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Starring Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons, rated perhaps the best "Queen Elizabeth" cinematic treatment (originally an HBO series). Of course, it always helps when Helen Mirren is playing the role of Queen.

From an online reviwer:

One of the things I love about owning a DVD player is that I get to watch movies pretty much as they were intended to be seen: in widescreen format, brilliant colour and sound, and the ability to pause them and have the frame actually stay still. This is especially nice when it's the sort of film I adore -- a costume drama with plenty of details and good looking actors.

Thus is the case with Elizabeth I, a miniseries originally aired on HBO and now available as a two-disc set. Directed by Tom Hooper and written by Nigel Williams, this is a sumptuous treat of a film, full of glittering costumes, period sets and actors who speak and sound right for the time. Instead of showing the usual cradle-to-grave life of Elizabeth I of England, a different tactic is taken, showing her coping with several pivotal times in her reign, and how she dealt with the problem and moved on.

This is not a short program, coming in at about 220 minutes, shown in two parts. Worth it just for Helen Mirren alone, and the other actors are fine icing to the cake. Great for costume junkies, history fans, and anyone who wants to see a woman who set the world on its ear -- after all, that period of time is still known as the Elizabethan period, and it's easy to see why with this. My favorite so far in the various films about Elizabeth I.

This scooped up a mountain of Emmys for 2006, including Best Miniseries, awards for production values and Bests for Mirren and Irons.

Five very solid stars, and I would give it six if I could.

From Variety:

Impeccably British for mostly good and a little ill, this sweeping HBO-Channel 4 presentation features the kind of towering, "for your consideration"-worthy performance from Helen Mirren that almost defies conventional superlatives. Somewhat plodding through its opening hour, "Elizabeth I" gains steam and then soars through its concluding installment -- as Mirren's tantrum-throwing queen becomes entangled with the much-younger Earl of Essex. Given the dearth of juicy material for, er, "mature" actresses, watching Mirren sinks her teeth into this role is a treat worth savoring.


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