Elizabeth I

Overview:

Elizabeth I is a two-part 2005 British historical drama television miniseries directed by Tom Hooper, written by Nigel Williams, and starring Helen Mirren as Elizabeth I of England. The miniseries covers approximately the last 24 years of her nearly 45-year reign. Part 1 focuses on the final years of her relationship with the Earl of Leicester, played by Jeremy Irons. Part 2 focuses on her subsequent relationship with the Earl of Essex, played by Hugh Dancy. The series originally was broadcast in the United Kingdom in two two-hour segments on Channel 4. It later aired on HBO in the United States, CBC and TMN in Canada, ATV in Hong Kong, ABC in Australia, and TVNZ Television One in New Zealand. The series went on to win Emmy, Peabody, and Golden Globe Awards. The same year, Helen Mirren starred as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen, with which she dominated the award season.

Created by:

Status:

Ended

Language:

English

First air date:

9/29/2005

Last air date:

10/6/2005

Key words:

england
virgin
monarchy
royal family
governance
queen elizabeth i
miniseries
queen of england
palace intrigue
historical drama
16th century

Seasons

Season 1

2 Episodes

Cast

Douglas Reith

~ as ~

Jude and 1 more

Helen Mirren

~ as ~

Queen Elizabeth I

Jeremy Irons

~ as ~

Earl of Leicester

Hugh Dancy

~ as ~

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex

Ben Pullen

~ as ~

Sir Walter Raleigh

Simon Woods

~ as ~

Gifford

Charlotte Asprey

~ as ~

Frances Walsingham

Diana Kent

~ as ~

Lady Essex

Geoffrey Streatfeild

~ as ~

Sir Anthony Babington

Martin Savage

~ as ~

Stubbs

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 1 year(s) ago
7
Two films that feature Helen Mirren as the eponymous English queen. I found the first to be the more interesting as it uses her relationship with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester (Jeremy Irons) as the conduit for turbulent times of her reign when she has to consider a marriage with the Duke of Anjoue (Jérémie Covillault) whilst her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots (Barbara Flynn) was the source of malevolent rumours and plots, and thereafter her nation faced the threat of the Spanish Armada. The second focusses more on her supposed relationship with his adopted son, the Earl of Essex (Hugh Dancy) which gives Mirren much more free rein to break away for the better defined historical chronology of the earlier period of her rule. I am not the biggest fan of Irons finding him a bit of a rent-a-grizzle type of one dimensional actor, but here he works well with Mirren, Patrick Malahide's Walsingham and Ian McDiarmid's slightly mischievous representation of her chief minister Lord Burghley. Toby Jones picks up that latter role as his son and successor in her later government as she now starts to fall for the charms of the fiercely ambitious young Essex. Indulged and pampered, she soon realises that she may well have literally nursed a serpent in her bosom. As with the others, Dancy is well enough cast and is quite convincing as the dazzled young man who starts to seek just a bit too much lustre for himself, but there isn't the same degree of plausible chemistry between him and Mirren, nor do the supporting cast have quite so much input to beef up the storyline made more famous by Bette Davis and Errol Flynn (1939). There is some cinematic licence with the history but the gist is authentic enough and these are two enjoyable, if heavily CGI-enhanced, dramatisations that are well worth a few hours.