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Mary, Queen of Scots

Mary, Queen of Scots

Drama · History · 1971

Mary Stuart, who was named Queen of Scotland when she was only six days old, is the last Roman Catholic ruler of Scotland. She is imprisoned at the age of 23 by her cousin Elizabeth Tudor, the English Queen and her arch adversary. Nineteen years later the life of Mary is to be ended on the scaffold and with her execution the last threat to Elizabeth's throne has been removed. The two Queens with their contrasting personalities make a dramatic counterpoint to history.

Movie details

Mary, Queen of Scots

“MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS, who ruled with the heart of a woman.”

1971 Drama · History 2h 8m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.7 / 10

Community rating

Mary Stuart, who was named Queen of Scotland when she was only six days old, is the last Roman Catholic ruler of Scotland. She is imprisoned at the age of 23 by her cousin Elizabeth Tudor, the English Queen and her arch adversary. Nineteen years later the life of Mary is to be ended on the scaffold and with her execution the last threat to Elizabeth's throne has been removed. The two Queens with their contrasting personalities make a dramatic counterpoint to history.

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 Mary, Queen of Scots?

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.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Charles Jarrott

Written by

John Hale

Vanessa Redgrave

Vanessa Redgrave

Mary, Queen of Scots

Glenda Jackson

Glenda Jackson

Queen Elizabeth

Patrick McGoohan

Patrick McGoohan

James Stuart

Timothy Dalton

Timothy Dalton

Henry, Lord Darnley

Nigel Davenport

Nigel Davenport

Lord Bothwell

Trevor Howard

Trevor Howard

William Cecil

Daniel Massey

Daniel Massey

Robert Dudley

Court is in session

Put Mary, Queen of Scots on trial.

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

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.