(1939)
Also a part of The Errol Flynn Signature Collection, Vol. 1

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Product Description

A collection of films starring Errol Flynn and a documentary film on his life and career.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: NR
Release Date: 19-APR-2005
Media Type: DVD

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14933 in DVD
• Brand: DAVIS,BETTE
• Released on: 2005-04-19
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .24 pounds
• Running time: 106 minutes

Features

• Bette Davis and Errol Flynn made The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex fascinatingly public, striking sparks in this lavish Technicolor tale of the ill-fated love between the aging Elizabeth I and the dashing Earl of Essex. Thoroughly unglamorous here - eyes and hairline shaved, face painted chalky white - double Academy AwardO winner* Davis exudes such intelligence, energy and ardor that her r

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Customer Reviews

Elizabeth and Essex A Beautiful Love Story
This is a glorious film produced by Warner Brothers in 1938, filled with fantastic scenes, wardrobe, and a beautiful love story highly suggested as all. Bette Davis and Errol Flynn shine together in this film.

"A brilliant historical drama of the war between passion and power."

Bette Davis and Errol Flynn made The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex fascinatingly public, striking sparks in this lavish Techincolor tale of the ill-fated love between the aging Elizabeth I and the dashing Earl of Essex. Thoroughly unglamorous here - eyes and hairline shaved, pace fainted chalky white - double Academy Award winner* Davis exudes such intelligence, energy and ardor that her romance with the decades-younger Essex (Flynn at the peak of his remarkable good looks and athletic verve) is completely believable. Based on Maxwell Anderson's play Elizabeth the Queen and directed by Micharl Curtiz, this nominee for five Oscars takes liberties with historical accuracy, but none with dramatic impact. Long may these tempestuous, titled lovers reign!

This dvd also has some brilliant special features including:

:Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night at the movies 1939:
:Newsreel:
:Musical Short The Royal Rodeo:
:Cartoon Old Glory:
:Theatrical Trailers:
:New Featurette Elizabeth and Essex Royal Battle:

This is a great movie for all.

power and passion behind the palace walls
THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX (1939) features a stunner of a performance from Bette Davis, brilliant Technicolor photography and a sweeping score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. What more could a classic movie fan want?

Based upon "Elizabeth the Queen" by Maxwell Anderson, THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX recounts, with some liberties, the stormy relationship of Queen Elizabeth 1st (Bette Davis) and the Earl of Essex, Robert Devereux (Errol Flynn). Robert wants desperately to rule England, something Elizabeth would never sacrifice...not even for love.

The pain and the passion of this story is simply breathtaking. Despite the fact that Davis hated working with Errol Flynn (they were paired in "The Sisters" the previous year); their onscreen chemistry fairly crackles. Davis shaved off her eyebrows plus two inches from her hairline in order to resemble the aged Queen Elizabeth. It's one of her most subtle and affecting performances.

Olivia de Havilland (the frequent love interest in Errol Flynn's swashbucklers), is relegated to supporting status here, but still manages to command attention with her finely-drawn performance as Lady Penelope Gray. There's also an early appearance from Broadway star Nanette Fabray---billed as Nanette Fabares--as a lovesick handmaiden.

THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX features a sweeping and majestic score from Wolfgang Erich Korngold, with memorable motifs for the two main characters. The Technicolor photography is warm and lush, especially during the palace scenes; the lighting is superb.

In another twist, most of the sets and costumes later found their way into Errol Flynn's next big vehicle, The Sea Hawk (1940). Bette Davis would go on to reprise her role as Queen Elizabeth 1st in "The Virgin Queen" (1956).

The new DVD from Warner Brothers include several worthwhile bonuses. There's a new Making-Of featurette ("Battle Royale") which delves into the history of the production. The 'Warner Night at the Movies' feature gives you the option to screen the film with newsreel, Merry Melodies cartoon ("Old Glory"), and musical short ("The Royal Rodeo").

(Single-sided, dual-layer disc).

Technicolor terribly out of registration!
This is so incredibly frustrating -- this film was one of the most beautiful and lavish Technicolor productions done (pre-Gone With The Wind) when it was released in November of 1939. And while the DVD attests to its glory, many, many shots are terribly out of register -- the Technicolor having a "3D without the glasses" look. What was Warner Brothers thinking to release it on DVD in this state?? Did they think that no one would notice? One shot will be perfectly gorgeous and the next shot is halloed. Better not to have released it than to have sent it out like this. To true movie lovers it's unwatchable.