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The Madness of King George

The Madness of King George

Comedy · Drama · History · 1994

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.

Movie details

The Madness of King George

“His Majesty was all powerful and all knowing. But he wasn't quite all there.”

1994 Comedy · Drama · History 1h 47m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.2 / 10

18.9K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

91 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

89 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Madness of King George?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Nicholas Hytner

Written by

Alan Bennett

Nigel Hawthorne

Nigel Hawthorne

George III

Helen Mirren

Helen Mirren

Queen Charlotte

Ian Holm

Ian Holm

Willis

Anthony Calf

Anthony Calf

Fitzroy

Amanda Donohoe

Amanda Donohoe

Lady Pembroke

Rupert Graves

Rupert Graves

Greville

Geoffrey Palmer

Geoffrey Palmer

Warren

Court is in session

Put The Madness of King George on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.