The defence The Prestige Tourist
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
Drama · History · Romance · 1939
This period drama frames the tumultuous affair between Queen Elizabeth I and the man who would be King of England.
Movie details
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
“Elizabeth I's love for the Earl of Essex threatens to destroy her kingdom.”
1939 Drama · History · Romance 1h 46m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.3 / 10
Community rating
This period drama frames the tumultuous affair between Queen Elizabeth I and the man who would be King of England.
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 Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Adrenaline Seeker
“If it slows down, you check your phone.”
Read their objectionThe 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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Anne of the Thousand Days
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The Lost Husband
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An affair between the second in line to Britain's throne and the princess of the feuding Irish spells doom for the young lovers.
The Sleeping Dictionary
Drama · 2003
In the 1930s, British officer John Truscott journeys to a remote village in colonial Malaysia to educate and Westernize the local Iban population. There, he's introduced to the lovely Selima. In keeping with tradition, Selima is assigned to sleep with Truscott and teach him the native language and customs. But when they fall in love, both colonists and natives object to their plans to marry.
Queen of the Desert
Drama · 2015
A chronicle of Gertrude Bell's life, a traveler, writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer, and political attaché for the British Empire in the Near and Middle East at the dawn of the twentieth century. Her knowledge of the tribal leaders is used by the British to establish the Kingdoms of Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Michael Curtiz
Written by
Æneas MacKenzie · Norman Reilly Raine
Bette Davis
Queen Elizabeth
Errol Flynn
The Earl of Essex
Olivia de Havilland
Lady Penelope Gray
Donald Crisp
Francis Bacon
Alan Hale
The Prince of Tyrone
Vincent Price
Sir Walter Raleigh
Henry Stephenson
Lord Burghley
Court is in session
Put The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.