Elizabeth (1998)

Em: 00:02:05

Hi, everyone. I'm Em, and welcome to verbal diorama, episode 291, Elizabeth.

This is the podcast that's all about the history and legacy of movies you know and movies you don't. That may be a woman, Sir William, but if I choose, I have the heart of a man. I am my father's daughter. I am not afraid of anything.

As always, welcome to Verbal Diorama. Whether you are a brand new listener to this podcast, whether you are a regular returning listener, welcome back to this podcast.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for choosing to listen to this podcast out of all of the movie podcasts you could possibly be listening to right now.

I am so happy to have you here for the history and legacy of Elizabeth. And just FYI, I am currently recovering from a bit of a cold, so my voice isn't working as well as it usually is, so it's a little bit husky today.

I do apologize 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 doing during this episode. But of course, I wanted to get this episode recorded as soon as I possibly could because it is women's history month.

And this month on Verbal Diorama is celebrating women from all walks of life, from warriors to queens to single mothers and to women in sport. Last week we had the story of the warrior women of Dahomey, the Agoji. And this week, something a bit more English, a bit more Tudor.

Huge thank you to everyone who listens to this podcast, has continued to listen and support this podcast over the last six years.

It means so much to have your support, and I really, genuinely am very grateful that you are listening to this podcast, and even I can tell that my voice isn't right. So I'm hoping that this record comes out okay.

But one of the reasons that I wanted to cover Women's History Month is obviously as a woman myself in podcasting and just generally as a woman, I am inspired by all sorts of women from all different cultures, all religions, all professions. And it made complete sense to me to focus on women in film. And not only women in film, but true stories of women put to film.

Because that's what Women's History Month is all about.

en like me and Girls today in: 2025

But the movie Elizabeth said, hold my beer, because there are things in this movie that either didn't happen at all or didn't happen at the start of her reign when this movie is depicted. I find this movie completely fascinating. I absolutely love this movie. I think it is great. I think Cate Blanchett is great.

But let's go into it, inaccuracies and all. Here's the trailer for Elizabeth.

Em: 00:08:15

When her Catholic half sister, Queen Mary I, dies, the line of succession goes to Elizabeth, the Protestant half sister Mary was not prepared to execute. The new queen finds herself surrounded by advisors, some supportive, but some plotting to restore the Catholic line by almost any means.

She's also under pressure to marry and produce an heir. But her lover, Lord Robert Dudley, is not considered suitable.

Elizabeth realises she has some decisions to make, the most important being the running of her beloved England. Let's run through the cast of this movie.

We have Kate Blanchetti as Queen Elizabeth First Geoffrey Rush as Francis Walsingham, Joseph Fiennes as Robert Dudley, the first earn of Leicester. Richard Attenborough as William Cecil, 1st Baron Burleigh.

Christopher Eccleston as Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk James Frayne as Alvaro de la Cuadra Eric Cantona as Paul de Foy Vincent Cassel as Henry, Duke of Anjou Cathy Burke as Queen Mary I Fanny Ardent as Mary of Guise Emily Mortimer as Kat Ashley, Kelly McDonald as Isabel Knollys Jamie Foreman as the Earl of Sussex, Daniel Craig as John Ballard and John Gielgud as Pope Pius V. Elizabeth was written by Michael Hurst and directed by Shekhar Kapur.

So as I mentioned, the last episode of this podcast was on the Woman King, a truly incredible historical epic that is a must watch if you've not seen it and then the episode is then a must listen. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink. But that movie got quite a lot of criticism levied towards it for historical inaccuracy.

to the kingdom of Dahomey in: 1823

But as a holy British podcast with their British host who used to live in the town where Queen Elizabeth I famously Visited Robert dudley for a 19 day party.

I feel like I am somewhat qualified to tell the story of Elizabeth and how an Indian and an Australian came together to tell a lavish, dynamic version of the story, full of the emotions and essence of history.

As Shekhar Kapoor put it, Elizabeth, the real queen, has mostly been revered throughout history as not only one of our country's longest serving monarchs with a 44 year, 127 day reign, she was also the last Tudor monarch and her reign and its effect on history and culture would lead to an entire era being named after her. The Elizabethan. Unlike her father, whose history has been somewhat revisioned throughout, Elizabeth's has not.

While during his reign he was feared and adored, Henry VIII was actually a bit of a swine and certain modern historians tend to focus more on the many negative things he did, such as his many wives and divorcing, beheading died. Divorcing, beheading survived. But Henry VIII's reign did ultimately influence Elizabeth.

She had no memory of her mother, Anne Boleyn, who was beheaded for adultery when Elizabeth was 2 years old. Like her father, she was highly intelligent. Unlike him, she was vivacious and energetic.

She was fluent in six languages, including Latin, Greek, French and Italian. She once remarked to an ambassador that she knew many languages better than her own.

She was educated in theology, history, philosophy and rhetoric and was an accomplished sportswoman. She wasn't quite the wallflower the movie makes her out to be.

Henry VIII was the one who originally broke from Rome to annul his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon to marry Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn. This decision was retracted when his Catholic eldest daughter, Mary I, ascended the throne.

Mary was known to have executed 300 heretics and was referred to as Bloody mary. She was 37 when she became Queen.

, Elizabeth was imprisoned in: 1554

ird Succession act, passed in: 1543

In: 1558

Events that occurred over many years are presented as happening within a short period. It simplifies years of intricate diplomatic and religious maneuvering into a more straightforward, dramatic confrontation.

Some events in this movie just didn't happen at all. So let's go through quickly what is fact and what is fiction in this movie.

Robert Dudley was indeed Elizabeth's favorite and one of her most trusted advisors and friends. He never betrayed her by being secretly married, nor did he commit treason by working with the Spanish ambassador.

In reality, he remained one of her most trusted advisors throughout her reign, as she knew of his marriage to Amy Dudley.

n mysterious circumstances in: 1560

Whether they did sleep together or not, we'll never truly know for sure, but the movie makes clear that she did and then chose to reclaim her virginity by being married to England. In reality, the rumors of her entanglement with Dudley were damaging and almost cost her the throne.

No man is worth that hassle, not even Joseph Fiennes in a flowing shirt. Many historians think that the whole Virgin Queen title was literally just branding.

But maybe Elizabeth was the influencer of her day and that it was all just clever Tudor propaganda. There were rumors Elizabeth did have children too, and several people were imprisoned for suggesting she had.

king said of Robert Dudley in: 1581

Many unwanted royal children were brought up in the houses of noblemen as changeling children. Usually this happened by male monarchs, but who's to say that Elizabeth also didn't do the same?

Many historians, though, believe she did indeed remain childless for her entire life. William Cecil wasn't an elderly man. He was only 13 years older than Elizabeth. His support for her was kept secret.

But he was also the administrator of her lands, so they didn't need to meet in secret. Elizabeth never forced him into retirement.

Him becoming Lord Burnie wasn't for his retirement, and the following year he was given more power at court as Lord Treasurer.

Similarly, Cat Ashley, Elizabeth's chief lady in waiting, wasn't her age, but actually older than Elizabeth and was a mother figure rather than a friend. Isabel Knollys and Lettuce Howard didn't exist but Lettuce Knollys did. She ended up marrying Robert Dudley. There was no poisoned dress.

It was entirely fabricated. Holding for applause there.

While Elizabeth did have assassination plots against her, mostly to remove her as Queen in favor of her Catholic cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, nothing ever materialized. Okay, I'll stop now.

e Northern earls Rebellion of: 1569

But on his release, he became embroiled in another plot to dethrone Elizabeth, and he was executed for it. Francis Walsingham was exiled as a Protestant and returned as a minor politician before becoming Elizabeth's spymaster.

About 10 years into her reign, he did dissolve numerous plots against the Queen, including one which saw the execution of the Duke of Norfolk. But he didn't murder Mary of Guise. She fell suddenly ill and died of dropsy, which is basically fluid retention.

Mary of Guise was related to the Duke of Anjou, but very distantly. Henry, Duke of Anjou, who would become King. Henry III of France never actually traveled to England to call the Queen that on.

, who became Duke of Anjou in: 1576

But this happened much later in Elizabeth's reign, when she was 46 and he was 24, and Elizabeth did not shave her head, put on white makeup and begin England's golden age dressed as Gloriana, the Virgin Queen. Four years into her reign, she caught smallpox and the scarring was so bad she covered it with white makeup, which was actually carcinogenic.

Armada, or alternatively, in: 2007

Now, of course, all of this doesn't mean that everything isn't accurate, though the general political tension between Catholics and Protestants at the time is simplified but fairly true to life. The threat from Francis, Mary of Guise, and of a possible overthrow by her daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots, was a real concern.

During Elizabeth's early reign, there was heavy pressure from the court and Elizabeth's closest advisors to marry and produce an heir as soon as possible with her late half sister, Mary's widower, the Catholic Philip II of Spain.

One of the frontrunners, Elizabeth was seen to be considering the offers of marriage, but she knew that as soon as she took her husband, her power would be immediately diminished, which is exactly what had happened to her elder sister Mary.

ommunicated by Pope pius V in: 1570

This declared her illegitimate as queen, release her subjects from any allegiance to her, and encourage Catholics to depose her. There was basically a bounty on Elizabeth's head from the head of the Catholic Church.

The excommunication came after Elizabeth had already established the Protestant Church of England and implemented religious settlements that restored Protestant practices after her Catholic sister Mary's reign.

It had significant consequences for English Catholics, though, forcing them to choose between religious loyalty to Rome and political loyalty to the queen.

led to the Spanish Armada in: 1588

I'm being a little facetious here, but my point being historical accuracy isn't something movies like this are particularly known for. Michael Hirst was tasked with writing a biographical historical drama, but it also had to be compelling and interesting.

So some events were made up, some were moved around, but the focus was always on Elizabeth and how she grew into becoming the influential queen she became.

lt classic debut, Massoum, in: 1983

He openly admitted he wasn't interested in the history of Queen Elizabeth, but more on the emotional and psychological truth of Elizabeth's situation than with strict historical accuracy. Kapur has spoken about how his own background as an Indian director gave him a different perspective on England's religious history.

He has suggested that coming from outside of Britain allowed him to approach the material without some of the ingrained cultural attitude that might influence British filmmakers.

Kapur admitted to deliberately using religious imagery and iconography throughout the film to show the blending of politics and religion in Tudor England, and also to highlight Elizabeth's own transformation into a figure who incorporated elements of both Protestant and Catholic visual symbolism in crafting her image as the Virgin Queen.

But of course, the casting of Elizabeth herself was the most crucial decision that Kapur and casting directors Simone Ireland and Vanessa Pereira had to make. Emily Watson was first choice for the role, but she turned it down to star in Hillary and Jackie.

Kapur saw a trailer for the movie Oscar and Lucinda and lead actress Cate Blanchett. Blanchett was primarily known in her native Australia for her theater work and smaller film and TV roles.

This was Blanchett international breakthrough role, and her performance earned her an Academy Award nomination. The production took a risk on the relatively unknown Blanchett, which, as always with Cate Blanchett, paid off tremendously.

Generally speaking, if you go to a Cate Blanchett movie, you know she's going to be great. At the very least, even in Borderlands.

And the idea of an Indian director and an Australian lead actor might have caused a few raised eyebrows in the British film industry. The idea that they could fully be able to tell a very English story, especially with Kapur openly not being that interested in the actual history.

But Kapur cleverly filled the rest of the cast with great British film and theater actors, bringing gravitas to the sometimes smaller roles, like legendary stage and screen actor Sir John Gielgud as Pope Pius V and the excellent Kathy Burke as Queen Mary. Even Eric Cantona, famous French footballer, got in there as Paul du Foix.

But mostly it was having Geoffrey Rush, who would also star in Shakespeare in Love that year too, as Francis Walsingham, who is just excellent in this movie. Christopher Eccleston isn't given much to do as the Duke of Norfolk, but Kapoor told him to just walk menacingly, so he walks a lot.

September: 1997

The recurring motif of the movie was, shall we say, style over substance, if substance was historical accuracy.

The production designer was John Meyer, who crafted a distinctive visual approach that balanced historical atmosphere with artistic intelligence interpretation. Rather than aiming for perfect period accuracy, Maya developed a stylized Tudor world.

The buildings were medieval rather than typically Tudor, with stone walls instead of wood beams. But the film did use authentic historical locations wherever possible.

Durham Cathedral provided the massive stone corridors and interiors that represented parts of Westminster, while Haddon hall in Derbyshire served as one of Elizabeth's residences. York Minster and Alnwick Castle were also featured prominently, and the interiors were deliberately designed to feel cold and imposing.

The production team used a lot of stone and dark woods and often emphasized the height and scale of rooms to make Elizabeth seem vulnerable, especially in the early scenes of the movie. As the film progresses and Elizabeth gains power, the spaces she occupies begin to feel slightly smaller and more controlled.

Many of the costumes, while again highly stylized, are based on period sources and portraits, most famously Elizabeth's coronation portrait. The costume designer was Alexandra Byrne. She would end up earning an Academy Award nomination for her work on this movie.

Byrne used costumes not just for historical context, but also as a visual language to tell Elizabeth's story of transformation from a venerable young woman to to a powerful monarch through deliberate color progression and design evolution.

At the beginning of the movie, Elizabeth wears soft fabrics and light colours, reflecting her relative naivety and innocence, as well as a pretty carefree life. Just being the young Elizabeth, she can frolic in fields with her ladies and frolic in rooms with Robert Dudley.

Her costumes at the start are more relaxed in style and less regal and proper. After Elizabeth becomes queen, the political pressures mount on the character and her costumes become more structured and formal.

The colours deepen to rich reds and darker tones, symbolizing both her growing power and the political danger she's almost always in. The final transformation into the Virgin Queen is a structured white gown with an elaborate rough collar.

Her face is painted white with a bright red wig, creating the iconic image that would define her reign.

This costume is deliberately reminiscent of religious iconography, particularly the Virgin Mary, visually reinforcing Elizabeth's declaration that she is now married to England.

Director Shekhar Kapoor would comment on the criticism of the portrayal of Catholics in the movie that he was portraying specific political threats to Elizabeth rather than making a statement about Catholicism as a whole. He viewed the Catholic conspirators in the film as political opponents first and religious figures second.

But that didn't mean that many Catholics weren't particularly happy with the depictions of Catholics in this movie.

And there never is an easy way to segue into the obligatory Keanu reference unless I state that Keanu is not Catholic and so therefore wouldn't have been offended by the Catholic representation in this movie.

But this is a part of the podcast where I linked the movie that I'm featuring with Keanu Reeves for no reason other than Keanu is the best of men and would have been a great advisor to Elizabeth I.

ate Blanchett, In Sam Raimi's: 2000

What do you think of Cate Blanchett's performance and is it similarly phenomenal to everything else that that woman does? Because Cate Blanchett is terrific and obviously so is Keanu Reeves.

zabeth premiered in September: 1998

October: 1998

r the Thanksgiving 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% on Rotten Tomatoes and summarizes it as no mere historical drama.

Elizabeth is a rich, suspenseful journey into the heart of British royal politics and features a typically outstanding performance from Kate Blanchett.

It did receive some criticism for historical accuracy as well as accusations of anti Catholicism depicting the Pope as scheming and other Catholic characters as dark, cruel, devious.

e on to awards season because: 1998

So we had Cate Blanchett, who was nominated for Best Actress for portraying Elizabeth I in this film, and we had Judi Dench nominated for Best Actress in a supporting Role playing Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love.

Judi Dench won her Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her playing Liz the first, but Cate Blanchett would not win for her role in playing Elizabeth the first.

Elizabeth was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress, Cate Blanchett, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Best Original Dramatic Score. It would only win for Best Makeup.

It would lose best cinematography to Saving Private Ryan, best original dramatic score, as I've said, to Life Is Beautiful and everything else to Shakespeare in Love. And here's the thing. I really like Shakespeare in Love. I think it's a fun movie and I think it's really great.

I've done an episode on Shakespeare in Love. That's how much I like the movie Shakespeare in Love. But if you compare the two, there really is no comparison.

The performances of Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love and Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth. Cate Blanchett is so much better in Elizabeth, but there is a huge story behind Shakespeare in Love and why it won so many awards.

So have a listen to the episode that I did on Shakespeare in Love.

It is episode 252 of this podcast and it does go into all of that story in quite a bit of detail because it involves someone who I very much don't like to talk about on this podcast. But he was instrumental in making sure that Shakespeare in Love won as many Academy Awards as possible.

Anyway, Elizabeth would also be nominated for 12 Baftas and it would win five, including best actress and Outstanding British Film. It was nominated for three Golden Globes and Cate Blanchett won the Golden Globe for Best Actress as well.

th the Golden Age came out in: 2007

The state of the monarchy and the state of civilization based on a dystopian view of what will happen in Europe and what will happen in the UK and the Western world. The recall of the monarchy which was by then dead and gone. Why was the monarchy recalled and what was happening?

It is a futuristic idea of why this 18 or 19 year old girl who is actually a prostitute, was recalled to the throne, unquote.

Now Elizabeth the Dark Age has seemingly vanished from Warner Brothers slate though, so chances are we won't ever see the very weird, very crazy idea that Shekhar Kapoor had on screen.

While this movie has its inaccuracies, one thing it does remarkably well is highlight the reign of Queen Elizabeth the First and frankly, how important that reign was for England and even now the UK as a whole. It's also visually stunning and Cate Blanchett is a literal queen.

And I mean it when I say that if I see Cate Blanchett in a cast, I feel like I know she's at least going to be good. Even if the Rest of the movie around her isn't. She is one of the greatest actors of her generation for good reason.

And it really all stemmed from Elizabeth.

She is spirited and beautiful and regal and just embodies the queen in such a way that she is the visual representation that we all have now for the young Elizabeth. All cheekbones, English, rose complexion, fiery strawberry blonde hair.

And while she may not be as physically badass as Viola Davis's Naniska was in the last episode, the woman king Elizabeth brings her intelligence and her political prowess to the forefront to deal with a society that didn't value her, didn't want her as queen, even though she was technically a princess and then a queen, just because she was a woman and they were men.

It may not be completely historically accurate, but Elizabeth is empowering and feels modern in how she has to work 10 times as hard 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 her own right, but Elizabeth showed the world how it was done and didn't want to have to share her power with any king consort. But you believe it from Blanche's portrayal, Elizabeth was a badass queen.

She established a model of pragmatic governance that prioritised stability and national interest over ideological purity. She navigated Catholic and Protestant powers while maintaining England's independence and sovereignty.

Her approach to governance, which was consulting advisors while retaining final authority, demonstrated her effective leadership that balanced consultation with decisive action. Under Elizabeth, England began its transformation from a relatively minor European kingdom to a significant naval force.

feat of the Spanish Armada in: 1588

While most of the attempts to establish overseas colonies during her reign were unsuccessful, the English navy grew and by the end of her reign, England was the greatest sea power in the world. Culturally, the Elizabethan Age represents some of the best and most well known of English arts and literature.

William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser and many others produce works that remain cornerstones of English literature. Elizabeth was an active patron of the arts, as she understood their importance in projecting royal power and national identity.

Religiously, Elizabeth forged what became known as the Elizabethan settlement, finding a middle path between Catholic and Protestant extremes. This compromise, while imperfect, prevented the kind of devastating religious wars that ravaged continental Europe.

The Church of England as we know it today owes much to to Elizabeth's pragmatic approach to religion. Elizabeth also held forge a sense of English national identity that transcended religious divine.

Her famous Tilbury speech before the Spanish Armada, I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king exemplified how she connected her personal rule with national destiny.

Her decision to remain unmarried and rule in her own right, becoming the Virgin Queen married to England instead of a man, created a powerful political mythology that influenced how monarchy was understood. As I mentioned, she knew her brand.

Her reign demonstrated that a woman could rule effectively in her own right and challenged prevailing notions about gender and power.

Put simply, England has had notorious infamous monarchs like Henry viii, but Queen Elizabeth I was the first in a line of monarchs who modernized and changed the country. I don't think it's a coincidence that the most famous monarchs in English and British history are all queens.

Two of them are called Elizabeth, the other is Victoria. The Victorian era was a time of great wealth and power for Great Britain and saw significant scientific and technological development.

And obviously the late Queen Elizabeth II may not have overseen a massive empire, but she navigated the country through post war Britain and became the national symbol for the keep calm and carry on aesthetic. Watching this movie, it's easy to see how life here in Britain could have been so very different.

Had Elizabeth either not ascended to the throne or had anything happened during her reign to overthrow her, we might have easily become a Catholic country again. There would be no Church of England. She could have easily married and had an heir and the Royal family would look very different.

She could have buried the King of Spain and we could still be in a historic alliance with the Spanish. Who knows? Our lives today in the UK are so intrinsically linked to Elizabeth's reign and this movie is a great interpretation of that life.

Basically what I'm saying is yes Queen, thank you for listening. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on Elizabeth and as always, thank you for your continued support of this podcast.

If you have enjoyed this podcast and you want to take a moment to help this podcast grow, you could tell your friends and family about this podcast. You could leave a rating or review wherever you found this podcast.

And if you want to help share this podcast and get it out there, you could find me on social media. I am@VerbalDiorama on all of the social medias and you can like posts on social media, you can share posts, you can comment on post.

Every little helps in spreading the word of this podcast. And if you like this episode on Elizabeth, you might also like episode 252 on Shakespeare in Love.

It is a drastically different movie in every respect, but it's also got Elizabeth the first in it and it is the legendary Dame Judi Dench, so why would you not?

So the next episode, Elizabeth the Queen is definitely a template for modern women, but it's also really hard to make a true story when your subject is long past.

So about another absolute badass with a true story who was still alive to not only consult on the movie of her incredible true story of David and what's his name, but also have a little cameo in the movie too.

Coming next week, the accuracy rate shoots up for the true story of how an unemployed single mother took down a billion dollar corporation for groundwater contamination in Hinckley, California. The next episode is on the history and legacy and the 98% accurate according to her movie of the story of Erin Brockovich. I really love that movie.

So please join me for the next episode on Erin Brockovich. And I always say this podcast is free and it always will be free. There will never be any charge to listen this podcast.

It is not free to make a podcast however, and I do rely on some incredibly generous people to help fund this podcast. You are under no obligation to join them, but if you wish to do so, there are two ways you can do that.

You can go to verbaldiorama.com tips and give a one off tip. Or you can go to verbaldiorama dot com patreon and you can join the incredible patrons 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 to get in touch you can email verbaldioramail.com you can also go to my website which is verbaldiorama.com and fill out the contact form.

You can also find every single episode on there. And you can also see a little bit about me as well.

You can also find bits that I do at filmstories.co.uk, you can find articles and magazines and all sorts of really fun things. And finally.

Speaker B: 00:42:06

Bye.