Who Do You Trust? (Elizabeth (Special Edition) (DVD))

Member Name: pjs21

Product:	Elizabeth (Special Edition) (DVD)
Date:	19/10/01 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent film, good short extras

Disadvantages: none

Having only just got myself a DVD player (pjs catches up with the world very slowly) I decided I should probably buy something to watch in it. I had hoped videos would fit if forced, but no such luck! This also means that this is my first ever DVD opinion, so stick with me guys!

So, on a miserable afternoon in London I noticed that HMV on Oxford Street were having a MASSIVE SALE – to use their words. So in I popped, promising myself that I wasn’t going to buy something just because it was in the sale.

Fifteen minutes later I walked out with 4 DVD's, one of which was Elizabeth.

Again, being months behind the rest of the world, I had not seen Elizabeth, but liking most of the people who were in it thought it was worth a go. And at £6.99, even if it was dull as a really dull thing, it was only £6.99 and £19.99+.

Well, what can I say. What a fantastic film. I don't really remember anyone talking about it, or any hype at all, from when it was released in cinemas – what a gem of a movie.

The plot briefly (as I'm here to discuss the DVD, not the movie); The year is 1554 and England is being ruled by Mary of Tudor, Elizabeth's sister. Mary is advised to execute her sister for treason to stop her from coming to the throne, but when it comes down to signing her sisters death warrant, she doesn't.

Mary dies and Elizabeth becomes queen.

What follows is a conspiracy movie with non stop back stabbing and retaliation. Cate Blanchett is perfect as Elizabeth, she is strong and vulnerable at the same time. Her lover is played by the dashing <pjs spits on floor> Joseph Fiennes. Their love for eachother is so strong and you just know that it's all going to go a bit pear at some point. It never lasts in these things.

Other cast include, Christopher Eccleston (Shallow Grave), Kathy Burke (Harry Enfield Shows), Richard Attenborough (he of bad Scottish accent in
Jurassic Park), the late Sir John Gielgud <pjs takes a minutes silence>… and Eric Cantona. Yes that's right. Eric Cantona. He's actually okay in his part as French Ambassador.

The sets/scenery are beautiful, the costumes are big and flouncy as you'd hope.

If you haven't seen it you really should.

And so on to the DVD itself. Now I'm not a technically minded person and the numbers on the back mean absolutely nothing to me, but for those of you who they do, here they are. For those who don’t want to know – turn away NOW!

Audio Content: English 5.1
Full Frame Anomorphic Widescreen – 1.85:1

There, that's the scary stuff out of the way.

The features on the DVD which are extra to the main film are:

Interview with Cast and Crew. This is ten minute-ish programme (I didn't time it as I watched it) interspersed with snippets of the film and moments of chat from the cast, director, producers and writer. It's quite interesting, but I'm glad I didn't watch it before the film as it includes many key moments as snippets.

The Making of Elizabeth. Was a bit similar to Interview With… but talked to production people – designers etc. Again, quite short, around 10 minutes

Behind The Secenes. A strange little piece to be on the DVD I thought. It was basically someone with a hand held camera who looked as though they had wondered about the sets taking quick shots of people doing there job. There is no sound other than that of general background noise.

There’s 24 minutes of extra stuff in total.

It has the normal (I presume) interactive menu screen to choose any of the features available, which also include various languages/subtitles.

To finish – this is a great film, but worth paying £20 for? Possibly, though I'd be happier paying £12.99 for the video. However, I didn&#
39;t have to, for £6.99 it was a bargain and worth every penny. I'm not fussed about the extra bits, I wouldn't have watched them if I wasn't going to write this, but this 2hr film is definitely worth owning.

Summary: