The Duchess (DVD)

I first saw a trailer for The Duchess about eight months ago in the cinema while watching another film and instantly decided that I had to see it. I love any historical films regardless of the time they were set, although I do seem to have a particular liking for anything from about the eleventh to nineteenth centuries, largely because I find them so fascinating. So I finally managed to persuade my ever willing boyfriend to go and see The Duchess back in September... The Background The film was set in the eighteenth century and focused on the life of Georgiana Cavendish who was better known as The Duchess of Devonshire. She was the ...  Read the complete review

It was another boring night without the X Factor when I started looking to the many DVD's I had bought and was deciphering which I really felt in the mood for. I have been watching a lot of different genre's lately but classic British period drama seemed to be something I didn't mind watching. The film I had picked up was The Duchess, I wasn't sure if this was going to be good or going to bore me but there was only one way to find out. The Duchess is based on a novel by Amanda Foreman. The film is set in the end of the 18th century; it centres around the life of Georgiana Cavendish (Keira Knightley). At a very young age she was married to the Duke of ...  Read the complete review

*Why did I choose to watch this?* I'll be honest, when this first came out I wasn't at all interested in watching it. However, somehow it got onto my DVD rental list and it fell onto my doormat yesterday. I wasn't overly thrilled but this morning decided to settle down and watch it as I know Keira Knightley is an excellent actress and I thought it actually might be interesting to watch. *The Plot* The opening of the film introduces us to Georgiana, a normal 17 year old from a well off family, she is larking about with her friends and having a good time. Her mother calls her into the house and tells her she is to be married to the Duke of ...  Read the complete review

I recently watched this on DVD and although I believe the movie was very well made, excellent script and superb sets and costumes, the extremely weak and poor acting by key characters made this a disappointing movie. The movie is based on the biography of the Duchess of Devonshire written by Amanda Foreman. I have read the book and found the character of Georgiana to be far more rounded, intelligent and socially aware than the character portrayed by Keira Knightley. Although much has been made regarding the seemingly spooky coincidence with Princess Diana, although Georgiana may be an ancestor of Diana (and one of the film's settings is her ...  Read the complete review

I first saw this film at the cinema on a rainy day: it was one of those days where you decide to go to the cinema, for the sake of going to the cinema, rather than because there's a specific film you'd like to see. And we ended up seeing The Duchess. In short, I didn't expect to like it. I think I objected, in particular, to the way that the pre-release publicity campaign exploited the similarities between The Duchess and Diana, Princess of Wales. It's a shame they took such a cheap shot, because, as it is, The Duchess is a brilliant film I expected melodrama and cliche. But what I encountered was a sensitive and thoughtful portrayal of one ...  Read the complete review