God Save the Queen. She finally arrived Netflix the final season of The Crownthe first part of season 6 (we told you about it in our review) while waiting for the second one which will arrive in mid-December. But what will happen when we remain orphans of one of our favorite series? Of course, we could start with the rewatch, from season 1 onwards, and many of us will. But, for those who want to remain permeated byunique atmosphere that the Crown brings with it, we propose, without claiming to be exhaustive and remaining on the most recent releases, other stories of great queens. Let’s go in chronological, that is, historical order: from the furthest in time to the closest. With a tasty novelty, the intense film Firebrandpresented at the last Cannes Film Festival and arriving in Italy at the end of February 2024. This is where we start to tell you 5 films about great queens.
1. Firebrand: From Catherine Parr to Elizabeth I, with Alicia Vikander
At the cinema it’s women’s time. A strong and revolutionary woman is the protagonist of /FILM, by Karim Aïnouz, which tells the end of the story of Henry VIII, the lesser-known one, and the relationship between the old and ill-tempered king (a Jude Law unrecognizable, aged and heavy) and his last wife, his sixth, Catherine Parr (Alicia Vikander). She is a story of palace intrigue, inheritance and heresy. But at the heart of the film is the relationship between Catherine and Henry VIII. It doesn’t matter that she is a queen, that she is cultured and sensitive: she is still her submissive. And we see her harassed, beaten, raped by what is a toxic male. Catherine resists, she makes herself strong. And she completes her plan, somehow. Firebrand gives up that patina of elegance that costume films have and recreates the brutality of those times. In the background there is a young princess (Junia Rees) who will become queen, one of her elders, Elizabeth I: at the end of the story she looks into the camera foreseeing her future.
2. Elizabeth: Elisabetta I begins
Yes, that little girl with white skin and red hair who smiles looking into the camera in the last scene of Firebrand it’s her, Elizabeth I. (FILM=/film/elizabeth_947/)Elizabeth”>Firebrand/FILM, by Karim Aïnouz, which tells the end of the story of Henry VIII, the lesser-known one, and the relationship between the old and ill-tempered king ( a Jude Law unrecognizable, aged and heavy) and his last wife, his sixth, Catherine Parr (Alicia Vikander). She is a story of palace intrigue, inheritance and heresy. But at the heart of the film is the relationship between Catherine and Henry VIII. It doesn’t matter that she is a queen, that she is cultured and sensitive: she is still her submissive. And we see her harassed, beaten, raped by what is a toxic male. Catherine resists, she makes herself strong. And she completes her plan, somehow. Firebrand gives up that patina of elegance that costume films have and recreates the brutality of those times. In the background there is a young princess (Junia Rees) who will become queen, one of her elders, Elizabeth I: at the end of the story she looks into the camera foreseeing her future.
2. Elizabeth: Elisabetta I begins
Yes, that little girl with white skin and red hair who smiles looking into the camera in the last scene of Firebrand it’s her, Elizabeth I. (FILM=/film/elizabeth_947/)Elizabeth (1998), staged by the Indian director Shekhar Kapur, shows the beginnings of Queen Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII, and her rise to the throne amidst palace plots, rivals claiming the throne and general distrust. Elizabeth is a woman who is advised to get married to be more respected and stronger. But she doesn’t need it. She ascends the throne while still very young, and it is thus, before the iconography with which she is known, that Elizabeth depicts her: long, loose red hair, white skin, a virginal appearance – this is how Elizabeth is called, the Virgin Queen – and a determination that contrasts with her feminine and delicate appearance. In a film that, at the same time, is refined and powerfulwhich lives on the chiaroscuro of what was the court of the time, making all this possible is a magnificent actress like Cate Blanchett (Golden Globe and BAFTA as best actress). Her face, beautiful and angular, has that queenly demeanor that is needed for the role. Alongside her, other great actors such as Geoffrey Rush and Joseph Fiennes.
3. Elizabeth: The Golden Age, The golden age of Elizabeth I
The iconic Elizabeth I, the one who went down in history, we only see at the end of Elizabeth. But she will be in the picture throughout the following film, Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), in which we follow the growth and reign of Elizabeth I, and his struggles to defend himself from external (Philip II of Spain) and internal (Mary Stuart, who aims to anticipate his succession) dangers. Cate Blanchett is on stage with her hair gathered in a high and fluffy hairstyle, tight in the famous dresses with the unmistakable high showy collars. On stage there is an adult, mature Elizabeth who still renounces love, still the Virgin Queen, to maintain her role, to dedicate herself to her kingdom. She is capable of leading a nation internally and externally, with the famous wars against the other great naval power, the Spanish one. Battle scenes alternate with court scenes, and of the life of a queen who chose to have a role that up until then was male. And to change it forever. Alongside Cate Blanchett there is still Geoffrey Rush and Clive Owen enters the scene. At the Rome Film Festival Cate Blanchett opened thehypothesis of making a third film, about the end of Elizabeth’s story. But it hasn’t happened yet. We would really like to see it.
The Crown 5, the review: the least successful season of the Netflix series, but one that still flies high
4. The King’s Speech: The prequel to The Crown
Yes, we know, and it’s clear from the title. The King’s Speech (2010) by Tom Hooper is a film fully dedicated to a male figure, to that King George (born Albert, Bertie to his friends) who, having boarded the train after the abdication of his brother Edward, found himself King and had to deal with his emotionality and his stutter. But we mention it here because, in fact The king’s speech is the prequel to The Crown, which begins when King George is ill and near death, and Elizabeth a young princess. In some moments of The king’s speech we are lucky enough to see, for a few scenes, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret as children, still carefree, still unaware of the role that one of them will take. And in a review of films to watch later, or together with The Crown The king’s speech it can not miss. A curiosity: here too, alongside the protagonist Colin Firth, there is Geoffrey Rush in the role of the speech therapist Lionel Hogue.
5. The Queen: Elizabeth II, Diana and the reverse shot of The Crown
Of all the films we have told you about, this is perhaps the most important one. Indeed, it is fundamental. Written by that Peter Morgan who is the author of The Crown, and directed by Stephen Frears, The Queen (2006) features Queen Elizabeth II, already mature and reigning for many years. She is a film not to be missed precisely because, at the center, there is an episode that we see in this season of The Crown: the death of Lady Diana Spencer and the Queen’s reaction. The Queen follows the following days experienced from inside Buckingham Palace (and Balmoral Castle, where the Queen was at the time) and from inside 10 Downing Street, the residence of then Prime Minister Tony Blair. The film tells all the hesitation of a disoriented and angry Queen with her daughter-in-law, who had already broken with the Royal Family, and Tony Blair’s diplomacy to convince the Crown to celebrate Lady D., coining the happy slogan “the People’s Princess“. Superb psychological analysis, reconstruction of the period and perfect environments, artfully orchestrated tone and atmosphere make it an unmissable film. And it is also thanks to two great actors: Helen Mirren is a haughty and unfriendly Elizabeth, Michael Sheen is a persuasive and empathetic Blair: they are probably even better than the real ones. It is the reverse shot of the beautiful episode 4 of the sixth season of The Crownwhich shows us history from other points of view. Worth seeing and comparing.