Elizabeth – The Golden Age (HD-DVD/DVD Combo Format)

 

Picture: B/C+     Sound: B-     Extras: B-/C+     Film: B-

 

 

Despite being made at the tail end of Polygram Pictures’ run, the first Elizabeth with Cate Blanchett has endured and you can read more about the first film at this link:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6016/Elizabeth+(1998/HD-DVD)

 

 

Now to the surprise of many, here is the sequel ten years later from Universal.  Subtitled The Golden Age, with Blanchett older and still looking good, her kingdom is under siege and she also has to juggle suitors for better and worse.  Better than expected, it is still not as good as the first film, though the presence of Clive Owen is a plus and Geoffrey Rush a classy touch.  Without ruining anything in the nearly two-hour film (if you know the history, I am too late,) I can say it is an ambitious sequel, has its moments, yet does not always have the energy or flow of the first film despite the return of the same director.  It is worth seeing, but we would highly recommend you see the first film first.

 

At least the money is on the screen for the most part, with the 1080p VC-1 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image looking good often, but offering too many instances of softness (maybe from too much digital work or digital internegative issues?) despite fine costumes, use of color (though sometimes dimmed) and fine cinematography by Director of Photography Remi Adefarasin, B.S.C. and lets not forget the production design that is there.  The anamorphically enhanced low def DVD side has poor Video Black and just cannot cut it with the complexity of what is there.

 

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix is a little better than the Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 on the HD side and standard Dolby Digital 5.1 on the DVD side, with a decent soundfield, dialogue that is usually recorded well and a music score typical of the genre by Craig Armstrong and Ar Rahman.  The combination on the HD side with TrueHD is easily the best, but I discovered a problem with the sound weeks later I had missed.

 

Covering this at the end of a series of titles evaluated, I was getting a headache.  I thought it was just a long night, but as it was recently pointed out to me, the TrueHD track is distorted and this is the first time I have noticed it.  It was what was causing the headache!

 

For all the Dolby TrueHD mixes and previous MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing, TrueHD’s forerunner) mixes I have heard over the years, I have never encountered any problems.  The distortion is of a new, more subtle kind, so be careful how loud you play this.  Too bad, but maybe Universal can fix this for the Blu-ray version.

 

High Definition Special Features include web-enabled functions, while all versions (including the separate DVD include deleted scenes, audio commentary by the director and the following featurettes: The Reign Continues: Making 'Elizabeth: The Golden Age’, Inside Elizabeth's World, Commanding The Winds: Creating The Armada and Towers, Courts & Cathedrals.

 

At times, Blanchett seemed to be channeling a combination of Diana Rigg and Annie Lennox.  Either way, it is not a bad film and though it may seem like a belated sequel, it is ambitious and worth a look.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo