Regular Price:
$19.95
|
| |
Dear visitor! This website has been designed to help you find THE BEST PRICE. When you are ready to buy, your payment will be processed through one of the most TRUSTED SUPPLIERS directly.
Thank you for shopping with us!
|
Customer Review
A Gentle, Romantic Period Piece
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,...
Top to learn more
October 28, 2001
(USA) | Helpful Votes: 95 | Rating: 5
A royal cinematic feast
"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...
Top to learn more
October 21, 2003
| Helpful Votes: 42 | Rating: 5
Product Description
The world remembers Queen Victoria as a staid and stately dowager in black, but Victoria and Albert shows the other side of the monarch who gave her name to an era - the emotional young queen whose reign was shaped by her passionate love for her German-born husband, Prince Albert.
Disc One:
Kept isolated form the court by her domineering mother, Victoria seems unprepared for the throne when King William IV (Sir Peter Ustinov) dies. But the teenage queen shows surprising strength and resolve, and puts her full faith in the political counsel of Lord Melbourne, the Prime Minister. With the help of Belgium's King Leopold, a meeting is arranged between Victoria and her cousin, Prince Albert of Germany. Though initially reluctant, she falls utterly in love when she sees him, and they are married after a brief courtship.
Disc Two:
The changing political fortunes of Lord Melbourne finally afford Albert the opportunity to become involved in the affairs of state - a role Victoria had previously resisted. Soon, his wise counsel leads the Queen to call him "king in everything but name." But their joint rule would not last long, as Albert's tireless work on the Great Exhibition of 1851 comes at the cost of his health. He never fully recovers, eventually succumbing to typhoid fever in 1862, leaving Victoria to rule alone for nearly 40 years.
Top to learn more
Recasting history as a particularly lavish soap opera,
Victoria and Albert sets the story of the relationship between the queen and her consort against a background of family strife and political wrangling. Sticklers for accuracy might be disappointed, but the strong cast and lavish production values make for an entertaining film.
Victoria is barely 18 when her uncle King William IV dies. She is introduced by the family adviser to a young German prince called Albert, and in spite of their initial indifference to one another and a great deal of political opposition, they fall in love. Marriage brings its own problems, however, and as Victoria, grows from an inexperienced young woman into a shrewd and powerful monarch Albert struggles to find a role for himself in both the family and the nation.
The relationship between Victoria and Albert was a remarkable one and this film, while occasionally erring on the side of sentiment, brings that relationship to life. The young leads are charming, but it is the supporting cast of British acting stalwarts--including Nigel Hawthorne, David Suchet, and Diana Rigg--who make Victoria and Albert truly worth watching. --Simon Leake Top to learn more
Great Costume Drama, So-So on the History
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...
Top to learn more
November 1, 2001
| Helpful Votes: 64 | Rating: 4
Acting, sets, and costumes DIVINE, but plot fell a little short