Jane Austen discussion

Here's a movie I want to see! What a great cast!

Young Victoria

Oooh I saw this trailer before and was enchanted! I plan on watching it!

I watched this on New Years Eve. I absolutely loved it. Gorgeous film.

Looks really good!

I really want to see this one, too :-)

Christy wrote: "I watched this on New Years Eve. I absolutely loved it. Gorgeous film."

I saw it last week and also loved it. Even though it is history and we all know the plot I found myself totally involved and thinking "no, don't sign it" or "don't listen to him".
I really like Emily Blunt as an actress.

Argh, I want to see it too, but it only played in one theater that was far away. Guess I have to wait until it's available on DVD...

I loved this movie. I was beautiful in every sense.

I so want to see this movie, but my theater is not carrying it. It's only carrying crap like "The Tooth Fairy" and stuff..

Melissa wrote: "I so want to see this movie, but my theater is not carrying it. It's only carrying crap like "The Tooth Fairy" and stuff.."

My problem, too! *sob*

I liked Young Victoria but didn't love it. Maybe it'll grow on me. I definitely plan to watch it again when it comes out on video. I found it interesting to see how differently various people and events and the relationship between Victoria and Albert were portrayed in Young Victoria than in the mini-series Victoria and Albert, which I love.

How would you describe it? Did you think it was too dramatic or not really accurate or something? For some reason I may wait to see it on DVD. Victoria has never caught on for me as a specific interest. I enjoyed the Judi Dench Mrs. Brown, but mainly because of Judi.

I don't know enough about Victoria to know which was more accurate historically. They seem to have different political points of view. I read a biography of Victoria once, but it was many years ago. I'm not British, so I'm not as knowledgeable about British history and politics as I would be if I lived there. I don't think the film was overly dramatic. The actors who play Victoria and Albert in The Young Victoria are very good looking, which makes it fun to watch, of course, but in a way I prefer having the actors look more like real people than like movie stars, as they do in Victoria and Albert. The development of the relationship between the two is more complex in Victoria and Albert, which may be partly because it's longer and covers a longer period of time.

There wasn't anything about The Young Victoria that I didn't like, it's just that I didn't get completely swept up by it. I'm definitely going to watch it again--it's already in my Netflix saved list.

I have wanted to see it but I was a little bit afraid. I know it isn't playing at any theaters nearby so I'll have to wait until it comes out on DVD if I do watch it. I do want to know, before I watch it, if there are some questionable parts in it that some people would prefer not to see?

It is rated PG, so I don't imagine it has any really objectionable material. Netflix.com rates it for 12+ years old. Does this help answer your question? I have to wait for it to come to dvd, too.

I don't remember anything objectionable, but it's been a few weeks since I saw it.

Okay, saw it this weekend and was enthralled. GREAT movie, and left me with plenty of food for thought. Also (totally random), they really did dogs so well! The royal spaniels and the lovely hunting dogs. It was the perfect touch.

Saw it last night and really enjoyed it. The costumes were gorgeous and the set designs were unbelievable. Everything was so rich and full of detail, I felt like I could reach out and touch it. The movie made me realize how little I know about Victoria and now I need to read a biography on her!

I just finished a new biography, We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals and I recommend it. The author is pretty hard on Albert, but she shows his good qualities and accomplishments as well as his faults and mistakes.

Thanks for the recommendation Alicia - I will add it to me 'to read' list :)

I watched Young Victoria last weekend and really enjoyed it! I think the casting was superb and the sets and costumes were gorgeous. I didn't know that Albert died so young. No wonder Victoria built that huge memorial. She was a young widow with nine children and Queen of England -- she must have been amazing.

I just watched the movie last night as well and i adored it! I wanted it to keep on going and not end. Definitely going to have to get it to own. ^^ I'm starting to really become interested in English history. Makes me wish i lived over the pond instead of being stuck in the states.

Many of us feel that way, too! :)

I watched Young Victoria! I have been out of the movie mood for a while and doing so much reading, but it was a nice break. I liked it because it was short and didn't seem long-but-padded-with-needless-drama. (Maybe that is why I haven't been movie-watching much. Does anyone else feel that some scripts are getting that way these days? Longer, but not more substantial?)

Anyway, cast was very good I thought. And it did make me even more interested in the period and the politics.

I am not a Tudor person too much, so would certainly love to see more interest in this period when it comes to movies and fiction. I know it may be different in England, but in the U.S. I have not noticed as much Victorian. My late mother was becoming very interested in all the royal family connections between England and all the other countries, as it stated at the end of the film. I don't know what books she was reading though.

I think movies are getting longer. Everyone seems to want to make the 2-3 hour movie. That sometimes work and sometimes doesn't. Then again i'm not really sure since i rarely ever go to the movies anymore. Most of them are stupid in my opinion with only a few worth seeing. My theater tends to specialize in stupid...

I, too, would love to see more movies in the period "The Young Victoria". Ones that center around the civil war.... They really need to make more historical movies to inform people. My older sister didn't even know who Prince Albert was. I had to sit there and explain to her who he was and about Victoria. I also had to explain the different periods since she was clueless about them. Never even had an idea what "the regency period" or the Victorian period for.

I saw it the other night, too. It was okay, certainly a well done visual period piece, but as usual the ego of the film makers gets in the way of real history. Can't make a movie without the pppaaaassssiiiioooonnnnate love of the the main characters being taking center stage for everything. Ole Vickie had a very traumatic early life, and Albert was probably the only real thing in her life she loved. No, she didn't much like her children. Albert did want to do thing to improve the life of the average person, and they did do things while he was alive, but didn't carry on.
Sorry, Melissa, but if you really want to know something about that time period there are hundreds of books. Asking film makers to do history for you will leave you majorly misinformed.
Patg

I didn't interpret what Melissa was saying as asking the movie industry to do history for us. She is right, we do need movies to inform and at least introduce many eras and aspects of history. This probably would help her sister to know who Prince Albert was. :) We all just keep in mind these are interpretations and we will be fine. For that matter, look at how many history books are also very interpretive, so we really have to slog through too many of them to get close to the truth too.

Patricia wrote: "I saw it the other night, too. It was okay, certainly a well done visual period piece, but as usual the ego of the film makers gets in the way of real history. Can't make a movie without the pppaaa..."
Well said. They did take some LARGE liberties with historical fact and the sequence of events. It was very pretty to watch! But it was hard to really enjoy as I was constantly thinking - "uh, wait that isn't what...." Others mileage may vary!

Sarah wrote: "I didn't interpret what Melissa was saying as asking the movie industry to do history for us. She is right, we do need movies to inform and at least introduce many eras and aspects of history. Th..."

That is really what i meant. ^^ Too any people these days have no knowledge of history or historical facts. Then the ones they have are usually distorted by fictional accounts of it. Its a pretty known fact that more people are willing to watch a movie than sit down and read a book. Why not take that fact and turn it into knowledge. Get more people informed. The best way for people to learn from history and to keep it from repeating is for them to know it.

Sarah wrote: "I watched Young Victoria! I have been out of the movie mood for a while and doing so much reading, but it was a nice break. I liked it because it was short and didn't seem long-but-padded-with-ne..."
Maybe you should watch 'Mrs. Brown' with Judy Dench. It's a slightly better portrait of Victoria after she became the eternal widow. The whole thing with Brown scared the heck out of her kids.
Patg

Patricia wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I watched Young Victoria! I have been out of the movie mood for a while and doing so much reading, but it was a nice break. I liked it because it was short and didn't seem long-but-..."

Now i'm curious.Who is Mrs.Brown?

Queen Victoria was referred to as Mrs. Brown when she had that weird 'relationship' with a Mr. Brown.
He was some kind of stable or horse person assigned to see to it she rode everyday.
Patg

Patricia wrote: "Queen Victoria was referred to as Mrs. Brown when she had that weird 'relationship' with a Mr. Brown.
He was some kind of stable or horse person assigned to see to it she rode everyday.
Patg"

Ohh... I really need to pull out Victoria's bio that i got from a book sale.

I have seen Mrs. Brown with Judi Dench, whom I shamelessly adore. It was distinctively different from the Young Victoria film, wasn't it? Did it seem more accurate to you, Pat?

What bio do you have Melissa?

Sarah wrote: "I have seen Mrs. Brown with Judi Dench, whom I shamelessly adore. It was distinctively different from the Young Victoria film, wasn't it? Did it seem more accurate to you, Pat?

What bio do you hav..."

It's "Queen Victoria: From her birth to the death of the prince consort" by Cecil Woodham-Smith 1972. A booksale i was helping out was going to pitch it and i saved it from the trash.

I never read anything about Victoria after Albert's death. It all seems so depressing, and points out what a lousy parent she was. It certainly was revealing, but it didn't leave me feeling I should rush out and investigate.
Melissa, that bio wouldn't cover this incident. It happened after Alberts.
I love Judy Dench too.
Patg

I would like to read something someday after the Mr. Brown relationship to see how it compared with the Dench movie. I think I remember not being able to keep my cast of characters straight when I watched it because I didn't know much about Brit politics of that time period. And that is another thing I am interested in, reading some really good books about the days of Empire. England had their hand in so many countries, it is hard for me, as a U.S. girl, to keep straight (we didn't learn it at all in school), but fascinating.

I liked this movie but I felt like it could have gone into greater detail about the works they did together as a couple for the good of the country. Did Albert really pine around for Victoria like that!? I just cannot fathom him doing such a thing. At the end when Albert dies it just gave a few lines on the accomplishments they made together and that annoyed me. The costumes were awesome and do deserve the award!! I loved the Queen Victoria and Albert with Victoria Hamilton much better if I may say. I think I was expecting something more along that line and no I did not read the book.

The Young Victoria movie was pretty romanticized, but I was wondering why you were thinking Albert wouldn't have pined for Victoria? I have never studied them, but assuming we will never really know their most private lives anyway, I really didn't find this part so hard to swallow. I suppose it was showing that regardless of their personal feelings, they were in the confines of the politics of the families.

I guess since it was only a focus on their lives in the early days, it wouldn't have gone into the accomplishments they made later.

If you have anything on Victoria on your shelves you can point us too, I would love to take a look. Thanks Becki!

I'm planning on watching it. I watched the trailer and really liked it.

I love this movie! I thought it was such a beautiful story.

This is such a great movie! It was a beautiful story!!

I have not seen "The Young Victoria" but it is on my list. I just returned the BBC/A&E mini-series "Victoria and Albert" to the library. I enjoyed that very much. My friend traveled to England and brought back a little book of the Kings and Queens of England for my boys. They had little interest in the book but I have taken it and use it constantly as a reference to figure out the royal connnections.

I've watched The Young Victoria several times and I loved it each time.
I do know that during their "courtship" they did write to each other a lot. I think Albert thought more of Victoria in the beginning then she did him. But grew to love him very much. That is what I think.

I truly adore this movie! I thought Emily Blount and Rupert Friend had chemistry and to me that helped me to see them as Queen Victoria and Prince Albert!

I loved the costuming and the cinematography was wonderful. I was so caught up in this film that I wished it was longer! I recently purchased a book about Queen Victoria and Prince Albert called We Two and I am looking forward to reading more on this lovely pair of royals!

If you enjoyed this romance may I suggest Bright Star about John Keats and Fanny Brawne if you have not already seen it? I was really caught up in this film by Jane Campion.

I got this movie recently and I loved it. I thought that Blunt and Friend had chemistry, and the other actors did great jobs with their characters-- manipulating Lord Melbourne (Paul Bettany), crazy but loving King William (Jim Broadbent) and her loving but inferior mother (Miranda Richardson) as the Duchess of Kent. Costumes were wonderful.

Although many attempts were made on Victoria's life, in the film Albert took the bullet for her which never happened in real life. But I believe that he would have, if the opportunity arose. They really were deeply in love (shown by their letters and diaries.) And Albert was very comfortable being #2 and putting Victoria first.

I read Victoria and Albert by Richard Alexander Hough. (easy read)
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18...

And now I'm reading Uncrowned King: The Life of Prince Albert by Stanley Weintraub
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12...

I liked this movie, I saw it awhile back, but I liked the intrigues between her mother and her advisor. I realize that they had to add some scenes like Albert taking the bullet for her. He probably would have done so if given the opportunity. They were truly in love by all accounts of the movie.

This movie was truly beautiful. I couldn't wait for it to come out in cinemas and my husband bought it for me almost as soon as it was released on DVD.
All the actors played wonderful parts - particularly Paul Bettany. He was perfect in the role of Lord Melbourne. As was Mark Strong as Sir John Conroy - he knows how to play a fantastic villan.
The love story portrayed by Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend was nothing less than perfect. I particularly love the scene the morning after their wedding. There you don't see a prince and a queen, but just simple newlyweds.
Overall, this movie is a delight. It may not be 100% historically accruate, but we're never going to know exactly what happened between Victoria and Albert because what they shared was private. We can only go on accounts of others and letters between the two. A small amount of imagination is required to fill in the gaps.

If you have the DVD, the "extras" are great. In an interview Miranda Richardson said how she liked the corset, that it helped her to be in character.