The Young Victoria (2009) as the title might suggest, documents the early life and reign of Queen Victoria. The film is extremely accurate, not just in its portrayal of historical events but also in matters of dialogue and expression. Filming took place at various English landmarks in order to support the accuracy and authenticity. This… Read More The History of: The Young Victoria
Happy New Year all! This month is history on film month, because I have decreed it, and what better way to start than looking at the most filmed British monarch; Elizabeth I. Here is a selection of the more modern filmic depictions of Gloriana (and one early one) and whether they are worth a watch.
If you have not discovered The Head That Launched A Thousand Books I suggest you go there now, it is certainly far more worthwhile than reading this review. Unless of course you’re considering actually watching Raise the Titanic! in which case, do please read on and realise your folly. My recent post regarding films about the… Read More Raise the Titanic!
Since the R.M.S Titanic sank it has become one of the most famous ships in history. Few ships have so captured that public imagination and left such a large cultural impact that a hundred years later films were still being made of it. In the aftermath of the sinking songs were composed, stories were written… Read More The Titanic on Film
Continuing the series on the history of The White Queen, this week is the turn of Margaret Beaufort. The excellent Amanda Hale’s portrayal shows her as utterly dedicated to her son, though it would seem to border on the obsessive, the same of which can be said of her faith and piety. This image of… Read More The History of The White Queen: Margaret Beaufort
I have been quite busy recently, working on my real life job which has kept me away from blogging and such the like. Yet when I checked my emails this morning I found eighteen individual messages asking me to write something on the history around The White Queen. And so…ta dah! This will probably be… Read More The History of the White Queen: Elizabeth Woodville
Quills (2000) is one of the more surprising films I own. It hosts an all star cast featuring Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Caine and Geoffrey Rush, it did well at the box office and gained mostly positive reviews, yet I have yet to meet anyone who has ever heard of it. The film follows… Read More Quills (2000)
Recently I watched The Last Days of Anne Boleyn, part of the BBC Tudor season. It is a documentary but also a debate between historians and authors of historical fiction, trying to piece together what happened to cause Anne Boleyn’s downfall and the events of her last days. While looking at the hows, whys and… Read More Sidelining Jane Seymour
I have studied history for years and throughout it all, until very recently, you will find religion underlying a great deal of societal history. Considering that for a vast amount of time, Europe was predominantly Catholic before changing, in the sixteenth century, to somewhat Catholic with some Protestantism thrown in for good measure; religion is… Read More Joan of Arc on film: The Mad Messenger
Showing the Holocaust on film is always going to be a controversial move for some. There is, after all, so much films can show. They will never be able to capture the horror of the Nazi concentration and death camps or the suffering of those imprisoned there. So I was surprised to watch a film… Read More Presenting the Holocaust: The Devil’s Arithmetic (1999)
