After the death of Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth II struggles with her reaction to a sequence of events nobody could have predicted.After the death of Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth II struggles with her reaction to a sequence of events nobody could have predicted.After the death of Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth II struggles with her reaction to a sequence of events nobody could have predicted.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 97 wins & 97 nominations total
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaScenes within the Royal household were shot on 35mm film, so they would look lush and cinematic. Scenes within Blair's world were shot on 16mm, so they would look more like television, in order to give visual contrast between commoners and royalty.
- GoofsWhile the Queen does drive herself on her lands, her security is always at a discreet distance; it is inconceivable that she would have to call for assistance, much less, be allowed to be stranded like the average motorist.
- Quotes
Alastair Campbell: They, er, sent a copy of the Queen's speech. Might want to scrape the frost off it first... Oh, I phoned them with a couple of suggestions, to make it sound like it came from a human being.
Tony Blair: Yeah, all right, Alastair.
Alastair Campbell: Well, at least the old bat's finally agreed to visit Diana's coffin.
Tony Blair: You know, when you get it wrong, you really get it wrong! That woman has given her whole life in service to her people. Fifty years doing a job SHE never wanted! A job she watched kill her father. She's executed it with honor, dignity, and, as far as I can tell, without a single blemish, and now we're all baying for her blood! All because she's struggling to lead the world in mourning for someone who... who threw everything she offered back in her face. And who, for the last few years, seemed committed 24/7 to destroying everything she holds most dear!
- Crazy creditsWhen the title first appears, "The Queen" turns her head to look directly into the camera."
- Alternate versionsThere are two versions available: the general, worldwide release and another, edited cut for viewing on TV in Turkey. Runtimes are, respectively, "1h 43m (103 min)" and "1h 34m (94 min) (TV) (Turkey)".
- SoundtracksOf't in the Stilly Night
(Traditional)
Performed by Peter Anderson
Director Stephen Frears recreates one week in 1997 with intelligent, deft strokes. The presentation of Princess Diana is artfully done in news snippets and archive footage, which brilliantly demonstrates the high impact her being had on people. The design of The Queen's home and her surroundings are convincing without being overly showy, and the Alexandre Desplat score is by turns dark, sad, and grand, perfectly summarizing the mindset of those involved.
But the film belongs to Helen Mirren, who takes on of her most challenging roles and showing us that behind the Queen lay a person, and one with feelings. In her role as the reigning lady, she is the epitome of suppressed disappointment and hurt. The Queen chose not to make a parade of her feelings in response to Diana's death, and, though the nation hated her for it, we learn here that it is not because she did not care, but because she honestly thought it the right thing to do.
As a young and newly elected Tony Blair with big aspirations and an even bigger grin, Michael Sheen is freakishly good as the Prime Minister. His performance shows a likable side of the prime minister in his refusal to side with the public over the denouncement of The Queen for her actions, and his attempts to make The Queen limit the damage that she has made is the basis for a very insightful story.
Other delights in this film come in some high-brow one-liners and some other good performances, but the best thing about it is how it manages to make you think, and even empathise with a group of people that you never saw yourself giving a toss about. At under 100 minutes, The Queen is funny, pointed and highly intelligent, showing that, as always, there are two sides to every story.
- PizzicatoFishCrouch
- Sep 26, 2006
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- La reina
- Filming locations
- Waddesdon Manor, Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire, England, UK(fountain garden scene)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £9,800,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $56,441,711
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $122,014
- Oct 1, 2006
- Gross worldwide
- $124,925,340
- Runtime1 hour 43 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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