Victoria & Albert (2001) (TV)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

John Erman

Writer:

John Goldsmith (writer)

Release Date:

20 October 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

An epic love story as proud and powerful as the British Empire.

Plot:

Lavish two-part dramatisation of the passionate love story that was Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's lengthy marriage...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Queen | England | Queen Victoria | Prince Albert

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Victoria Hamilton	...	Victoria
Jonathan Firth	...	Prince Albert
James Callis	...	Ernest
Diana Rigg	...	Baroness Lehzen
Patrick Malahide	...	Sir John Conroy
Roger Hammond	...	Duke of Coburg
Penelope Wilton	...	Princess Mary Louise Victoria, Duchess of Kent
Peter Ustinov	...	King William IV
Delena Kidd	...	Queen Adelaide
Timothy Carlton	...	Dr. Halford
John Wood	...	Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Malcolm Sinclair	...	Conyngham
Gary Raymond	...	Archbishop
Nigel Hawthorne	...	Lord William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
Crispin Redman	...	Mr. Anson
Rachel Pickup	...	Lady Henrietta Standish
David Suchet	...	Baron Christian Friedrich von Stockmar, M.D.
Alec McCowen	...	Sir Robert Peel
Jonathan Pryce	...	King Leopold I of Belgium
Dudley Sutton	...	Page
Jonathan Cecil	...	Page
Joyce Redman	...	Old Queen Victoria
Toby Jones	...	Edward Oxford
Michael Siberry	...	Lord Uxbridge
Crispin Bonham-Carter	...	Lord Frederick Standish
Susan Kyd	...	Mrs. Horner
Elizabeth Spriggs	...	Actress in 'The Rivals'
David Conville	...	Actor in 'The Rivals'
Emily Raymond	...	Actress in 'The Rivals'
Donald Pickering	...	Dr. Locock
Richard Briers	...	Joseph Paxton
Simon Quarterman	...	Young Prince Albert Edward
Julie McKenna	...	Nellie Clifden
Kate Maberly	...	Princess Alice
Christopher Pulford	...	Prince Bertie
Maisie Preston	...	Princess Lenchen
William Hicks	...	Prince Affie
Poppy Rogers	...	Young Princess Alice
Zizi Vaigncourt-Strallen	...	Princess Vicky (as Zizi V-Strallen)
Phoebe-Loveday Raymond	...	Princess Louise
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Camilla Mathias	...	Wench
Alain Van Goethem	...	Brussels Footman (uncredited)

Directed by
John Erman

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
John Goldsmith		writer

Produced by
David Cunliffe	....	producer
Sue Deeks	....	executive producer: BBC
Delia Fine	....	executive producer: A&E
John Goldsmith	....	co-executive producer
Adam Kempton	....	associate producer
Thomas Mattinson	....	line producer
Doug Schwalbe	....	executive producer: Splendid TV
James Straven	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Alan Parker

Cinematography by
Tony Imi

Film Editing by
David Blackmore
Ian Farr

Casting by
Jeremy Zimmerman

Production Design by
Keith Wilson

Art Direction by
James Foster

Set Decoration by
Alistair Kay

Costume Design by
Maria Price

Makeup Department
Karen Edwards	....	makeup artist
Charmaine Fuller	....	makeup artist
Pat Hay	....	makeup designer
Helen Johnson	....	makeup artist
Nuria Mbomio	....	makeup artist: FT2
Stephen Rose	....	hair designer
Tracey Wells	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Shelley Powell	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mark Egerton	....	first assistant director
Barney Hughes	....	third assistant director (as Barnaby Hughes)
Liz Legum	....	second assistant director
Keith Young	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Colin Ellis	....	props
Colin Gray	....	props
Dougie Lankston	....	props
Heather Leary	....	assistant art director
Coralie Lew	....	assistant art director
Brian Neighbour	....	construction manager
Mitch Niclas	....	props
Dave Perschky	....	head carpenter
Allen J. Polley	....	prop master (as Allen Polley)
Mark Rimmell	....	production buyer
James R. Rokos	....	assistant art director (as James Rokos)
Paul Turner	....	props
Howard Weaver	....	scenic artist
Rosanna Westwood	....	art department assistant
Steve Williamson	....	head painter

Sound Department
Richard Fettes	....	sound effects editor
Matt Grimes	....	dialogue editor (as Matt Grime)
Dean Humphreys	....	sound re-recording mixer
Aaron Jones	....	sound trainee
Andy Kennedy	....	sound effects editor
Keith Marriner	....	adr editor
Keith Marriner	....	dialogue editor
Bjorn Ole Schroeder	....	dialogue editor (as Bjorn Schroeder)
Terry Sharratt	....	sound maintenance
Andrew Sissons	....	sound recordist
John Warhurst	....	assistant sound editor

Special Effects by
Ricky Farns	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Jim Allen	....	visual effects
Paul Lambert	....	digital compositor

Stunts
Rowley Irlam	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Phil Aylward	....	grip
Harry Bowers	....	clapper loader
Diana Dunn	....	still photographer
Paul Edwards	....	Steadicam operator
Alison Lai	....	camera trainee
Alan Martin	....	gaffer
Lee Martin	....	best boy
Mark Milsome	....	focus puller
Julian Morson	....	additional camera operator

Casting Department
Andrea Clark	....	casting assistant
Lynn Glaser	....	casting: children (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mark Lord	....	costume assistant
Ian Nader	....	costume assistant
Peter Paul	....	costume assistant
Zoe Porter	....	assistant costume designer
Pookie Russell	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
Chris Beeton	....	telecine colorist
Matthew Briggs	....	additional editor
Mike Fraser	....	negative cutter

Transportation Department
Derek McPhail	....	unit driver
Richard Sloggett	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Reid Carson	....	location assistant
Dan Channing-Williams	....	production runner
Diana Dunn	....	credits
Lucy Egerton	....	set runner
Sue Field	....	script supervisor
Fiona Garland	....	production secretary
Miranda Gooch	....	child acting coach
Stuart Hopps	....	choreographer
Samantha Knox-Johnston	....	production coordinator (as Sam Knox-Johnston)
Zeb Lamb	....	assistant to director
Caroline Morrison	....	location assistant
Nina Parnaby	....	accounting assistant
Victoria Piller-Carson	....	accountant
Marlea Willis	....	senior unit publicist
Verity Wislocki	....	assistant to producer
Charlie Woodhouse	....	location manager
Mike Fraser	....	rushes transfer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• A&E Television Networks
• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
• Own2feet Productions
• Splendid Television

Distributors

• A&E Home Video (USA) (DVD)
• A&E Television Networks
• Alpha Media (2004) (China) (TV)

Other Companies

• Cinesite  thanks
• Eccentric Trading Company  thanks
• Elstree Film & Television Studios  thanks
• Film Finances  thanks
• Sound Design Company, The  post-production sound services

Runtime:

USA:200 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Arundel Castle, Arundel, West Sussex, England, UK

Company:

A&E Television Networks

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Queen Victoria, in the first days of her reign, is having tea with her Prime Minister and they are talking about the death of the Prime Minister's son. The china they are using is the pattern called "Lady Carlyle" made by Royal Albert. This pattern was not available until the 1920s - several years after the Queen's death.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Young Victoria (2009)

Soundtrack:

Zadok the Priest

Great Supporting Cast Saves this miniseries.

I'm a BBCminiseries-aholic. I can watch even the most tedious efforts from the 70s and find them entertaining enough to watch several times. So it is no surprise that I like this. For my enjoyment, the biggest stumbling block of this miniseries is the casting of Victoria. To be fair, Victoria Hamilton (Victoria) is an actress I just don't care for. I've seen her in several things, and I just don't connect with her screen presence. She is a fine actress, always emotionally "present," but I do feel that I see the same 3 emotions over and over – happy, sad, fussy. She is omnipresent through this piece, so… there you have it. She is lovely as the coming-of-age Victoria, but the biggest problem here is that she is not believable playing much over the age of 25.

This is a film that would have benefited immensely by double casting the leads/ breaking half way through to change them to older actors. (And one horrible mistake is opening and closing the film with an elderly wheelchair-bound Victoria – played by another actress – whose eyes are bright blue, and Hamilton's are brown.) Hamilton simply does not grow up enough, despite costumes and makeup.

Jonathan Firth (Albert) also suffers from the various age make-ups, fares much better, and brings more complexity to his role. He is always exceptional, and his role here is sympathetic, even when behaving badly, but he does look as if he had just finished crying during a lot of this film… a bad allergy season, perhaps? He also does not make the transition to age believably.

Because of this, what makes this piece tick, run, and flow is the exquisite supporting cast. This is always the case with these BBC/A&E productions, and it may be what is really their core secret. People a town with geniuses, and any idiot can run the place…. Well, that is what they do with their actors. Penelope Wilton has the standout performance as a desperate, emotional, miscalculating Queen Mum. David Suchet is simply perfect, and so far from Poirot you need to remind yourself that this is the same actor. Diana Rigg and Nigel Hawthorne also lend gravitas to production.

This production also features some really beautiful castle/historic locations, but this one is probably only for those who are addicted to the anglo-miniseries. (Almost exclusively indoor and talky, so boys will probably feel as pent up and useless as Albert did.)