ENGLAND 1554. Queen Mary I on the throne, a zealous Catholic, steps up her policy of Protestant repression. Within days, Mary is dead and Elizabeth is crowned Queen of England.

The country rejoices, as does Elizabeth, who particularly relishes the return from exile of her childhood sweetheart, Robert Dudley.

But chief adviser Sir William Cecil urges the young Queen to forget personal matters and address the country’s problems. England is bankrupt, has no army, and is under serious threat from abroad. Elizabeth even has enemies within her own court, the most dangerous being the Duke of Norfolk.

Cecil says she must marry – either the French Duc d’Anjou or her dead sister’s husband, King Phillip of Spain – to secure the realm. Elizabeth agrees to meet their ambassadors.

When Mary of Guise amasses troops on the Scottish border, Elizabeth bows to the pro-war lobby led by Norfolk, despite protestations from her master of spies, Sir Francis Walsingham.

But when the decision leads to a humiliating rout, Elizabeth realises she has to exert her authority more forcefully if she is to survive.

    A game of high political risk follows. Elizabeth boldly rejects the marriage proposals from both France and Spain, a move that almost costs her her life.

    She turns to Dudley for comfort but at this pivotal moment in their relationship she has a shocking revelation – he is secretly married. Her faith in him evaporates and she turns her back on him for ever.

     Meanwhile, the French threat looms larger. Furious that Elizabeth has rejected marriage to her nephew, Anjou, Mary of Guise vows revenge. Elizabeth strikes back, sending Walsingham to Scotland. He lures Mary to bed and murders her. As conspiracies within her council abound, Elizabeth retaliates in a counter-coup of immense ferocity, wiping out all opposition to her leadership. Her throne is finally secure. When she next appears in public, she has transformed herself into the legendary Virgin Queen. Formidable, Untouchable, Unbeatable…
 
 

Credits:-

Directed by Shekhar Kapur

Cast: - Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth), Kathy Burke (Mary), Joseph Fiennes (Robert Dudley), Richard Attenborough (Sir William Cecil), Christopher Eccleston (Duke of Norfolk), Vincent Cassel (Duc d’Anjou), Fanny Ardant (Mary of Guise), Geoffrey Rush (Sir Francis Walsingham)

    Shekhar Kapur trained as a chartered accountant in England but soon developed an interest in photography and film. Beginning with small acting parts in several films and later taking the lead in four major productions, he eventually started directing films.

His first film Masoom (1985) established him as one of the leading directors in Hindi cinema. His second film, Mr India (1989), was a major hit in India and has since become a cult classic. Both these films won major awards in India.

His controversial Bandit Queen (1994) received international acclaim at the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes, was released worldwide, and selected by Time magazine as one of the ten best films of the year.