Product Details

• Actors: Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Donald Crisp, Alan Hale
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Key Video
• VHS Release Date: March 30, 1990
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000F5N1
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #298,066 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bette Davis' Best Work: A Well Made Historic Romance, February 11, 2004

By 

Rudy Avila "Saint Seiya" (Lennox, Ca United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Bette Davis perhaps did better work, many would argue. But I find that her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in this 1939 film was a strong performance. She was such a good actress, she truly focused her energy into becoming the historic queen. She looks the part- white rouge, red hair, dominant and unbreakable spirit and strength. She must have studied the actual Queen Elizabeth pretty good to portray her on film. Bette Davis was doing some good stuff in the movies at this time, even if she had not yet risen to stardom. She had appeared in Jezebel at this time, after being rejected as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With The Wind. Jezebel is another great performance as she potrays a strong and passionate Southern belle in the Civil War Era. But this film takes place in London during the last years of Queen Elizabeth's reign (1690's). Robert Devereux, Queen Elizabeth's love, is played by Errol Flynn. Errol Flynn, a notorious playboy and ladies's man at the time, reminded people of Douglas Fairbanks. Both actors specialized in playing handsome and heroic romantic leads, swashbucklers who wielded swords to fight the enemy and win the heart of a fair maiden. Errol Flynn as Roberto Devereux is the perfect choice. This film is well made, looks good and is very 30's. If you're a film buff for movies of the World War II Era or a Bette Davis fan, this movie is a real treat.

This drama is fictional. Historic reality was sacrificed to make for a sensational drama. This film was adapted from a play. There has also been an opera about this, written by Donizetti- Roberto Devereux. In reality, Queen Elizabeth never engaged in a romantic affair with the naval captain, Robert Devereux. Devereux, a war hero (he had defeated the Spanish Armada) was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth, but she never openly declared her love for him, nor did Devereux for her. In truth, Devereux was married. But legend has it that she loved Robert Devereux. He, on the other hand, plotted against her and attempted to remove her from the throne in a rebellion in London. He had seen her in a state of undress and one thing lead to another and he was executed. Queen Elizabeth died about a year after his execution, which she had hoped to prevent. It was possible she loved him as a friend or if she did love him, she could never hope for anything other than friendship, as she had with others, most notably with Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, who most scholars believe was the man she was truly in love with. Queen Elizabeth guarded her virginity to remain Englad's greatest queen. She knew that if she married and had children, she would lose her powers. "No one has loved England more than I" she would say and she has gone down in history as the greatest of England's rulers. During her reign, Shakespeare produced his plays.

This film is great to watch and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in this historic period and who are fans of both Erroly Flynn and Bette Davis with those unforgettable eyes.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular!, January 23, 2005

By 

Steve C. Bistransky "lover of film" (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex [VHS] (VHS Tape)

'Elizabeth and Essex' is a magnificent,sweeping epic film. The screenplay, based in Maxwell Anderson's award-winning play of tragic love is beautiful prose. The art direction and cinematogaphy are near perfect. The music and sound direction are flawless. Bette Davis give bravura performance as the legendary queen; she shines brilliantly. The supporting cast is just right. Highly recommended for an evening's enjoyment.

5.0 out of 5 stars Costume Drama Holds Up Well, January 19, 2008

By 

Martin Asiner "Adjunct College Instructor" (Jersey City, NJ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex [VHS] (VHS Tape)

By 1939, director Michael Curtiz had collaborated with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland three times over the past three years. In THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX, Curtiz paired Flynn and de Havilland with most of the top stars at Warners to create a period piece that celebrates a tumultuous decade in English history, a time when Queen Elizabeth (Bette Davis) was trying mightily to hold her throne against a variety of external threats (Spain, France, Ireland) and some internal threats, not the least of whom was Robert Deveraux, Lord Essex (Flynn), whose personal tragedy was that he coveted Elizabeth's throne more than he loved her for herself. Historically, it is not at all clear whether their love affair was anything near the torrid level generated by Flynn and Davis, but their constant wrangling over whether their love trumps power or the reverse provides the film's basic dramatic thrust.

Queen Elizabeth was historically much older than Essex, and Miss Davis creditably admits this several times though Hollywood makeup does not depict the redhaired rouged queen as a wrinkled ruler merely playing with her favorite toyboy. The charm of much of this film lies in the interaction among the entire cast. Present is Alan Hale, Leo G Carrol, Vincent Price, Henry Stephenson, Donald Crisp, and Nanette Fabray. With the execption of Crisp and de Havilland, all the central players are warped to varying degrees in their lust for power. Surprising enough not even Flynn himself is immune. This film is one of his very few examples in which his character is flawed.

The audience traces the contentious relationship between Elizabeth and Essex from start to finish in a manner that does not drag in the least. Indeed, though we can see the need for Essex to place himself as First Among Equals, we can also note his genuine affection for her. Given his earlier screen romances with de Havilland, it is startling to see him brush off her clumsy attempts at lovemaking. THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX is a movie that peels away the layers of affection and love to reveal the often gritty and realpolitik coldness that characterizes the monarchy of 16th century England. The film's eye catching costumes and court schemes emphasize rather than detract from this very fundamental aspect of life at the very highest levels of royal society.