Back to trending
Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Drama · History · Romance · 2007

When Queen Elizabeth's reign is threatened by ruthless familial betrayal and Spain's invading army, she and her shrewd adviser must act to safeguard the lives of her people.

Movie details

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

“Woman. Warrior. Queen.”

2007 Drama · History · Romance 1h 54m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.8 / 10

77.6K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

35 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

45 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

6.7 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

When Queen Elizabeth's reign is threatened by ruthless familial betrayal and Spain's invading army, she and her shrewd adviser must act to safeguard the lives of her people.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Elizabeth: The Golden Age?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Other Boleyn Girl

The Other Boleyn Girl

Drama · 2008

A sumptuous and sensual tale of intrigue, romance and betrayal set against the backdrop of a defining moment in European history: two beautiful sisters, Anne and Mary Boleyn, driven by their family's blind ambition, compete for the love of the handsome and passionate King Henry VIII.

The New World

The New World

Drama · 2005

A drama about explorer John Smith and the clash between Native Americans and English settlers in the 17th century.

The Duchess

The Duchess

Drama · 2008

A chronicle of the life of 18th century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was reviled for her extravagant political and personal life.

Lady Jane

Lady Jane

Drama · 1986

The death of King Henry VIII throws his kingdom into chaos because of succession disputes. His weak son, Edward, is on his deathbed. Anxious to keep England true to the Reformation, a scheming minister John Dudley marries off his son, Guildford to Lady Jane Grey, whom he places on the throne after Edward dies. At first hostile to each other, Guildford and Jane fall in love, but they cannot withstand the course of power which will lead to their ultimate downfall.

The Pride and the Passion

The Pride and the Passion

War · 1957

During the Napoleonic Wars, when the French have occupied Spain, some Spanish guerrilla soldiers are going to move a big cannon across Spain in order to help the British defeat the French. A British officer is there to accompany the Spanish and along the way, he falls in love with the leader's girl.

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex

Drama · 1939

This period drama frames the tumultuous affair between Queen Elizabeth I and the man who would be King of England.

Anne of the Thousand Days

Anne of the Thousand Days

Drama · 1969

Henry VIII of England discards his wife, Katharine of Aragon, who has failed to produce a male heir, in favor of the young and beautiful Anne Boleyn.

Their Finest

Their Finest

Romance · 2017

During the Blitz of World War II, a female screenwriter works on a film celebrating England's resilience as a way to buoy a weary populace's spirits. Her efforts to dramatise the true story of two sisters who undertook their own maritime mission to rescue wounded soldiers are met with mixed feelings by a dismissive all-male staff.

Mrs. Miniver

Mrs. Miniver

Drama · 1942

Middle-class housewife Kay Miniver deals with petty problems. She and her husband Clem watch her Oxford-educated son Vin court Carol Beldon, the charming granddaughter of the local nobility as represented by Lady Beldon. Then the war comes and Vin joins the RAF.

Queen of the Desert

Queen of the Desert

Drama · 2015

A chronicle of Gertrude Bell's life, a traveler, writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer, and political attaché for the British Empire in the Near and Middle East at the dawn of the twentieth century. Her knowledge of the tribal leaders is used by the British to establish the Kingdoms of Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Shekhar Kapur

Written by

William Nicholson · Michael Hirst

Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchett

Elizabeth I, Queen of England

Laurence Fox

Laurence Fox

Sir Christopher Hatton

Clive Owen

Clive Owen

Sir Walter Raleigh

Geoffrey Rush

Geoffrey Rush

Sir Francis Walsingham

Tom Hollander

Tom Hollander

Amyas Paulet

Abbie Cornish

Abbie Cornish

Elizabeth Throckmorton

Rhys Ifans

Rhys Ifans

Robert Reston

Court is in session

Put Elizabeth: The Golden Age on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.