Posts Tagged ‘1500s’

Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)

Monday, May 5th, 2008
Genres: Biography | Drama | History
Countries: France | UK
Actors: MollĂ , Jordi | Rush, Geoffrey | King, Aimee | Blanchett, Cate | Shrapnel, John | Lynch, Susan | McCave, Elise | Morton, Samantha | Cornish, Abbie | McGhie, Penelope | Ifans, Rhys | Redmayne, Eddie | McLoughlin, Stuart | Owen, Clive | Scarborough, Adrian
Directors: Shekhar Kapur
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Nearly a decade after Cate Blanchett drew the attention of audiences and critics alike with ELIZABETH, the Oscar-winning actress returns to the role of the Virgin Queen. Though the protestant ruler has been on the throne for decades in 1585, Elizabeth I’s reign is still under attack from both inside her country and from the continent. Her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots (Samantha Morton), carries the favour of the nation’s Catholics as she schemes for the throne from prison, while Spain’s King Philip II (Jordi Molla) plots an invasion with the power of his famous armada. But Elizabeth is also concerned with the arrival of Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen), a charming pirate and adventurer. Unable to reconcile her feelings with her crown, she encourages Bess (Abbie Cornish), her beloved lady-in-waiting, to pursue a relationship with Raleigh.
Nine years haven’t dulled Blanchett’s ability to play this—or any other—character with an impressive range of fire and tenderness. Her chemistry with the infinitely watchable Owen is one of the film’s highlights. As in ELIZABETH, director Shekhar Kapur doesn’t restrict himself from using artfully constructed shots that aren’t normally used in period dramas. It’s a modern retelling of history, and Kapur and his director of photograpy, Remi Adefarasin, aren’t content to let the film have the standard look of many films in the genre. Costume designer Alexandra Byrne follows the same logic, creating stunning dresses for Elizabeth that draw inspiration both from modernity and the time period. If Blanchett weren’t such a gifted actress, the gorgeous costumes might threaten to overtake her as the star of the film.

Highlander (1986)

Wednesday, March 21st, 2007
Genres: Action | Fantasy
Countries: UK | USA
Actors: Hart, Roxanne | Brown, Clancy | Connery, Sean | Edney, Beatie | North, Alan | Polito, Jon | Gish, Sheila | Quarshie, Hugh | Lambert, Christopher | Diamond, Peter | Hartman, Billy | Cosmo, James | Imrie, Celia | Findlay, Alistair
Directors: Mulcahy, Russell
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Connor Macleod was born in 1518 in the Highlands of Scotland. In 1536, after facing a mysterious, evil opponent, he survives a fatal stab wound and is banished from his village, for they believe his survival is the work of the Devil. Five years later, Macleod is met by Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez, a Spanish swordsman who teaches Macleod the awful truth; he is immortal, one of a race of many who can only die when the head is cut from the body. When one immortal takes the head of another, the loser’s power is absorbed into the winner. Ramirez teaches Macleod the ways of the sword, until Ramirez is tragically killed by Connor’s ultimate opponent, the evil Kurgan, a murderous immortal brute who lusts for the ultimate power of the immortals, “The Prize”; enough power to rule the earth forever. Connor fights his way through the centuries, until the time of the Gathering, when the few immortals who have survived the endless battles come together to fight until only one remains, and that winner will receive The Prize. The time: 1985. The place: New York City. The final fight is about to begin, and in the end, there can be only one.