The Queen

Movie
German title	The Queen
Original title	The Queen
Country of production	United Kingdom , France , Italy
original language	English
Publishing year	2006
length	97 minutes
Age rating	FSK 0 ; JMK 0
Rod
Director	Stephen Frears
script	Peter Morgan
production	Andy Harries , ; Christine Langan , ; Scott Rudin
music	Alexandre Desplat
camera	Affonso Beato
cut	Lucia Zucchetti
occupation
	Helen Mirren : Queen Elizabeth II. ; Michael Sheen : Tony Blair ; James Cromwell : Prince Philip ; Alex Jennings : Prince Charles ; Helen McCrory : Cherie Blair ; Sylvia Syms : Queen Mother ; Roger Allam : Sir Robin Berry Janvrin ; Tim McMullan : Stephen Lamport ;
chronology
← Predecessor ; dual leadership	Successor → ; The Special Relationship

The Queen (Original title: The Queen) is a feature film by British director Stephen Frears from 2006 with Helen Mirren in the lead role.

action

UK 1997: 43-year-old Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister after a Labor Party victory in the general election. Because he is not yet familiar with the rules of etiquette on his first visit to the palace, he has to be instructed in these matters by Elizabeth II . Less than three months later, it is Blair who tries to show the British head of state the way out of a crisis.

In the early morning hours of August 31st , Queen Elisabeth , who was in Scotland , and her husband Prince Philip were informed of the death of Princess Diana , who was killed in a traffic accident in Paris . The former wife of her son and heir to the throne, Prince Charles , had been in the focus of the international press through her charitable work and various companions and gave an insight into her life at the royal court through interviews and book publications. In the following period the dead princess "Queen of Hearts", which pays even Prime Minister Tony Blair and his tribute in a speech to them the concept become people's princess shapes (the people's princess). On the other hand, Queen Elizabeth, following courtly protocol, does not show any public mourning and remains with the royal family at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. She refuses to follow Blair's advice to go to London immediately to show herself to the people there, and does not want to change the protocol to set the flags at half mast for Diana . In order to give her two grandchildren, Diana's sons William and Harry , other thoughts, she sends them with a hunting party on the hunt for a fourteen-year- old who has been sighted in their territory.

While thousands of grieving people lay flowers in front of Diana's Kensington Palace residence , the resentment of the population is directed against the seemingly indifferent and uncaring members of the royal family. Elizabeth II then gets into a conflict of conscience and considers vacating the throne for the next younger generation. The hysteria surrounding the death of the Princess of Wales, whom she no longer regarded as a member of her family, cannot be derived from her and thereby damages the reputation of the crown. No longer understanding the people, the monarch is encouraged by her mother, Queen Mother Elizabeth , to hold on to her office and not be intimidated, not even by Tony Blair. The mood finally changes after a week when the Queen, under pressure from Tony Blair, orders a state funeral for Diana, visits the sea of flowers at Buckingham Palace and publicly comments on her death. In a televised address, Elizabeth II speaks of being able to learn from Diana's life and the extraordinary and moving reaction to her death and of wanting to preserve the memory of the Princess of Wales.

background

A year before the filming of The Queen had Helen Mirren in the two-part TV movie Elizabeth I by Tom Hooper , the English regent already Elizabeth I represented. Mirren had prepared himself for the role of the reigning British Queen Elizabeth II by studying the relevant literature and film material for several months. Helen Mirren stated that she was particularly afraid of the role, since the character to be played is a living personality.
The drama is based on an original script by Peter Morgan . He had already written the script for the historical television multipart Henry VIII (2003) and the television film The Deal , which is about a fictional meeting of the two leaders Tony Blair and Gordon Brown of the British Labor Party ( New Labor ).
In order to visualize the difference between the royal and the bourgeois world in the film, the scenes in Tony Blair's world were shot on 16 mm film and the scenes in the royal rooms were recorded on 35 mm film .
The nickname "cabbage" used by Prince Philip for his wife in the film should actually be used by the author for the Queen, according to author Peter Morgan. In the German dubbing, the term that can best be translated as "Kohlköpfchen" is only pronounced as "my treasure".
Prince Charles is regularly referred to as "Prince of Wales" in the German dubbing of the film, although the correct title in German is "Prince of Wales".
The filming took place at the Glenfeshie Estate in the Scottish Highlands , at Castle Fraser , in London and in Paris.
The world premiere was on September 2, 2006 at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival . The film opened in UK cinemas on September 15, 2006. In the United States, the film was released in selected cinemas on October 6, 2006. There the film received a PG13 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which recommends that it should only be made available to young people aged 13 and over. In Germany, the film was released on January 11, 2007. It was first seen on German free TV on February 7, 2010 at 10 p.m. on ZDF .
The film is an international co-production of the British Pathé Pictures International, Granada Film Productions and Future Films, the French Pathé Renn Productions, France 3 Cinéma and Canal + , the Italian BIM Distribuzione and the US Scott Rudin Productions.
Robin Berry Janvrin is portrayed here as the Queen's first private secretary back in 1997, although he did not hold the position until two years later. Apparently this happened due to the fact that the actual private secretary Robert Fellowes is married to a sister of the late Princess Diana. This might have led to complications for the course of action. In the film, however, Fellowes is mentioned in a conversation between the Queen and her mother that he would see the (tense) situation as Tony Blair did.

Reviews

“Frears follows his heroine lovingly and viciously through the days of international mass hysteria, which she neither understands nor can share, until the reputation of the British crown threatens to be shattered by her apparent indifference (...) What an absurd concept, what a great one Movie. Frears freely invents his world of the Royals without letting it degenerate into a caricature. A mind game as it could have been in the palace back then, respectful, humorous and wonderful. There was applause from the scene for Helen Mirren during the performance. Every look from her is regal, every gesture dignified. She turns an inscrutable being into a person, as cool as it is lovable, as stylish as it is insecure. It's an intoxicating performance. "

- Daniel Sander : The mirror

“The Queen remains the nation's supermother, who can only be moved by the sight of a deer. The fact that a well-hidden vulnerability comes to light is thanks to Helen Mirren's affection for the queen - an extraordinary acting performance that should certainly bring her a lion. 'The Queen is like your parents' sofa, 'said Mirren ironically at the press conference:' It's anything but new, has wine stains and cigarette holes, and that's exactly why your life cannot be imagined without it: a dangerous role. "

- The standard

“Stephen Frears, who slipped a bit into kitsch in his last movie ' Lady Henderson Presents ', manages to walk the tightrope here, gleefully targeting all the Royals' quirks and still keeping the serious tone. The fun only becomes really royal with the wonderful Helen Mirren, who deserves to be crowned with a Coppa Volpi as the best actress. "

- Peter Zander : The world

“Frears also used the CNN images and newspaper headlines from that September 1997, but only as a contrast medium to make the escapism and helplessness of the Windsor family all the more clear - with the Queen (great: Helen Mirren) in their very basic protocol spilled humanity on top. The then newly elected, media-safe Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) rescued the Queen from the odor of total numbness - and with it those curious monarchist structures on which British democracy is based. "

- Jan Schulz-Ojala : Der Tagesspiegel

Awards

Oscar 2007

Best Actress (Helen Mirren)
- Nominated in the categories of Best Film , Best Director , Best Original Screenplay , Best Score , Best Costumes .

British Academy Film Awards 2007

Best movie
Best Actress (Helen Mirren)
- Nominated in the categories of Best British Film , Best Director , Best Supporting Actor , Best Original Screenplay , Best Score , Best Costumes , Best Mask , Best Editing .