It's a new Thursday and time for a new Thursday Movie Picks blog post, thanks to the blog Wandering Through the Shelves. The theme of the week is the renaissance and below are my three picks.
Shakespeare in Love; As a bibliophile, I "had" to include this movie on this list. It is after all about Shakespeare.
Elizabeth; This is a movie with Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth and it portrays the early years of Elizabeth as a monarch.
The Countess; A movie about Countess Bathory, also nicknamed "Countess Dracula".
Love the first Elizabeth, the sequel was rather a disappointment, Blanchett really gives you a feel for the complex Virgin Queen and the rest of the film matches her fine work.
SvarSlettWhile I'll never understand its win for Best Picture Shakespeare in Love is a charming movie with much fine work in it.
Haven't seen the last I'll have to look into it further.
I love pictures set during this time period which gave me a large pool to choose from so I dug a bit deeper and found some that are a trifle more obscure.
The Advocate aka The Hour of the Pig (1993)-Richard Courtois (Colin Firth) a lawyer in 15th century France tired of the chicanery and lawlessness of Paris moves to the small rural town Abbeville along with his clerk Mathieu (Jim Carter) when he’s offered a job as a public defender. This being a period when animals were held accountable for crimes with the same punishments handed out to humans he soon finds himself defending a pig accused of murdering a Jewish boy. Pitted against a determined prosecutor (Donald Pleasance) and Catholic priest (Ian Holm), Richard defends the animal and becomes enamored of its owner, beautiful gypsy Samira (Amina Annabi). Along the way he finds out about the strange goings on behind the doors of the seemingly tame townspeople. The medieval justice system and local superstitions mingle as the case plays out. A strange and quirky film this is based on the journal of an actual barrister of the period.
Queen Margot (1994)-Dark and dire tale of the 16th century religious battle between the Catholics and the Huguenots for control of France. King Charles IX and his mother the dower queen Catherine de ’Medici (a simply sensational and scary Virna Lisi as a merciless woman whose soul has turned to dust) offer the Princess Margot (Isabelle Adjani-brilliant) to the Protestant King of Navarre in marriage as a political pawn. Trapped and unhappy Margot soon starts an affair with a soldier (Vincent Perez) as her mother orchestrates the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre of thousands of Huguenots as well as murderous intrigues to place her other son on the Navarre throne. Blood splattered revenges and double crosses follow.
Quentin Durward (1955)-Plush version of Sir Walter Scott’s tale of a Scottish knight, the Quentin of the title (Robert Taylor) sent to France by his cash strapped uncle to propose to a wealthy and titled lady, the fair Isabelle (Kay Kendall) who is at the moment at the castle of King Louis XI (the amusing Robert Morley-owner of the stupidest looking crown in any movie ever). Once arrived there is intrigue aplenty with attacks and sword fights including one where the protagonists dangle from bell tower ropes inside a burning church. Entertaining derring-do was one of the few leads that the luminous Kay Kendall had before leukemia claimed her at 33.
I've only seen Shakespeare in Love but I don't remember much.
SvarSlettI like Shakespeare in Love shame it gets a bit of hate for beating Saving Private Ryan to the Oscar.
SvarSlettI have seen the first 2 and enjoyed both. Cate Blanchett should have won the Oscar. Shakespeare is a fun film actually but Paltrow should not have won. I would love to see the Countess because I know the story well. She was a real nut job who had many young women killed for their blood. The bodies mounted up and wolves came in to enjoy a feast....icky but true. Since she was a noble they couldn't kill her but locked her up and fed her through the door. She was the first woman serial killer to be known I guess.
SvarSlett