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The Madness of King George
Aging King George III of England is exhibiting signs of madness, a problem little understood in 1788. As the monarch alternates between bouts of confusion and near-violent outbursts of temper, his hapless doctors attempt the ineffectual cures of the day. Meanwhile, Queen Charlotte and Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger attempt to prevent the king's political enemies, led by the Prince of Wales, from usurping the throne.
Release : | 1994 |
Rating : | 7.2 |
Studio : | Samuel Goldwyn Company, Film4 Productions, Close Call Films, |
Crew : | Art Department Assistant, Art Department Assistant, |
Cast : | Nigel Hawthorne Helen Mirren Ian Holm Anthony Calf Amanda Donohoe |
Genre : | Drama Comedy History |
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i must have seen a different film!!
Excellent, Without a doubt!!
I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
Blistering performances.
The Madness of King George is a good movie. It is enjoyable to watch and you will no doubt come away glad that you did. Though the Madness of King George is a movie about political struggles, there is a lot of light hearted comedy that adds a very colourful flavour. The comedy is quite good and the story is quite interesting.The Madness of King George is set in 1788 in England. Britain has just lost its American colonies and this plays a major part on the health on the King. Though it is difficult to see due to the King's behaviour throughout the movie, the blurb says that he is beginning to act strangely. Nigel Hawthorne plays a rather cheerful and eccentric king but as the movie progresses the eccentricity becomes more and more extreme. It is at this stage that the king is believed to be mad and the movie turns into one of a political struggle. Yet right from the beginning of the movie one does sense desire coming from the kings eldest son so it is not surprising that he wants to take the throne.The acting in the movie is extremely good and Nigel Hawthorne plays the role of the king brilliantly. The film makers have managed to capture the atmosphere of the aristocracy and have portrayed the era and the customs accurately. One aspect that I was particularly impressed with was the allusions to Shakespeare's King Lear, which is another story of a king gone mad. Unfortunately it seems that the movie probably followed the plot of King Lear a little too closely. Though the play and the movie do end differently, there is a number of simulates. The movie does though acknowledge King Lear near the end. The plot of the ambitious prince wanting to take the throne of the king is also an overused plot point but that happens.
This movie was something I wanted to see when it came out in 1994 and I was only nine years old, so of course Mom didn't allow it. I remembered the movie tonight and got a hold of it. I think that had I watched the movie that young, ratings aside, I would probably have appreciated Rupert Graves' handsomeness more than the tale the movie was trying to tell me, so I'm glad I waited. The movie was horribly slow-paced at times. It could have used a rewrite and a tightening up of the script. However, the acting from everyone was wonderful and anyone else playing King George III might not have saved the movie from its script. I also felt moved by the predicament of having a nervous system condition that IMDb claims I'm misspelling when I'm not misspelling it in an age where modern medicine thinks that giving you boils will cure something and modern psychiatry is locking people (some of who aren't actually legitimately mentally ill) in an asylum. If you're looking for something that is somewhat thought provoking, has wonderful acting, and is set during the Regency, this would be a movie to consider. On that note, if you do not have patience for a slow script, occasional too much dumped on you at once before meandering again, then reconsider.
I cannot begin to describe how much I loved the Madness of King George. I am very fond of period dramas, and this was a truly great film, funny, moving and pretty much immaculate. George III is married to Charlotte, yet he dallys with Lady Pembroke and fathers 15 children and an empire. The thing is, Farmer George(the king's nickname) is starting to show signs of madness, the rest.. well you'll have to see it for yourself. Nicolas Hytner directs impeccably, and while the screenplay has some sardonic jokes and colloquialisms it ensures that the film is essentially a serious study of 18th century politics and the monarchy. The period detail and art direction is nothing short of sumptuous, exquisite costumes, scenery and settings, and the use of music by Handel was appropriately fitting. Then there is the acting, it was top notch. Nigel Hawthorne's performance here is so exceptional, he pretty much embodies the film, in a performance that is funny, moving and charming. Helen Mirren and Amanda Donohoe both do wonderfully as his wife and mistress, they both are great actresses and both look lovely here. Rupert Everett is suitably detestable as the foppish Prince of Wales, Ian Holm is brilliant as Willis in some of the more harrowing scenes of the film and Rupert Graves is entertaining as Greville. Overall, this is a truly great film, so worth seeing for Hawthorne's performance alone! 10/10 Bethany Cox
Based on the play, this is quite a good period drama of a new king of England that has an almost unexplainable madness. I did fall asleep somewhere, probably when Sir Ian Holm was helping cure the king, but what I did see of this film, based in the time of The French Revolution was good. Basically George III (BAFTA winning, and Oscar nominated Nigel Hawthorne) has recently been crowned, and not long after starts a dementia, and becomes more alive and more politically marginalized. All are concerned, especially wife Queen Charlotte (Oscar and BAFTA nominated Dame Helen Mirren), well, unless you count the stupid Prince of Wales (Rupert Everett). The only person who may be able to help the king return to normal "what-what" is Dr. Willis (BAFTA nominated Holm). Also starring Rupert Graves as Greville, Amanda Donohoe as Lady Pembroke, Green Wing's Julian Rhind-Tutt as Duke of York, Julian Wadham as Pitt, Jim Carter as Fox and Geoffrey Palmer as Warren. I can see why Blackadder picked on this period with Prince George in Blackadder the Third. It won the Oscar for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, and it was nominated for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, and it won the BAFTAs for Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film and Best Makeup/Hair, and it was nominated for Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music for George Fenton, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound, David Lean Award for Direction for Nicholas Hytner and Best Film. Rupert Everett was number 39 on The 50 Greatest British Actors, Amanda Donohoe was number 38, and Dame Helen Mirren number 7 on The 50 Greatest British Actresses, and Mirren was number 5 on Britain's Finest Actresses. Very good!