Customer Reviews

Victoria & Albert [VHS]

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This new A&E production on the lives of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert was simply told and well-acted.It does not oversentimentalize the relationship of the couple, and the major events of their lives are reenacted without much sensationalism.
Victoria Hamilton, who may well be one of the Queen's many namesakes, captures the petite size of Britain's longest reigning monarch, making her an endearing character in the eyes of the viewer, even though many of my own forebears suffered under her regime. Jonathan Firth's Albert is potrayed as a gentle, decent, thoughtful man, made to leave his homeland and struggle to find acceptance in an entirely different country. But in the scene where this devoted father of nine comforts hs wife during labor while nearby, his critics suggest that he should be at a men's club instead, we see that, by following the German tradition on dealing with childbirth, he is a man ahead of his time. One of the more delightful moments ofthe film is when, during their courtship, he and Victoria play a duet together on the piano. One of the saddest, is when the Christmas tree, a custom Albert introduced to England, arrives a few days before his death on December 14,1861. It was nice to see a grown-up
Kate Mayberly in films again. She plays the couple's second daughter, Alice, who followed her older sister into marriage in the German Nobility, became the mother of Russia's last Czarina, and died of diptheria at the age of 35.The relationships of the Queen and her cabinet members is touched upon, as is the relationship with her overbearing mother. Peter Ustinov has a certain strained charisma as the Queen's predecessor, who is still aware of his sister-in-law's antics despite ill health. Diana Rigg is understated and dignified as the young Queen's devoted Lady-in-Waiting. The whole cast did a fine job. This elegant miniseries brings the chief players of the Victorian Era down from the oil-painted canvases and resurrects them quite nicely.

Victoria and Albert is a magnificent costume drama with excellent stars, a compelling story, and lovely settings. As you watch this, please keep in mind that this is a romanticized, not completely factual dramatization of the married life of Queen Victoria and her consort Prince Albert. In other words, enjoy it, but don't take it as accurate history.

The first episode is good drama and fairly good history. The young Victoria is shown living a cloistered life in Kensington Palace, used by her ambitious mother and others to maintain a toe hold on power. Then, after the death of her uncle William IV, Victoria's early reign is also depicted accurately as she took on her responsibilities with a dutifulness which characterized her entire reign. Her daughterly relationship with her first Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne is also well done. Finally, her meeting with Prince Albert and their hesitant courtship, engagement, and marriage is both compelling and true to history.

It is with the second episode that the drama begins to overwhelm the history. Victoria and Albert are shown with a family of six children (they really had nine) whom they bounce on their knees, cuddle and nuzzle in public, and obviously adore. Unfortunately the real Queen Victoria was not fond of children, and Prince Albert saw his progeny as useful tools for carrying out his long range plan for the liberalization of Europe, but not a whole lot more. The whitewashing of their troubled relationship with their eldest son and heir Bertie is really ridiculous. Bertie could never do right and was a constant disappointment to his parents, as they never ceased telling him. While Prince Albert's last meeting with Bertie, in which he says something like "I'm sorry we've been so hard on you" is charmingly acted, nothing like that ever took place. I also found the scenes in which Albert repeatedly ponders whether he really loves Victoria a bit unbelievable. Finally, Victoria's composure after Albert's death is completely at odds with history, which records her retreating into deep mourning for the next four decades.

Regardless of the inaccuracies, this is a beautiful piece of work and well worth the price. If you like this Victoria and Albert, may I suggest that you also look into the mini-series Edward the King, produced in the mid 1970s, which covers Bertie's life and times. It is just as well written and acted, and contains a far more true to life depiction of Victoria and Albert.

"Victoria and Albert," directed by John Erman, stars Victoria Hamilton and Jonathan Firth as Britain's Queen Victoria and her consort, Prince Albert. The superb supporting cast includes an impressive band of acting veterans, among them Peter Ustinov (as William IV) and Diana Rigg (as young Victoria's governess). The film follows the courtship and married life of this royal couple.

V&A is a visually stunning period piece, but ultimately it's the fine performances that really make the film work. There is a wonderful chemistry between the two leads, who furthermore capably rise to the challenge of portraying the pair over a long span of time. It's an onscreen relationship that is complex and tender. The supporting cast is great--Ustinov is especially entertaining as the cantankerous King William. It's a juicy role that Ustinov plays with relish.

Although it's a period piece, V&A seems remarkably timely in light of the continuing saga of the British royal family. The film raises a number of intriguing issues--the politics of royal marriage, the relationship between the royal house and the citizenry, etc. This is a classy, well-made film--a must for those interested in British royal history.

For the past eight years I've been working on a project on the Romanovs. A sizeable part of my research also included their British relations, particularly Queen Victoria and her daughters.
This BBC movie as entertaining as it was was probably more damaging for the uninformed than informative. On a superficial level, Queen Victoria was never considered a beauty or even attractive in her own time, even when she was young. Although she did have a narrow waistline. So picking such an attractive actress to portray her was probably as bad as when Catherine Zeta-Jones (one of the leading Hollywood beauties) was picked to portray another monarch, Catherine the great of Russia, who was notorious for her plain looks. Albert, I should admit looked more like the real thing.
I can't tell you how vivacious and energetic the real Victoria was, since the actress in the movie was quite lively, but she could have never been so indiscreet in public as to kiss her husband and even show affection publicly. She gave great importance to decorum and would have never screamed in the hallways when others could hear her.
In the movie she also appeared to be almost a modern mother who let her children enjoy their lives. Nothing could be further than the truth. She certainly loved her children but she was very tyrannical towards them. At the table her children sat very quietly and minded their own business. She made her daughters' later lives especially miserable. Therefore, they were all much closer to their loving father that to their mother. Also from the very beginning Albert took control of the palace affairs, more or less like our Prince Phillip. It's rather unfortunate that the only scene that showed her at a theatre was attending a comedy play. She did watch comedies, but she had a rather low opinion of them and would not have burst into laughter like that in public. In many ways she was a boring person. And her last sentence in the movie which says that she would move on with life because Albert would have wanted her to, is also rather inaccurate. All of us know, that after his death she withdrew from public and her duties for years, until people finally convinced her that it was doing so much damage to the family's image that she finally gave in. Although she never took off her mourning black dress, wearing it even at her children's weddings. An entire ultra-conservative era was not named after Queen Victoria for no reason, and not just because she lived in that period but that she was the personification of the mentality of the time, somewhat of a U-turn from the 18th century Enlightenment. I think this movie was made to change the popular image of Queen Victoria as a strict, dogmatic and inflexible woman (which is definitely more accurate), though, I admit, she had a kind heart. And perhaps to boost the current queen's image too, who is also believed to be dry and dogmatic. But in her case I think it's rather unfair.

I bought this set thinking it would be just another movie to add to my growing costume drama collection. I was really wrong. From the first minutes of this movie the viewer is hooked. I was amazed to find out how Queen Victoria became Queen, how she struggled with her mother and how she picked a husband.

I must say A&E did a great job portraying the lives of these well known people. I really felt as though I was there living out her life.

The costumes are great, acting is supurb and nothing could be improved on save for the fact that it wasn't long enough and tons of time was skipped.

Good job and a great movie. I would reccomend to anyone who wants to learn more about Queen Victoria or someone who just loves good movies!

"Victoria and Albert" is a stunning costume drama concentrating on the early part of their marriage with some brief scenes in the later years culminating in the death of Albert. The film is well-written and well-acted and well worth seeing.

So many films about Victoria concentrate upon the long years as a widow. It is refreshing to see her here as a giddy young teenager just handed the keys to the largest empire in the world. The adolescent battles with her mother would rock the kingdom. She is clearly reluctant to share her power and majesty with a husband, especially her dour straight-laced cousin Albert whom her family wants her to marry. However the 'arranged' part of the marriage goes out the window during a visit when Victoria conveniently falls in love with Albert and desires him for the many qualities that she perceives in him.

Despite her great love for him the early years are especially tempestuous as Albert struggles to fulfill the role that his family has raised him for. Victoria's ministers despise the German prince and struggle to keep him from becoming the power behind the throne (a position they want for themselves). Albert serves as something of a gigolo to the young woman and this is the cause of many 'storms' within the palace. Through hard work and ability Albert is able to bring the Queen around and become a key figure in Victoria's reign.

Sure this is not a history book, and many things go by the wayside. Their shocking inability as parents to view their children as more than diplomatic tools is a sad reality. In the movie this gets brushed aside for the most part (although Victoria is shown as being more concerned about doing her duty and having a son than about her child). This can be easily overlooked as the movie is "Victoria and Albert" not "Victoria, Albert, Vicky, Bertie, Alice, Affie, Helena, Louise, Arthur, Leopold, and Beatrice". The fact is that Albert mostly saw his children as ways to expand his power throughout Europe and into the future, Victoria mostly saw her young children as people who made Albert happy or cross. Since this movie is mostly about their early years of marriage the short shrift given to the children was understandable. It is a love story about two people and in that it succeeds.

Give that this show attempts to compress a marriage of over twenty years into a little more than 3 and half hours, it is a remarkable accomplishment and I highly recommend it. It is captivating from start to finish.

I'm sure if I was a Queen Victoria historian, I would probably have given this a lower number for the innaccuracies presented as fact. Since I'm not, and since it seemed to cover what I do know of her fairly accurately, I'm giving this movie a high mark. First off, I happen to really enjoy period pieces that can pull the viewer in and help them to understand life from another time in history. Braveheart, Gettysburg, Three Soverigns For Sarah, Charles Dickens/Jane Austen movies, and even films about more recent times such as Enemy At The Gates and American Graffiti. If they keep them in their proper time and place (clothing, speech, sets, etc.), I'm glued. (Titanic was almost perfect except for the "Can I bum a smoke" line DiCaprio made after stopping Rose from jumping off the ship).
Victoria and Albert caught my attention right off and held it til the end. It not only brought two historical figures to life, but it made them both human, with being vulnerable to human feelings and emotions. One can imagine how Victoria felt when she angrily spoke to her mother as THE QUEEN. One can also imagine how her mother felt being spoken to in that manner by her daughter THE QUEEN. How about Albert's feelings when Victoria poo poo'd him when he would try to help her with her duties, instead giving him a frivolous task to keep him "happy."
I would have liked to have seen more of the relationship that Victoria and Albert had with their children, which was only touched upon and glossed over. Also, it would have been nice to see Victoria's affect first hand on the everyday people of England - her subjects - as she ruled for the majority of the 19th century. After all, a whole period in time was named for her. But that would have increased the time of this movie from four hours to six hours, I'm sure - not that I would have minded.
I feel this is probably the best version out there of these two larger than life figures. A&E, Masterpiece Theater, and others of this ilk always do a marvelous job when it comes to the historical period pieces, and Victoria and Albert is right up there with the best of them. It's well worth the money.

I have to admit that I'm not a history buff and I would not know one way or the other if this production was riddled with historical errors, all I know is that I truly liked this movie and very much enjoyed watching it.

The actors all gave marvelous performances and the costumes and sets are breathtaking. Definitely pick this up!

I didn't expect much from this miniseries but I was hooked within the first five minutes. My husband and I watched the entire series from start to finish with few pauses and only the quickest breaks possible. We were engrossed by the story and the wonderful actors. I realized as I watched the film that while I know a lot about Victorian England, I didn't know very much about Victoria and Albert themselves. This series made me hungry for more information. The high moral values the couple espoused are presented to modern audiences with sincerity and an utter lack of severity.

Victoria Hamilton plays the queen with finesse and ages wonderfully from a teenaged princess to a middle-aged queen. Her Victoria is far from perfect, but wonderfully flawed with a frame of steel. Jonathan Firth is frustrated, intelligent and ultimately devoted as Albert. He is also sexy and appealing. The supporting cast is great with stellar performances from Diana Rigg, Jonathan Pryce and Nigel Hawthorne.

I haven't enjoyed a miniseries so much since "Pride and Prejudice" aired on A&E years ago. My only complaint is that I could have watched two more hours instead of just four.

One of the best lines: "How can you expect him to be afraid of you if he wasn't afraid of Napoleon?" Or something close to that in reference to the Duke of Wellington's impertinence to the king.

The movie is a fun feast for the eyes...kind of like watching The Swan or Roman Holiday. However, I kept forgetting this was supposed to be about queen Victoria. Young Victoria was short, chunky and homely as a mud fence. She was also said to have had a beautiful voice and a lovely laugh. If you were to put her in today's nondescript clothing and plunk her into a shopping mall she would be indistinguishable from all the other shoppers. The actresses that portray her are always very pretty, slim, and tallish. Victoria was one of the most photographed and recognizable women of her time. It's like making a movie about Eleanor Roosevelt and casting Elizabeth Taylor in the lead. The three cardinal sins of hollywood are to be fat, short,and homely. It is thought such people could not possibly have passionate fascinating personalities and movie makers believe that the public will not accept a feminine romantic lead who has such unfortunate dimensions. As a result, they are OK with an old fat Victoria but can't stomach a young chubby Victoria.
Victoria and her times are a fascinating study. Movies about Victoria should concentrate more on the historical backgroud and the complexity of her personality. She had noble and maddingly neurotic traits. Royals were the rock stars of their day. People wanted to dress and do as they did. For example: When anesthesia was discovered in the early 1800s doctors were reluctant to give it to women in childbirth because, according to the Bible, God wanted them to suffer the pains of childbirth due to the sins of Eve. Victoria was having none of that and when offered said GIVE ME DRUGS. Her use of anesthesia during labor made it permissible for women to bypass the bible and avoid hours of painful labor.
I'm still waiting for that 8 part series on Victoria and her times that realy does justice to the topic. When it comes it will be a knock-out!!!