Product Description

Portrays the crisis in the British royal family immediately following the death of Princess Diana as Queen Elizabeth II reconciles her tradition-bound world with a modern Great Britain.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 24-APR-2007
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2609 in DVD
• Brand: MIRREN,HELEN
• Released on: 2007-04-24
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English, French, German
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 103 minutes

Amazon.com
Helen Mirren reigns supreme in The Queen, a witty and ingenious look at a moment that rocked the house of Windsor: the week that followed the sudden death of Princess Diana in 1997. Diana's death came at just the same time that Prime Minister Tony Blair (played by the bright Michael Sheen) was settling into his new government--and trying to figure out the delicate relationship between 10 Downing Street and Queen Elizabeth II (Mirren). A large portion of the British population was trying to figure out the Windsors that week, as Elizabeth remained stiff-upper-lip and largely mum about the death of the beloved princess. In Peter Morgan's skillful script, we watch as Blair grows increasingly impatient with the Royals, who are sequestered in their Scottish estate while the public demands some show of grief. Prince Philip (James Cromwell, in good form) clumsily decides to take Diana's sons hunting, while a sympathetically-treated Prince Charles (Alex Jennings) displays some frustration with his mother's eerie calm.

None of this conveys how funny the film is, or how deftly it flows from one scene to the next. Director Stephen Frears (Dirty Pretty Things) deserves great credit for that, and for the performances, and for the movie's marvelous sense of well-roundedness; you could see this movie and groan at the cluelessness of the Royals and their outmoded existence, or you might just sympathize with showing reserve in a world that values gross public displays of emotion. But either way, you'll marvel at Mirren, who makes the Queen far more alert and human than one might ever have imagined. --Robert Horton

Beyond The Queen

The British are Coming! Kings & Queens on DVD

Helen Mirren Essential DVDs

The Queen: Music From the Motion Picture by Alexandre Desplat

Customer Reviews

Very Absorbing and Entertaining
As a Yank from across the pond, I only recently caught THE QUEEN and I'm disappointed I didn't see it sooner!

This is one of those great films based on true incidents that constantly leaves you wondering, "Did that really happen?"

The movie follows what happens following the death of Princess Diana, skillfully showing how the Royals, the new British government, and the media/public respond to the tragedy. Actual news footage and interviews with Diana only make it seem more real, as well as the characterizations of everyone on the screen.

Some come off worse, others better. I don't know. Whatever the reality of what took place was, this is a very well-crafted, very compelling story. I've always loved Helen Mirren. She was a total Shakespeare babe in the 1970s (I saw some recent paparazzi shots of her in a bikini and she's still got it!), she's been great in everything I've seen her, and I'm thrilled she won the Oscar for THE QUEEN.

One last note: as bad as the Royals come off in some scenes, especially Prince Philip railing about Diana and outraged that "homosexuals will be singing in Westminster" (Elton John's #1 song), I wondered if the British press was getting a bit of a pass: whenever I saw online papers from England, they were aghast and appalled at Diana's activities right up until she died (chased by the press, no less). Diana found ways of using the press herself--sunbathing in bikinis whenever Charles accompanied Camilla Parker-Bowles out on the town--but I thought they were terrible to her otherwise.

Movie: 3.75/5 Picture Quality: 4/5 Sound Quality: 3.75/5 Extras: 2.25/5
Version: U.S.A / Region-A
VC-1 BD-25 / Advanced Profile 3
Running time: 1:43:22
Movie size: 21,16 GB
Disc size: 24,75 GB
Average video bit rate: 19.79 Mbps

LPCM Audio English 4608 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 16-bit / 4608kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 640 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 640kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 192kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 192kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 192kbps

Subtitles: English / Spanish
Number of chapters: 17

#2 Commentary Tracks
#The Making of The Queen
#Movie Showcase

Casting is faultless
The actors really look the parts in this insider's fantasy about what it must be like to be queen. The film really focuses on the week Diana died, and what happened behind the scenes. It's speculation, but we do know the Royals didn't want to acknowledge the death until forced by public opinion. If this is what it's like to be royal, I'll take it. Really top quality.