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From Amazon.co.uk
Helen Mirren reigns supreme in The Queen, a witty and ingenious look at a moment that rocked the house of Windsor: the week that followed the sudden death of Princess Diana in 1997. Diana's death came at just the same time that Prime Minister Tony Blair (played by the bright Michael Sheen) was settling into his new government--and trying to figure out the delicate relationship between 10 Downing Street and Queen Elizabeth II (Mirren). A large portion of the British population was trying to figure out the Windsors that week, as Elizabeth remained stiff-upper-lip and largely mum about the death of the beloved princess. In Peter Morgan's skillful script, we watch as Blair grows increasingly impatient with the Royals, who are sequestered in their Scottish estate while the public demands some show of grief. Prince Philip (James Cromwell, in good form) clumsily decides to take Diana's sons hunting, while a sympathetically-treated Prince Charles (Alex Jennings) displays some frustration with his mother's eerie calm.
None of this conveys how funny the film is, or how deftly it flows from one scene to the next. Director Stephen Frears (Dirty Pretty Things) deserves great credit for that, and for the performances, and for the movie's marvelous sense of well-roundedness; you could see this movie and groan at the cluelessness of the Royals and their outmoded existence, or you might just sympathise with showing reserve in a world that values gross public displays of emotion. But either way, you'll marvel at Mirren, who makes the Queen far more alert and human than one might ever have imagined. --Robert Horton
Product Description
DVD Pathe Distribution, 5060002835128, 2006 UK PAL Region 2
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
47 of 50 people found the following review helpful
By Mr. Ian A. Macfarlane
TOP 100 REVIEWER
Format:DVD
This is a very interesting film, portraying as it does the mismatch between the Royal Family's immediate response to the death of Princess Diana and what a large section of the British public wanted of them. In the week after the accident, public hysteria ran high and, in failing to respond to that, the Family suffered a severe public relations knock. No-one knows more about public relations than spin-crazy Tony Blair and his media manipulator-in-chief, Alistair Campbell, and in the film they are shown to have a far surer grasp of what would 'work' with the public than does the Queen, whose wishes are essentially family-based, centring on an old-fashioned emphasis on privacy and the protection of her bereaved grandsons. But she comes across as a far more sympathetic character than Blair and Campbell. This is partly because of an excellent screenplay and partly because of Helen Mirren's outstanding and uncannily 'right' performance ; partly also because, at this distance, we can see that there is something awful about the disproportionate wildness of the public grief - tons and tons of flowers, hysterical weeping in the streets and so on - which the Queen, a woman from another age whose whole training is based on reserve and control, would find alien and unsettling, particularly as the relationship with Diana had become very strained, for whatever reasons. All of this comes across entirely convincingly in the film. In addition, it tells a very good story and is, in places, unexpectedly funny. So, an unusual film, a one-off, very well done
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By smeng
Format:DVD
I didn't know what to expect from this film at all. But since the film had a strong showing at the Oscars... at least Helen Mirren did, I thought I'd give it a go. Was expecting serious drama but it was actually a very witty take on the royal family during a rather tragic event. It showed a whole different side to the royals and rather realistically too so much so that it could be true. Brilliant lines from the Queen Mother by the way, watch out for those scenes.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Hype as ever follows any film expected and/or actually winning Oscars, Baftas and other awards. Often the critically acclaimed are not as popular with the public, but this film truly deserves all the praise and awards it received.
We all know the story; Dianna dies in a car crash and the public grief the entire country showed while the royals stayed largely out of the way. Are the events shown in the film accurate? I don't know but they certainly could be. Well acted by everyone even down to an uncany impression of Tony Blair, cheesy grin and all, this is a powerful film for most ages. My wife and I took our two children to see this, they were 5 and 8 years and both loved it which I did not expect. My daughter wanted to know more and this started a lot of reading and asking/answering of questions. We've now watched this some three or four times and every time found something new. Its full of emotion as you would expect but it takes you from tears of sadness to tears of joy. A gammut of emotions and truly rewarding.
We all know the story; Dianna dies in a car crash and the public grief the entire country showed while the royals stayed largely out of the way. Are the events shown in the film accurate? I don't know but they certainly could be. Well acted by everyone even down to an uncany impression of Tony Blair, cheesy grin and all, this is a powerful film for most ages. My wife and I took our two children to see this, they were 5 and 8 years and both loved it which I did not expect. My daughter wanted to know more and this started a lot of reading and asking/answering of questions. We've now watched this some three or four times and every time found something new. Its full of emotion as you would expect but it takes you from tears of sadness to tears of joy. A gammut of emotions and truly rewarding.
49 of 53 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Having lived outside the UK for most of the time that has passed since Princess Diana's death, it's interesting to revisit that moment in history from a foreign context, almost as an outsider. Sitting in the cinema this evening, I was struck by the notion that perhaps only Brits can truly appreciate the significance of the British monarchy, and thereby also fully understand what it is that makes this film such a towering piece of cinema.
As another reviewer has pointed out, Elizabeth II is omnipresent, permeating every facet of British society, and it is in its very attention to detail that "The Queen" triumphs. At first I was taken aback by the striking similarity between the actors and their real-life counterparts: Helen Mirren (who deserves the Oscar for this, perhaps her greatest performance) is frighteningly like the Queen in every respect, right down to pronouncing "Diana" with the stress on the first syllable - something only the Queen does. Michael Sheen's Blair was spot on too: that nervous chuckle, the grin, the walk. James Cromwell is uncannily like the Duke of Edinburgh...
I'd forgotten that these events took place almost immediately after New Labour's accession to power, and thinking of things in these terms sheds new light on the significance of the public reaction. The Tories had finally been kicked out of Westminster, there was a great sense of expectation, of change, and the questioning of the monarchy's relevance seems to go hand in hand with that new-found optimism. The film reminds us that Blair at least set out to be a "moderniser", and the Queen even asks whether he is "planning to modernise us".... Read more ›
As another reviewer has pointed out, Elizabeth II is omnipresent, permeating every facet of British society, and it is in its very attention to detail that "The Queen" triumphs. At first I was taken aback by the striking similarity between the actors and their real-life counterparts: Helen Mirren (who deserves the Oscar for this, perhaps her greatest performance) is frighteningly like the Queen in every respect, right down to pronouncing "Diana" with the stress on the first syllable - something only the Queen does. Michael Sheen's Blair was spot on too: that nervous chuckle, the grin, the walk. James Cromwell is uncannily like the Duke of Edinburgh...
I'd forgotten that these events took place almost immediately after New Labour's accession to power, and thinking of things in these terms sheds new light on the significance of the public reaction. The Tories had finally been kicked out of Westminster, there was a great sense of expectation, of change, and the questioning of the monarchy's relevance seems to go hand in hand with that new-found optimism. The film reminds us that Blair at least set out to be a "moderniser", and the Queen even asks whether he is "planning to modernise us".... Read more ›
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
There are several themes to this excellent and most original and interesting film; but what it is about more than anything else is how political regimes and whole dynasties can be undone on account of a single error of judgment. It is only near the end that Her Majesty warns her prime minister that this will happen to him, and happen suddenly and without warning. It had nearly happened to her, he had been the saving of her on this occasion, and her dire prediction for him probably holds an uneasy message for herself too.
At the start the Queen is full of regal self-assurance, neatly putting her boyish and slightly nervous novice of a prime minister in his place by telling him he is sitting where Churchill once sat. In next to no time the positions are reversed, as Blair's acute political antennae tell him that HM is in imminent danger of losing her subjects' allegiance, something that would have been unimaginable only days previously, through trusting her own judgment and listening to the advice of her husband and her mother in respect of how to react to the death of Princess Diana. Throughout the crisis Blair is adroit and sure-footed, the monarch is made to realise bitterly from the newspapers how he has it right and she has been hopelessly at sea, but unlike her family counsellors she has the wit to swallow her pride and retrieve the situation before it slides beyond retrieval. This one incident could have undone a lifetime of unswerving dedication, universally acknowledged, to her country, and put the skids under the House of Windsor itself. Her warning to Blair is really made from a new sense of respect and a shocked realisation of how quickly and brutally the tables can turn. And how right she has been.... Read more ›
At the start the Queen is full of regal self-assurance, neatly putting her boyish and slightly nervous novice of a prime minister in his place by telling him he is sitting where Churchill once sat. In next to no time the positions are reversed, as Blair's acute political antennae tell him that HM is in imminent danger of losing her subjects' allegiance, something that would have been unimaginable only days previously, through trusting her own judgment and listening to the advice of her husband and her mother in respect of how to react to the death of Princess Diana. Throughout the crisis Blair is adroit and sure-footed, the monarch is made to realise bitterly from the newspapers how he has it right and she has been hopelessly at sea, but unlike her family counsellors she has the wit to swallow her pride and retrieve the situation before it slides beyond retrieval. This one incident could have undone a lifetime of unswerving dedication, universally acknowledged, to her country, and put the skids under the House of Windsor itself. Her warning to Blair is really made from a new sense of respect and a shocked realisation of how quickly and brutally the tables can turn. And how right she has been.... Read more ›
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4.4 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
The queen
Simply put Helen Mirren is a star in this film. The structure of the film wasn't my favourite thing but it was enjoyable to watch on the whole.
Published 3 days ago by Bethany
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great fun!
Thought I wouldn't like a film about the Queen. But it is interesting, funny and sad and doesn't poke fun at the royal family at all.
Published 25 days ago by IncaEmmy
5.0 out of 5 stars
the best
helen mirren is simply one of our best actors. I love every thing helen acts in. this is remarkable piece of acting so real. recommend it
Published 2 months ago by bookmoviefanatic
5.0 out of 5 stars
awesome
brilliant film well directed i gave this film a 5 star it was good, ace brill.watched it again and again
Published 2 months ago by Rebecca Weldon
5.0 out of 5 stars
Our Queen
I enjoyed watching Stephen Frears' dramatised account of the Diana crisis of 1997. This film portrays accurately the cleave in a country on a spur of vast and radical left-wing... Read more
Published 3 months ago by T. T. Rogers
4.0 out of 5 stars
Writing as a republican ...
This DVD came to me from my mother. She was and remains a staunch Dianaphile, whereas I am a republican who considers the doings of the Windsor family as peripheral to my life at... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Nicholas Casley
3.0 out of 5 stars
Quite amusing!
It's quite a good film ,although some of the family lack resemblance , otherwise well worth watching especially if you have ever wondered what goes on behind closed doors, as one... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mike Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Queen
What a great movie. This movie reminds us all of the death of Princess Dianna and the disasterous manner in which the Royal Family dealt with this tragedy.
Published 3 months ago by David Weiley
5.0 out of 5 stars
the queen
good flilm enjoyed it helen mirren was the queen most belive able well acted plus the suerport cast all in all a most enjoy able film
Published 4 months ago by chris
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great film.
I'm an English as a foreign language here in Spain so I wanted it to my pupils to practice listening, and I found it cheaper than I can find it in my country.
Published 4 months ago by Santiago Benitez Buitrago
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