Elizabeth In Film

Queen Elizabeth I has been the subject of many film productions, due to her striking attitude and influence upon the people. In this post I am going to reflect on these films, and how far the women cast to portray this character went to achieve pure historical accuracy. 

Elizabeth - Cate Blanchett - 1998

Australian actress Cate Blanchett stars alongside Richard Attenborough, Christopher Eccleston and Geoffrey Rush in this biographical film, directed by Shekhar Kapur and written by Michael Hirst. The film won several awards, Cate recieved a BAFTA and Golden Globe in 1998 the year it was released, and makeup designer Jenny Shircore won an Oscar for Best Makeup. The costume, hair and makeup shown in the Coronation scene were based on a portrait of the queen, completed around 1600. It is unknown of the whereabouts of this painting completed by an unknown artist, but can be found in the book The National Portrait Gallery History of the Kings and Queens of England by David Williamson. 

(National Portrait Gallery, 2014, 'Exploring Elizabeth I' (online), [viewed 10/10/2014], available from: http://www.npg.org.uk/learning/digital/sen/explore-elizabeth-i.php)

Portrait of Elizabeth I of England in her coronation robes. Copy c. 1600–1610 of a lost original of c. 1559.

Blanchett went to extreme lengths to accurately portray the character of Queen Elizabeth. She had her eyebrows and eyelashes bleached to match the fair hair of the Queen, and even shaved her hairline back, to achieve the high forehead that the Elizabethans craved for, a sign of aristocracy and intelligence. In 2006 Blanchett once again portrayed the Queen in a follow-up to Elizabeth, in Elizabeth:The Golden Age.
(The Makeup Gallery, 2013, 'The Chameleons: Cate Blanchett' (online) [viewed 10/10/2014], available from: http://www.themakeupgallery.info/character/cham/blanchett.htm)

Fire Over England - Flora Robson - 1937

It is unknown as to who the makeup artist and designer was for this 1937 film, but it is undeniable that this was very historically accurate. Robson had a prosthetic nose for this film, and was aided by very heavy makeup to create this pale look. 

( The Makeup Gallery, 2013, C16th Makeup:Fire Over England (online) [viewed 10/10/2014], available from: http://www.themakeupgallery.info/period/c16/uk/elizabeth/fire.htm)

Bette Davis - The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex -1939 - The Virgin Queen - 1955

 Bette Davis went to extreme lengths to accurately portray this character. Herself and Perc Westmore, (at the time head makeup artist for Warner Bros.), shaved her hair back a huge 3 inches and shaved her eyebrows off, only to be replaced by a thin pencil line. Perc drew bags under her eyes, and thinned down her lips. She was only 31 when playing the role of Elizabeth in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, but the makeup ages her many years. 

She plays the role of Elizabeth once again 25 years later, and couragously accepts for her hair to be shaven off once again by Perc Westmore. This time unfortunately, it did not all grow back. "This time, woefully, my hair didn't all grow back. They did it because Queen Elizabeth was losing her hair, and they made sure I did, too". She even had to wear a nightcap to the Oscars to hide her shaven hairline. It has been said that she looked far more like the images of Queen Elizabeth in her first portrayal than she did when she would have been nearer the real age of Elizabeth in the second.

(The Makeup Gallery, C16th Makeups: The Virgin Queen, (online), [viewed 10/10/2014], available from: http://www.themakeupgallery.info/period/c16/uk/elizabeth/virginbd.htm)

Glenda Jackson - Elizabeth R - 1971

This BBC 6-part series badged Jackson an Emmy and a BAFTA for her performance. Her makeup is by far most startling towards the end of the series, as Elizabeth weakens. Jackson portrays Elizabeth from young to aged, resulting in a very arduous makeup routine.  She also submitted to having her head partially shaved, to achieve the high forehead the Queen Elizabeth fashioned. The influence of the 70's can be seen in the makeup of Jackson, whose rosy cheeks are contouring the cheekbones, rather than being circles of colour, which they would have been in the Elizabethan era.

(The Makeup Gallery, 2013, C16th Makeups:Glenda Jackson (online), [viewed 10/10/2014], available from: http://www.themakeupgallery.info/period/c16/uk/elizabeth/elizabethr.htm)

Anne-Marie Duff - The Virgin Queen - 2005

Anne-Marie Duff at the age of 35 played the role of Elizabeth from young, to old. This required many prosthetic pieces and makeup to achieve this realistically. Neill Gorton was responsible for the prosthetic makeup, alongside Lauge Voigt, sculpting the breasts and stomach of the older Elizabeth, Vicky Bancroft being the on-set applicator, Karen Hartley-Thomas was the makeup designer for the portrayal and Laura Schiavo was the makeup artist. The team also included hair stylists and makeup artists Maureen McGill and Anna Morena. Duff even had to wear false teeth nearing the end of her portrayal, which were provided by Fangs FX.

 Duff says of her portrayal: "I wanted to be a woman of her various ages and have integrity within it, not be doing an impression of something … I knew that with the makeup and costume I would look good – the prosthetics not only looked amazing but they gave my face restrictions that it wouldn’t normally have – and we worked on obvious things like vocal differences and the physicality … What I wanted to do was to try and find an old brittle bones approach … I hope I’ve achieved that. I kept thinking in my head, ‘Why on earth have they cast one actress, not two?’ but I just went for it and I hope that it works". 
(The Makeup Gallery, 2013, C16th Makeups: The Virgin Queen (online), [viewed 10/10/2014], available from  http://www.themakeupgallery.info/period/c16/uk/elizabeth/virginamd.htm)

Helen Mirren - Elizabeth I - 2005

Helen Mirren stars in this ITV mini series, focusing on the last 24 years of the Queen's reign of England. The first part focuses on her relationship with the Earl of Leicester whilst the second focuses on her relationship with the Earl of Essex. Fae Hammond was the makeup designer for this production, working alongside Su Westwood, Gemma Richards and Jane Hope-Kavanagh as the hair and makeup artists. "I used very little makeup. I slightly thinned my mouth down and slightly thickened my eyebrows. That was it. It's all about how you hold your head". 

(The Makeup Gallery, 2013, C16th Makeups: Helen Mirren, Elizabeth I (online), [viewed on 10/10/2014], available from http://www.themakeupgallery.info/period/c16/uk/elizabeth/elizabethhm.htm)

Judi Dench - Shakespeare In Love - 1998

Appearing for only 6 minutes throughout the whole film, Dame Judi Dench stars as the unbelievably tough Queen Elizabeth. She has been applauded for her 6 minutes of screenplay, critics claiming she 'owned those six minutes'. Nevertheless, Dench had to go through an extensive makeup job, by Lisa Westcott and Veronica Brebner. Westcott says "the Queen is quite old in the film she would have terrible skin--probably from mercury poisoning--so it was covered in makeup and her hair was undoubtedly falling out, so she always wore a wig. Apparently she had over 80 wigs, all different colors and her hairline would have receded from the front, giving her that rather severe look." It took the team approximately 4 hours to complete this look on Judi Dench, on the first day it is said the moment that Dench appeared in costume and makeup, the whole cast and crew went silent in awe. 

(The Makeup Gallery, 'Period: Shakespeare In Love' (online) [viewed 10/10/2014], available from: http://www.themakeupgallery.info/period/c16/uk/elizabeth/shakespearejd.htm)