest. She then visits Raleigh and Bess and blesses their child, presumably --. Elizabeth seemingly triumphs personally through her ordeal, consigning herself to being a Virgin Queen but a mother to the English people.
--... --
--... Infanta
--... --
--... Lord Howard
--... --
--... Annette
--... Laundry Woman
--... --
--... Elizabeth Throckmorton
--... Margaret
--... Robert Reston
--... Thomas Babington
--... Savage
--... --
--... Calley
-- (2007) - --
-- (2007) - --
-- (2007) - -- plays the Catholic Queen of Scotland - Mary, Queen of Scots. She was Elizabeth's cousin but tried to murder Elizabeth so she could take the the Throne of England. She was beheaded in 1587.
-- (2007) - Queen Elizabeth I was the Warrior Queen of England, famous for defeating the Spanish, the most powerful country in the world at that time
-- (2007) - -- Queen with Sir Francis Walsingham, her spy
-- (2007) - -- Walter Raleigh
-- (2007) - Elizabeth I and Elizabeth Throckmorton, Sir Walter Raleigh's second wife--
Last edited by Blackleaf; Oct 22nd, 2007 at 12:27 PM..