Elizabeth I
Apr. 26th, 2006 11:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shipperxFirst off thanks ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
queenofthorns for responding when I whined in her LJ about missing the HBO airing of Elizabeth I. She responded by telling me that it would re-air. I don't actually have HBO, but my parents do so when I went to my parents for dinner tonight I checked out TiVo and set it to record. As luck would have it, Elizabeth I was airing tonight on one of the HBOs. I couldn't stick around at my parent's home until midnight watching both episodes tonight, but I did catch the first episode and set the TiVo to record the second half.
I will say that I appear to be a shipper of Elizabeth and Dudley no matter which production of the story I watch (see icon). It was a fascinating, complex, difficult to pin-down relationship full of contradictions. In short, it always but always makes fascinating viewing. It's always a degree of their toying with each other and a degree of their needing one another and -- yes -- loving one another. Each production is a little different, but it always makes for great dramatic dissection.
Strangely, I find Helen Mirrin's Elizabeth to be far less... I don't know. She seems more uncertain of herself than I would have expected for a HM Elizabeth. In some ways, this is probably more true to the actual Elizabeth than Anne Marie-Duff's spitfire of a queen. I think Anne Marie-Duff's is contemporary and fun to watch portrayal, but Helen Mirrin's has a degree of believability. Descriptions of Elizabeth that I have read in biographies seem to indicate that she was in fact as tempermental as Anne Marie Duff's version of Elizabeth but also that she was as indecisive as Helen Mirrin's version. However, though she was indecisive, I think that the Elizabeth I version of Elizabeth tends to give a bit TOO much weight to Dudley as far as politics are concerned. While there's little doubt that Elizabeth was completely tied up with him emotionally and did in fact even place him as the protector of the throne when she appeared to be dying of smallpox, the stuff I've read in the Weir biographies of her indicates that as far as politics were concerned it was William Cecil not Robert Dudley that she turned to for advice. As enraptured as Elizabeth might become with her lovers, she seemed to keep politics as her own domain. I don't think she would have depended on Dudley politically as Mirrin's version is doing. Dudley was far too controversial politically for her to so openly depend on him to give her advice on darn near every decision. In this regard, I think Anne Marie-Duff's portrayal in "Elizabeth, The Virgin Queen" might be a bit closer to fact. Yet many of the flaws in Mirrin's version seem to echo as real from Elizabeth's wry humor to her nervous behavior. Probably, if one could splice the two performaces, the hybrid would be closer to the actual woman who once existed.
On the other hand, Jeremy Irons version of Dudley actually looks more like Dudley. I think odds are good that his version is much closer to who Robert Dudley actually was. 'Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen's' Tom Hardy seemed a bit too smoldering boy band. I gave that a pass in the other series because I tend to think much of young Dudley's appeal was that he was that sort of lust-worthy personage in his time and age. You could understand the allure he presented to Elizabeth in that version, but he did seem to be more of a boy toy. Jeremy Irons version seem to have more of the politcal adroitness that the actual Dudley must have had in order to survive so long.
As with all productions they tend to take liberties with history. Liberties which raised my brow in this production include the scene where they actually had Elizabeth a face to face argument with Mary Queen of Scots. Um, guys, THAT never happened! I suppose it's a decent way to stage the scene rather than reading the letters. But, there really wasn't an actual face to face meeting between them (that said, one of my favorite parts of Part I was Elizabeth's back and forth about signing the death warrant then telling the guy not to give it to the council only for it to go to the Council, then Burghley and Dudley seeing is as being typical of the way Elizabeth would handle things. From the things I've read in the Weir biographies, it does seem rather in character for Elizabeth.) And the other scene I had reservations about was Dudley telling Elizabeth she had the heart and stomach of a King only for her to turn around and use the line in her famous speech. Yeah, she said it (or at least wrote it at a later date). I'm not sure that it's fair to credit Dudley with giving her the phrase (I did, on the other hand, enjoy this staging of her speech before the Armada in this version. It highlighted more of Elizabeth's tendency to play to the crowds). On the other hand, I thought Dudley dying in her arms with his making Essex swear to protect her was somewhat overdone. I preferred the visceral reaction Anne Marie Duff's Elizabeth had upon the news of Dudley's death. In this case, accuracy goes to 'Elizabeth, The Virgin Queen' because they showed that Elizabeth was informed of Dudley's death after the fact and the way she locked herself in her room for days after being told of his death. Since that did in fact happen (and did a good job of showing how much she truly had loved him), I rather disliked the staging of her holding him as he died and then totally skipping over her locking herself in her room phase. I think it was dramatic (and ironic) enough that in ACTUAL history his death came on the heels of her greatest triumph, such that she was plunged into grief even as the kingdom was celebrating. Wasn't sure that it needed the extra embellishment of the death scene with Dudley, Elizabeth, and Essex.
My only other criticism was the graphic nature of the stuff. I really, REALLY didn't need to see the traitor being disemboweled. I know, I know. They did that sort of thing, but I'm a wuss and I don't want to see it, okay? Because there's simply not enough ew in the world.
Anyway, quibbles aside, I thought it was a very classy and well acted production, and I can't wait for the next ep because this Essex is very pretty... and he's gonna go all ape-shit!
queenofthorns for responding when I whined in her LJ about missing the HBO airing of Elizabeth I. She responded by telling me that it would re-air. I don't actually have HBO, but my parents do so when I went to my parents for dinner tonight I checked out TiVo and set it to record. As luck would have it, Elizabeth I was airing tonight on one of the HBOs. I couldn't stick around at my parent's home until midnight watching both episodes tonight, but I did catch the first episode and set the TiVo to record the second half.I will say that I appear to be a shipper of Elizabeth and Dudley no matter which production of the story I watch (see icon). It was a fascinating, complex, difficult to pin-down relationship full of contradictions. In short, it always but always makes fascinating viewing. It's always a degree of their toying with each other and a degree of their needing one another and -- yes -- loving one another. Each production is a little different, but it always makes for great dramatic dissection.
Strangely, I find Helen Mirrin's Elizabeth to be far less... I don't know. She seems more uncertain of herself than I would have expected for a HM Elizabeth. In some ways, this is probably more true to the actual Elizabeth than Anne Marie-Duff's spitfire of a queen. I think Anne Marie-Duff's is contemporary and fun to watch portrayal, but Helen Mirrin's has a degree of believability. Descriptions of Elizabeth that I have read in biographies seem to indicate that she was in fact as tempermental as Anne Marie Duff's version of Elizabeth but also that she was as indecisive as Helen Mirrin's version. However, though she was indecisive, I think that the Elizabeth I version of Elizabeth tends to give a bit TOO much weight to Dudley as far as politics are concerned. While there's little doubt that Elizabeth was completely tied up with him emotionally and did in fact even place him as the protector of the throne when she appeared to be dying of smallpox, the stuff I've read in the Weir biographies of her indicates that as far as politics were concerned it was William Cecil not Robert Dudley that she turned to for advice. As enraptured as Elizabeth might become with her lovers, she seemed to keep politics as her own domain. I don't think she would have depended on Dudley politically as Mirrin's version is doing. Dudley was far too controversial politically for her to so openly depend on him to give her advice on darn near every decision. In this regard, I think Anne Marie-Duff's portrayal in "Elizabeth, The Virgin Queen" might be a bit closer to fact. Yet many of the flaws in Mirrin's version seem to echo as real from Elizabeth's wry humor to her nervous behavior. Probably, if one could splice the two performaces, the hybrid would be closer to the actual woman who once existed.
On the other hand, Jeremy Irons version of Dudley actually looks more like Dudley. I think odds are good that his version is much closer to who Robert Dudley actually was. 'Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen's' Tom Hardy seemed a bit too smoldering boy band. I gave that a pass in the other series because I tend to think much of young Dudley's appeal was that he was that sort of lust-worthy personage in his time and age. You could understand the allure he presented to Elizabeth in that version, but he did seem to be more of a boy toy. Jeremy Irons version seem to have more of the politcal adroitness that the actual Dudley must have had in order to survive so long.
As with all productions they tend to take liberties with history. Liberties which raised my brow in this production include the scene where they actually had Elizabeth a face to face argument with Mary Queen of Scots. Um, guys, THAT never happened! I suppose it's a decent way to stage the scene rather than reading the letters. But, there really wasn't an actual face to face meeting between them (that said, one of my favorite parts of Part I was Elizabeth's back and forth about signing the death warrant then telling the guy not to give it to the council only for it to go to the Council, then Burghley and Dudley seeing is as being typical of the way Elizabeth would handle things. From the things I've read in the Weir biographies, it does seem rather in character for Elizabeth.) And the other scene I had reservations about was Dudley telling Elizabeth she had the heart and stomach of a King only for her to turn around and use the line in her famous speech. Yeah, she said it (or at least wrote it at a later date). I'm not sure that it's fair to credit Dudley with giving her the phrase (I did, on the other hand, enjoy this staging of her speech before the Armada in this version. It highlighted more of Elizabeth's tendency to play to the crowds). On the other hand, I thought Dudley dying in her arms with his making Essex swear to protect her was somewhat overdone. I preferred the visceral reaction Anne Marie Duff's Elizabeth had upon the news of Dudley's death. In this case, accuracy goes to 'Elizabeth, The Virgin Queen' because they showed that Elizabeth was informed of Dudley's death after the fact and the way she locked herself in her room for days after being told of his death. Since that did in fact happen (and did a good job of showing how much she truly had loved him), I rather disliked the staging of her holding him as he died and then totally skipping over her locking herself in her room phase. I think it was dramatic (and ironic) enough that in ACTUAL history his death came on the heels of her greatest triumph, such that she was plunged into grief even as the kingdom was celebrating. Wasn't sure that it needed the extra embellishment of the death scene with Dudley, Elizabeth, and Essex.
My only other criticism was the graphic nature of the stuff. I really, REALLY didn't need to see the traitor being disemboweled. I know, I know. They did that sort of thing, but I'm a wuss and I don't want to see it, okay? Because there's simply not enough ew in the world.
Anyway, quibbles aside, I thought it was a very classy and well acted production, and I can't wait for the next ep because this Essex is very pretty... and he's gonna go all ape-shit!
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no subject
Date: 2006-04-27 10:17 am (UTC)I tend to expect anything funded by someone in the U.S. to take a lot of liberties with historical dramas and since HBO packaged this is a great love between Elizabeth and Essex (which of course it was)I wasn't overly surprised to have him die in her arms, giving her all sorts of sage advice. etc. I've never quite figured out why writers can't leave the actual events, which IMO were pretty dramatic themselves, alone but feel the urge to gussy them up and make them different than any production that came before.
Now the disembowelment scene didn't bother me too much because I thought it looked a little fake but Mary's unpleasant death was a little too graphic for my taste and I had to warn someone on my flist not to let her son watch it. BTW, Essex, as you know, meets a sticky death and again HBO goes for the graphic detail. Be advised.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-27 02:22 pm (UTC)Pirates of the CarribeanElizabethan Torture ride. And, I admit, I turned my head and didn't watch Mary's death. I'm squeamish about that sort of thing and just hearing it was bad enough.no subject
Date: 2006-04-27 09:47 pm (UTC)As much as I love Helen Mirren (and I do), I think I prefer Ann Marie Duff's portrayal. Her Elizabeth showed a lot of shrewdness and flashes of true insight that the Helen Mirren Elizabeth doesn't seem to have.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-27 10:33 pm (UTC)I think (naturally so) that Mirrin's version simply LOOKS more naturally the correct age for many of the events in this version (wasn't Elizabeth in her late forties when negotiating with the Duke of Anjou (sp) and Anne Marie Duff's "older Elizabeth" looked far more artificial. Plus, Mirrin's weariness in making some of these terrible decisions works. Still, overall, I tend to prefer Anne Marie Duff's more shrewd and mercurial version. All accounts that I've read have held that Elizabeth was EXTREMELY intelligent.