Elizabeth

OSCAR WINNER - 1998
• Best Makeup & Hairstyling

GOLDEN GLOBE WINNER - 1998
• Best Actress (Drama) - Cate Blanchett

BAFTA AWARDS WINNER - 1998
• Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film
• Best Actress - Cate Blanchett
• Best Cinematography
• Anthony Asquith Award for Best Film Music -
David Hirschfelder
• Best Makeup & Hairstyling

CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS WINNER - 1998
• Best Actress - Cate Blanchett
• Best Breakthrough Artist - Joseph Fiennes

Cate Blanchett (in an Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe-winning performance), along with Oscar winners Geoffrey Rush, Richard Attenborough and John Gielgud lead a highly remarkable cast in a thriller of intrigue in the court of one of history’s greatest monarchs, Queen Elizabeth I.

England. 1554. Young, passionate Elizabeth Tudor (Blanchett) comes to the throne amidst bloody turmoil. Among her courtiers are the venerable Sir William Cecil (Attenborough), her lover the Earl of Leicester (Joseph Fiennes), the imperious Duke of Norfolk (Christopher Eccleston) and her advisor Walsingham (Rush). She must learn to weigh her counsel carefully and ignore her private yearnings if she is to keep her crown — and her head.

Relive the majesty and drama of one of history’s greatest monarchs in this stunning production that was honored with 7 Academy Award nominations, including Beat Picture!


TRIVIA:

• 1998 was the only year (as of 2024) that two actors were nominated for Academy Awards for playing the same character in two different films: Dame Judi Dench was nominated (and won) for Best Supporting Actress for playing the elderly Queen Elizabeth I in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE and Cate Blanchett was nominated for Best Actress for playing the young Elizabeth I in this film. Jospeh Fiennes and Geoffrey Rush appeared in both films as well.

• Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley (Sir Richard Attenborough) served Elizabeth for most of her reign as Secretary of State and Lord Treasurer. He continued to advise her up until his death in 1598. He was only 38 years old when Elizabeth I was crowned, not the older man depicted in the film.

• The costuming and shot composition of the coronation scene is based on Elizabeth’s coronation portrait. For example, Elizabeth is shown wearing her hair long. This is historically accurate, as the real Elizabeth was giving the public a sign of her virginity.

• One of four roles for which Meryl Streep was turned down.

• When Prince William becomes King of England, he will be the first English monarch since Elizabeth I to be related to Anne Boleyn. Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales, was related to the Howards to which the Boleyn family was related. The Howards are, in turn, descended from King John and King Edward I.

• Elizabeth reigned for 44 years. Her father, King Henry VIII was king for 38 years. The Tudors reigned for 117 years, of which Elizabeth and Henry reigned for 82.

• The Tudors were the first English house to rule England since the House of Wessex, which were the first to rule all of England. The House of Normandy and Plantagenet (including Lancaster and York) had roots in France. The Stuarts were Scottish, the Hanovers and Windsors (previously called Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) are German.

• According to an interview with director Shekhar Kapur in the DVD special features, Cate Blanchett was chosen to portray Elizabeth after he saw her in several scenes of a promotional video for the film OSCAR AND LUCINDA.

• The film that brought the largely unknown Cate Blanchett to international attention, particularly following her Oscar nomination for the film.

• The film depicts Elizabeth finding out that her lover Robert Dudley had married without her consent. The film’s conflict in this instance is based on Dudley’s second marriage in 1578 to Lettice Knollys, which he concealed from Elizabeth (his first marriage to Amy Robsart had been known to Elizabeth and had died in 1560 under mysterious and suspicious circumstances). When Elizabeth found out in 1579 about Lettice Knollys, she banished Knollys from court permanently and never forgave her. Knollys was the granddaughter of Elizabeth’s aunt Mary Boleyn and it was rumored that Lettice’s mother, Catherine Carey, was conceived as a result of Mary Boleyn’s affair with Elizabeth’s father Henry VIII, though Carey was never acknowledged as Henry’s child by him or Elizabeth. Lettice Knollys’ son Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, was one of Elizabeth’s “favorites” during her later years. He was beheaded in 1601 after a failed rebellion. Lettice Knollys lived until 1634, to the remarkable age of ninety-one.

• This film marks the final theatrical film of Sir John Gielgud.

• The death of Elizabeth I created a constitutional crisis for England. The lack of heir meant the throne passed to James VI of Scotland. Following James, additional crises soon developed. His son, Charles I, was executed following the English Civil War. His grandson, James II was exiled from England. His great granddaughters, Mary II and Anne were the third and fourth women to reign in their own right. Following Anne, the throne was passed to the German Hanovers. All of this occurred within a century of Elizabeth’s death.

• The film’s cast includes four Oscar winners:

- Cate Blanchett (subsequent winner):
2004: Best Supporting Actress, THE AVIATOR
2013: Best Actress, BLUE JASMINE

- Sir Richard Attenborough:
1982: Best Director, GANDHI

- Sir John Gielgud:
1981: Best Supporting Actor, ARTHUR

- Geoffrey Rush:
1996: Best Actor, SHINE

and one Oscar nominee:

- Tim Bevan (subsequent nominee):
1998: Best Picture, ELIZABETH
2007: Best Picture, ATONEMENT
2012: Best Picture, LES MISÉRABLES
2014: Best Picture, THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
2017: Best Picture, DARKEST HOUR

• Marlon Brando was considered for the role of the Pope. The part ultimately went to Sir John Gielgud. This was also the third and final occasion in Gielgud’s film career where he played a Pope. The other two performances were THE SHOES OF THE FISHERMAN where he portrayed the fictional Pope Pius XIII and THE SCARLET AND THE BLACK where he portrayed the real-life Pope Pius XII.

• 1998’s only Best Picture Oscar nominee to not be nominated for Best Director or in either of the writing categories.

• Director Shekhar Kapur knew nothing about the history of Elizabeth I when he signed on to direct this film.

• Upon her death, Elizabeth I named James VI of Scotland as her rightful heir. Per his last will, Henry VIII stipulated that if his children all died without heirs, the throne would pass to the Grey’s. Jane Grey was announced as the queen but was deposed by Mary. The Greys were related to Henry through his younger sister Mary, Queen of France through her marriage with Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. The Stuarts were also related to Henry through his eldest sister Margaret, Queen of Scots and her son James IV. Her great-granddaughter was Mary, Queen of Scots who was mother to James VI.

• Nicole Kidman was originally considered for the role of Elizabeth.

• Shekhar Kapur’s first English language film.

• The film was shot in virtually all the castles of North Eastern England.


FILMING DATES: September - December 1997

RELEASE DATES:
- October 2, 1998 (London)
- October 13, 1998 (US premiere)
- November 6, 1998 (US limited)
- February 19, 1999 (US)

1998

R

5050582793611

Oscar Winner

Movie

2018-02-07 21:17:03

1.85:1

123

United States

2010-04-27

1080p

1.85:1

1

A

Snap Case

~$8.16

2025-12-30

2018-02-07 21:17:03