Product Details

• Actors: Glenda Jackson, Ronald Hines, Stephen Murray, Robert Hardy, Angela Thorne
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 6
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• VHS Release Date: June 27, 1995
• Run Time: 540 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (113 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 630354231X
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,625 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

142 of 143 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Queen Bess, November 8, 2004

By 

Alejandra Vernon "artist & illustrator" (Long Beach, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Elizabeth R (DVD)

This is a superb BBC miniseries, or "cycle of six plays", with extraordinary acting and most of all, a script that is a marvel, which uses original documents and the writings of Queen Elizabeth I as its source, making the story, so full of intrigue and drama, for the most part very accurate.
My favorites are the monologues, spoken with such power by Glenda Jackson, whose performance is a treasure. The cast that surrounds her is also wonderful, and often having a physical similarity to the historical character (with kudos to the make-up department).
There are so many reasons to buy this fantastic DVD package, which may seem expensive but is actually an excellent value. For historians this is a must, and anyone who appreciates great English theater will be delighted. The quality of the film is also exceptional, with an exceedingly clear picture and audio.

I bought it to prepare for a portrait of Queen Bess, and was enthralled by the detail of the costuming; what amazed me was how the fashion changed during the queen's forty-four year reign. It was a time rich with culture and style, with the emergence of Shakespeare and other great writers, and the queen loved clothes and jewelry, and surely set the trends.
The music by David Munro also adds to the atmosphere, and the sets have an authentic feel.
This is a brilliant production, and total running time is 540 minutes.

The DVD "extras" are terrific, are the entire content of the 4th disc, and should perhaps be viewed before the film, for full appreciation of the history. The "extras" are:
1: A lengthy interview with Glenda Jackson
2: An interview with historian Alison Weir
3: "Elizabeth I", an A&E documentary with commentary by various authors and historians, and marvelous imagery to illustrate it.
4, A: Glenda Jackson reads documents. B: Portrait Gallery (there is an error here, where the portrait of Robert Dudley is actually one of Sir Francis Drake). C: Historical Sites, including the queen's tomb, palaces, etc.
5: Behind the scenes, with a Who's Who of the cast.

105 of 106 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE WOMAN WHO WOULD BE QUEEN..., September 7, 2001

By 

Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Elizabeth R [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This Masterpiece Theatre, six play series of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England is magnificent. Written by six different playwrights, they are uniformly excellent. Glenda Jackson reigns supreme in the role of Elizabeth I.

While the production values are not high, that is because these plays were part of a televised series for which there were budgetary constraints. The shift from indoor sets to outdoor scenes is awkward, as it entails a switch from tape to film. The stage makeup is noticeable, as the lighting is harsh and glaring. Although the sets are a stark and dreary backdrop, the costumes are sumptuous and gorgeous. More important, the acting is, at all times, superlative.

Elizabeth I is played to perfection by Glenda Jackson. She has set the standard by which all others who seek to reprise this role will be judged, and she is the linchpin around which the entire six play series revolves. She begins the series playing Elizabeth as the young woman who would be queen, waiting upon the whims of her sister, the Queen Mary, and trying to survive the political intrigues and plots which surround her and threaten her very existence. The threat dissipates upon Mary's death, though it never disappears, and she becomes Queen of her beloved England.

As the series progresses, one sees her mature and resist the overtures and attentions of would be husbands, preferring, instead, to be married to England. One sees the development of her political and diplomatic acumen, as she sublimates her personal desires to become the greatest monarch, male or female, England has ever known, The Virgin Queen.

Each one of the plays has its own unique story to tell about Elizabeth and is a first rate drama that segues seamlessly into the next. The supporting cast is superb. All in all, this series provides a fully absorbing, historically accurate drama. It is through Ms. Jackson's insightful and commanding performance that one is able to understand why Elizabeth I was responsible for ushering in England's golden age.

57 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jackson...utterly amazing., May 4, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Elizabeth R [VHS] (VHS Tape)

All right - there are flaws in this series. One wishes the BBC had the budget of that purple travesty, Blanchett's ELIZABETH. Then, too, there are unintentionally funny moments for the Tudor aficionado, as Gloriana conversationally employs remarks culled from speeches to Parliament she would not make for years. And I'm not crazy about Vivian Pickles as Mary of Scotland. Too shrill.
That said, this is an extraordinary, magnetic, all-around brilliant piece of work. After many, many viewings, I still marvel that Glenda Jackson is not herself a scholar, so perfectly does she capture the queen we know through Neale and Camden. I carp over misplaced dialogue, but how thrilling that such research went into the project, that the writers sought to convey Elizabeth's heart and soul through her own words!
My favorite episode remains 'The Enterprise of England'. Somehow, the duel between Philip and Elizabeth, his character and concerns, her sentiments regarding him and the power he represents, the scope of England's fear and effort, are all set in human terms and flow with the grace of excellent narrative. My favorite illustration of the effort that went into this production: the actor portraying Francis Walsingham. He is a mirror-image of the best surviving portrait we have of that fascinating man. And does a superb job, too.
The whole production is a treasure. Historians have noted that the elderly Elizabeth tapped her foot in time to the music she could no longer dance to; notice this subtlety beneath the dialogue in the last part. Elizabeth wrote 'his last letter' upon Dudley's final note to her; this is fact. Watch Jackson perform this simple act, and see what this actress does with it.
This was television at its absolute best. It still is.