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Don't know much about history . . .

Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette and Jason Schwartzman as Louis XVI
  • Posted at 2:03pm
  • 14 November 2007
  • by AndrewCollins-RT

There are many reasons why you might wish to see Elizabeth: the Golden Age at the cinema – the imperious yet impish performance of Cate Blanchett, the ravishing wigs, an entire Spanish Armada created by computer – but historical accuracy should not be among them. Director Shekhar Kapur's film takes countless liberties, not least showing Elizabeth in search of a husband with whom she might produce an heir – she was in her 50s at the time of the Armada. Some critics have taken issue with this, but I think it's an unimportant criterion upon which to judge a dramatic film. So they've concertinaed certain events to make a better story – fine by me. It's what the phrase "loosely based" was invented for.

The kerfuffle over historical fidelity reached deafening volume last year with the release of another royal frolic, Sofia Coppola's visually splendid, pop-soundtracked Marie Antoinette. Booed at Cannes, its "crimes" against the truth included rounding down the number of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette's children from four to three. But Coppola made no claims to documentary realism, at one point putting a pair of Converse trainers in the background to make her point that the teen queen had much in common with today's label-obsessed youngsters.

Perhaps we should lighten up. If I was studying for a GCSE in history, I certainly wouldn't rely on Hollywood. According to Tinseltown, most of Europe's great historical figures, from painters to monarchs, have American accents. And good teeth.

But quality period drama is about feelings, not facts – as the two million or so viewers currently watching The Tudors on BBC2 will attest. This presents Elizabeth's father, Henry VIII, as – in the words of the costume designer – a "rock star of his time".

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