Tag Archive: George VI


The very British coup of The Crown

Filed under: Politics, Television — Leave a comment
December 2, 2016

THE CROWN Season 1 – Netflix TV Series written and created by Peter Morgan (UK/USA, 2016)

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If you ever get me on the subject of the Royal Family it won’t be too long before you hear words like ‘leeches’ and ‘parasites’ or  me expressing the view that The Sex Pistols’ ‘God Save The Queen’ would make a better national anthem for the UK.

My wife and I therefore began watching season 1 of The Crown on Netflix more out of morbid curiosity than out of any real expectation of viewing pleasure.

I was waiting to see how many layers of superficial dross and gloss would be applied in order to present HRH in a positive light. But the opening scene of King George VI coughing up blood (red not blue!) signals that creator Peter Morgan has something else in mind. Continue reading →

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THE KING SINGS AND SPEAKS

Filed under: Movies, Music — Leave a comment
February 1, 2011

"G...g.got anything by The Sex Pistols?"

The Royal Family must be very chuffed with the success of The King’s Speech. It shows the Queen’s Mom and Dad in a most humane light and even a committed anti-royalist like me was moved by George VI’s battle to overcome the debilitating stammer.

Needless to say Colin Firth is faultless in this role and if he doesn’t win the Oscar for this there is no justice. His double act with the equally sublime Geoffrey Rush as his speech therapist Lionel Logue is what makes the movie.

Tom Hooper’s direction doesn’t have to be flashy – he just has to make sure nothing draws the attention too far from these central performances. Thankfully he succeeds.

The music too, cannot be too fussy or overwhelming. Alexandre Desplat , is a solid and conservative choice to provide the soundtrack. Continue reading →

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