Elizabeth R (1971)

Glenda Jackson gives a tour de force performance as Queen Elizabeth I in this nine-hour TV miniseries about power, political intrigue, and the ambiguity of a queen's smile. The production traces Elizabeth's reign (1558-1603) from beginning to end, presenting Elizabeth as fetching and callow in episode one and wizened and wise in episode six. In between, she flirts with courtiers, rejects suitors, executes rivals, goes partly bald, defeats the Spanish Armada, and establishes her place in history as a monarch of iron will and astute intellect. There is plenty of action, the cerebral kind, as Elizabeth parries the ambition, adulation, and treachery of the courtiers who orbit her throne. Because of the length of the production, its writers develop Elizabeth's character in-depth, alternately focusing on her disposition of domestic politics, foreign relations, religious rivalries, and attempts to marry her for the benefit of the realm. Considerable attention centers on her relationship with Robert Dudley, her favorite at court, whom she makes master of the horse, privy councillor, and Earl of Leicester. Robert Hardy performs brilliantly as Leicester, although he hardly fits history's description of Leicester as handsome and dashing. When his wife dies mysteriously, the film leaves open the question of whether he murdered her to become eligible for Elizabeth's hand. However, the film also makes clear that Elizabeth will have no man. She is already married -- to England. If there is a major fault in this production, it is hard to find -- so good is the acting and the separate scripts which flow seamlessly one into the other. However, there is a minor one quite obvious to the viewer: All indoor scenes have the fresh look of the videotape used to shoot them, but all outdoor scenes have the weathered look of the film used in their production. This technical fault tends to mar the sense of reality generated by the indoor scenes. Nevertheless, Elizabath R (the "R" is for "Regina," Latin for "Queen") is an outstanding production, probably the best account yet of a queen who ruled like a king. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide