Review: The Young Victoria

I've heard quite a bit about The Young Victoria around the blogging world. I kind of wanted to see it, but never bought the DVD or seen it on TV. When I came home one day, I saw that it was on one of the movie channels. I missed the first couple of minutes of it, but I got to see the rest of it.

DVD Box Art

Synopsis

The Young Victoria follows the life of Princess Victoria, who eventually becomes Queen Victoria, and how she met Prince Albert and fell in love with him. She became queen at age 18 and was seen by many as inexperienced and not ready for the job.


Characters
There are a couple of actors/actresses that you may recognize in The Young Victoria. Emily Blunt has recently come into the limelight, but also there is Rupert Friend (Pride and Prejudice 2005) as Prince Albert, Mark Strong (Emma 1997) was Sir John Conroy, Harriet Walter (Sense and Sensibility 1995, Little Dorrit 2008) was Queen Adelaide, and Morven Christie (Lost in Austen) was the servant Watson. The screenplay was written by Julian Fellowes, who also created Downton Abbey.

Overall, I thought the cast did a very good job. Emily Blunt I thought was a good Queen Victoria. I don't know very much about Victoria's life, but I found her likable in this movie. A little rebellious, but likable. I found that Emily Blunt acted well in her role, though there were a couple of spots where I thought she acted a little silly as a queen and for the time period, but overall she did a good job. I also enjoyed Rupert Friend's Price Albert, though I was a little skeptical of his German accent (something about it didn't seem perfectly right, but not bad).

I did have a hard time with remembering all the members of the royal family, but that could be due to my missing the first couple of minutes of the movie. When I rewatch this movie, I may have to pay closer attention to the characters with titles.


Scenery
A feast for the eyes! Between the gorgeous houses and the outdoor scenery, there cannot be want of pretty scenes. The colors are very lively and bright.


Costuming

Wow... This must be some of the best costuming I've seen. The dresses are very lively and bright (except for the mourning dresses, of course). There were a number of lovely dresses that Victoria wore. And the bonnets! A number of them had sheer fabric on them, which made them interesting. The dresses were from the 1830s and a little into the 1840s.


Overall: 4/5
Overall, I liked it. There were a couple of scenes that you may want to skip after Victoria and Albert get married (two or three scenes, but they are very close together), but other than that, I don't believe there was anything bad in there. There were two assassination attempts made on Queen Victoria, one which no one was hurt (though many were shocked) and the second where someone was injured, but nothing is shown. I think I would watch this again to pick up on some of the smaller details, though I've read that there are some historical inaccuracies, but that's not unusual for biopics.

The Young Victoria is available on DVD and Blu-Ray. It is rated PG and runs for 105 minutes.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

Happy Halloween

Yep, I had to make it! Two days ago, I got the idea to carve a pumpkin, which I haven't done in years, and yesterday, I bought a pumpkin and carved it. Being sick of how graphic and scary Halloween has gotten lately ("...but are they all horrid, are you sure they are all horrid?"*), I decided that I would go with a Jane Austen approach.

And here it is in action!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

*Quoted from Northanger Abbey


 God Bless,
 

Last Day For Suggestions for Suggestions List!

First of all, I've gotten a couple more suggestions for the list!

Caddy Jellyby (Bleak House)

Lady Dedlock (Bleak House)

Miss Buck (Upstairs Downstairs)

Lady Maud Holland (Upstairs Downstairs)

Lady Agnes Holland (Upstairs Downstairs)

Lady Persephone Towne (Upstairs Downstairs)

Mrs. Thackeray (Upstairs Downstairs)

Rachel Perlmutter (Upstairs Downstairs)

Ivy Morris (Upstairs Downstairs)

Mrs. Isobel Crawley (Downton Abbey)

Gwen (Downton Abbey)

Daisy (Downton Abbey)

Mrs. Elsie Hughes (Downton Abbey)

Mrs. Patmore (Downton Abbey)

Here is the list so far!

Esther Summerson (Bleak House)

Bella Wilfer (Our Mutual Friend)

Lizzie Hexam (Our Mutual Friend)

Madeline Bray (Nicholas Nickleby)

Kate Nickleby (Nicholas Nickleby)
Lorna Doone (Lorna Doone)
Mirah Lapidoth (Daniel Deronda)
Gwendolen Fairfax (The Importance of Being Earnest)
Cecily Cardew (The Importance of Being Earnest) 
Dorothea Brooke (Middlemarch)
Eleanor Tilney (Northanger Abbey)

Meg March (Little Women)
Jo March (Little Women)
Beth March (Little Women)
Amy March (Little Women)

Marguerite Blakney (The Scarlet Pimpernel)
Lady Violet (Downton Abbey)
Anne Taylor Weston (Emma)
Deborah Jenkyns (Cranford)

Helen Graham (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall)

Catherine Earnshaw (Wuthering Heights)

Tess Durbeyfield (Tess of the D'Urbevilles)

Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing)

Portia (Merchant of Venice)

Diana Barry (Anne of Green Gables)

Tzeitel (Fiddler on the Roof)

Miss Browning (Wives and Daughters) -- both?

Sara Stanley (Road to Avonlea)

Ada Clare (Bleak House)

Edith Adelon (The Inheritance)

Louisa Musgrove (Persuasion)

Lucie Manette (A Tale of Two Cities)

Agnes Wickfield (David Copperfield)

Esmerelda (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

Amelia Sedley (Vanity Fair)

Catherine Linton (Wuthering Heights)

Beatrix Potter (Miss Potter)

Felicity King (Road to Avonlea)

Cosette (Les Miserables)

Peggy Bell (Return to Cranford)

Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House On The Prairie)

Emily Byrd Starr (Emily of New Moon)
Bathsheba Everdene (Far From the Madding Crowd)
Lucy Honeychurch (A Room With A View)
Sara Crew (A Little Princess)
Mary Lennox (The Secret Garden)
Queen Elizabeth, wife of George VI (The King's Speech)
Dorothy Stanbury (He Knew He Was Right)
Bessy Higgins (North & South)

Olivia King Dale (Road to Avonlea)

Hetty King (Road to Avonlea)

Roxanne (Cyrano de Bergerac)

Wenneveria (Pendragon: Sword of His Father)

Buttercup (Princess Bride)

Mary Lennox (The Secret Garden)

Sara Crewe (A Little Princess)

Caddie Woodlawn (Caddie Woodlawn)

Charlotte Lucas (Pride and Prejudice) 

Danielle De Barbarac (Ever After: A Cinderella Story)

Maid Marian (Robin Hood)

Caddy Jellyby (Bleak House)

Lady Dedlock (Bleak House)

Miss Buck (Upstairs Downstairs)

Lady Maud Holland (Upstairs Downstairs)

Lady Agnes Holland (Upstairs Downstairs)

Lady Persephone Towne (Upstairs Downstairs)

Mrs. Thackeray (Upstairs Downstairs)

Rachel Perlmutter (Upstairs Downstairs)

Ivy Morris (Upstairs Downstairs)

Mrs. Isobel Crawley (Downton Abbey)

Gwen (Downton Abbey)

Daisy (Downton Abbey)

Mrs. Elsie Hughes (Downton Abbey)

Mrs. Patmore (Downton Abbey)

This is the last day to suggest contestants for the 2nd Period Drama Heroine Tournament!

I'll accept suggestions until 12:00 AM Eastern Time Zone. Then tomorrow, I will put up the poll sometime during the day. You can vote for as many heroines/female characters as you want. The poll will last one week and the top ten contestants from the poll will be entered into the 2nd Period Drama Tournament.

 God Bless,
 

Sense and Sensibility Week Over at Miss Georgiana Darcy

From November 6-12, Maria Elisabeth at Miss Georgiana Darcy is holding a Sense and Sensibility Week event! There will be numerous events going on during the week, all that have to do with Sense and Sensibility. I will be participating in it; I hope you will too!

God Bless,

Change in Extras Page

 I made a quick change in the Extras Page. There are now individual HTML codes underneath all the extras, not just one that you paste the URL into the code where it said to. Hopefully, this will make putting up extras up on your blog easier!


God Bless,

More Icons!

There are 15 more icons made! Enjoy!









 God Bless,
 

Latest Additions to Suggestions List (Updated 10/28/11)

 I've gotten a very good response for suggestions for the 2nd Period Drama Heroine Tournament. Been a little quiet the past couple of days, though. Here are the latest additions!

Danielle De Barbarac (Ever After: A Cinderella Story)

Maid Marian (Robin Hood)

Current List

Esther Summerson (Bleak House)

Bella Wilfer (Our Mutual Friend)

Lizzie Hexam (Our Mutual Friend)

Madeline Bray (Nicholas Nickleby)

Kate Nickleby (Nicholas Nickleby)
Lorna Doone (Lorna Doone)
Mirah Lapidoth (Daniel Deronda)
Gwendolen Fairfax (The Importance of Being Earnest)
Cecily Cardew (The Importance of Being Earnest)
Dorothea Brooke (Middlemarch)
Eleanor Tilney (Northanger Abbey)

Meg March (Little Women)
Jo March (Little Women)
Beth March (Little Women)
Amy March (Little Women)

Marguerite Blakney (The Scarlet Pimpernel)
Lady Violet (Downton Abbey)
Anne Taylor Weston (Emma)
Deborah Jenkyns (Cranford)

Helen Graham (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall)

Catherine Earnshaw (Wuthering Heights)

Tess Durbeyfield (Tess of the D'Urbevilles)

Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing)

Portia (Merchant of Venice)

Diana Barry (Anne of Green Gables)

Tzeitel (Fiddler on the Roof)

Miss Browning (Wives and Daughters) -- both?

Sara Stanley (Road to Avonlea)

Ada Clare (Bleak House)

Edith Adelon (The Inheritance)

Louisa Musgrove (Persuasion)

Lucie Manette (A Tale of Two Cities)

Agnes Wickfield (David Copperfield)

Esmerelda (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

Amelia Sedley (Vanity Fair)

Catherine Linton (Wuthering Heights)

Beatrix Potter (Miss Potter)

Felicity King (Road to Avonlea)

Cosette (Les Miserables)

Peggy Bell (Return to Cranford)

Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House On The Prairie)

Emily Byrd Starr (Emily of New Moon)
Bathsheba Everdene (Far From the Madding Crowd)
Lucy Honeychurch (A Room With A View)
Sara Crew (A Little Princess)
Mary Lennox (The Secret Garden)
Queen Elizabeth, wife of George VI (The King's Speech)
Dorothy Stanbury (He Knew He Was Right)
Bessy Higgins (North & South)

Olivia King Dale (Road to Avonlea)

Hetty King (Road to Avonlea)

Roxanne (Cyrano de Bergerac)

Wenneveria (Pendragon: Sword of His Father)

Buttercup (Princess Bride)

Mary Lennox (The Secret Garden)

Sara Crewe (A Little Princess)

Caddie Woodlawn (Caddie Woodlawn)

Charlotte Lucas (Pride and Prejudice) 

Danielle De Barbarac (Ever After: A Cinderella Story)

Maid Marian (Robin Hood)

There are only three days left for suggestions! If you have a suggestion for the poll, make your suggestion now! (or soon)

 

God Bless,
 

Some Layout Changes (Reactions and moving things around)

 No, I didn't make any drastic changes like change the banner/background. I just made a few changes that I thought I would bring to your attention:

 

First of all, I've finally got the reactions to work! I've been trying to add them for months now, but for some reason, Blogger just wouldn't take them. But I looked it up the solution, remedied the problem, and now you can click on your reaction to a post.

Secondly, I switched the followers and Pride and Prejudice Wardrobe widgets on the left side bar and I moved the Elegance of Fashion linking button to the right side bar.

And lastly, I finally noticed that I could enable commenting on my blog pages. So the Banners page, the Extras page, the Icons page, and the Tournaments page, you can leave a comment. You can comment on those pages as you could on a regular post, so if you have an idea for a banner, extra, icon, or tournament, you can leave a comment there.

Nothing too terrible, I hope. Hopefully these changes will make Elegance of Fashion more enjoyable to you!


 God Bless,
 

More Artwork for Northanger Abbey the Comic

Remember how at the beginning of the month, I mentioned how they've started to make Northanger Abbey the comic book? Well, I happened to look it up and there are some more cover art pictures.

Part 2 Cover

Part 3 Cover

The artwork looks promising (the artwork for the Sense and Sensibility comic could have been improved, and the artwork for the Emma comic wasn't what it could have been), but I'm still a little concerned that it'll be too dark for the tone of the story. I guess I'll find out when they preview a page or two from the comic. The first comic will come out on November 9th. I have a feeling it will be in four parts (but it's just a feeling going off reading the synopsis for the parts), and each part looks like it is released once a month. It may take a while before it comes in a hardcover book, but still I'm looking forward to it.

 God Bless,
 

Andrew Davies's Screenplays

Instead of a review this week, I have a little critique about screenplays.


There's a name that you see quite a bit during the beginning credits of many period dramas, and it's Andrew Davies, the screenplay writer. He has written the screenplays for many period dramas: Pride and Prejudice (1995), Middlemarch (1994), Emma (1997), The Way We Live Now (2001), He Knew He Was Right (2004), Little Dorrit (2008), Sense and Sensibility (2008), Wives and Daughters (1999)... The list is huge!
My opinion of him is a little mixed, though. So here is my opinion on his screenplays, both the good and the not-so-good.

The Good

1. He stays pretty close to the original novel

When I first read Pride and Prejudice, I noticed how the 1995 miniseries was very close to the book. Really, I can only remember a couple of differences between the two. And one of the positive points about 2008 Sense and Sensibility was that, plotwise, it stayed fairly close to the book (as much as I love the 1995 Sense and Sensibility - which is still my favorite Sense and Sensibility adaptation - the plot wasn't as close to the book as it could have been). From what I've both read and seen an adaptation of, Andrew Davies keeps fairly close to the story line. Sure, some things are different (which is hard to avoid), but overall, he stays close to the book.

 

2. He keeps most of the language from the original novel

For a lot of screenplay writers, language can be modernized which can be a little annoying. Andrew Davies has a way of keeping the original language and at the same time make it lively (or maybe that's more of the actors that do it, but surely the script has something to do with it). He doesn't really modernize the language in his screenplays (at least, nothing that I've noticed) which I like since it is more believable for the time period.

3. If he has to add something to the screenplay to make a scene flow easier, he does a good job making it seem like it's from the original novel.
With any story, there are going to be little gaps in the books. With Jane Austen, for example, sometimes there isn't dialogue in a scene, but instead the scene is described (a number of the proposal scenes, for instance, as described). What Andrew Davies does well is that he fills in those little gaps where there is not dialogue in the book with his own dialogue and makes it sound like it came from the original author. It is a talent that is very useful for writing screenplays.

The Not-So-Good

1. He writes great screenplays...when he has enough time.

Many of Andrew Davies's greatest screenplays are for miniseries: in other words, it takes 4+ hours to tell a story. When you have four or more hours of time for a period drama, you really get a good sense of the characters and the story. By the end of the miniseries, you really understand nearly the whole story and really understand the characters. However, when Andrew Davies only gets two, maybe two and a half, hours for a screenplay, something goes awry. The screenplay that comes to my mind is the 2007 Northanger Abbey. Northanger Abbey 2007 had the makings of a great period drama: great cast, great costuming, great scenery. But the screenplay was lacking; many things were left out in order for additional scenes (more on that). Two hours, in my opinion, wasn't enough to tell Northanger Abbey without the additional scenes, let alone with all the additional scenes.

2. Less is more

I know, I know -- I said that Andrew Davies does a good job with extra scenes, but to a certain extent. In any book, sometimes there can be little gaps between scenes (like I said before). So when adapting any book, sometimes you have to fill  in those gaps with extra scenes. When these extra scenes are done well, it can help with the understanding of the story, but you have to be careful not to overdo it or else "a great deal of [the period drama] must be invention." Sure, there were some extra scenes in Pride and Prejudice (1995) that weren't in the original book, but there weren't so many that they overtook the scenes that are supposed to be there. What I'm talking about is when it gets excessive. One of the things I didn't like about Emma 1997 was all the imaginings of Emma -- Harriet and Mr. Elton were getting married: oh! just Emma's imagination!; Mr. Knightley marrying Jane Fairfax? But what about little Henry?!: oh! just Emma's imagination again!; Harriet and Mr. Knightley? NO!: seriously, Emma? Seriously? With everything that Emma was imagining, it got to be a bit excessive, but at the very least for the 1997 Emma, those imaginings were based off of Emma's thoughts in the book (however over-emphasized they were). Other screenplays suffer from invention a lot more. Sense and Sensibility (2008) had numerous scenes added that were not in the book and didn't add to the miniseries: suddenly Colonel Brandon and Willoughby are exchanging rough words ("What are your intentions towards Miss Marianne?" "And what right have you to ask me?") and then sword fighting? Jane Austen does mention a duel between Colonel Brandon and Willoughby; she doesn't say what method the two men used during this duel, but more than likely it wasn't a sword fight. Maybe sword fighting sells? I don't know, but it didn't add to the plot. Northanger Abbey had a similar problem: too many added scenes, not enough from the novel, and not enough time as it should have had. These examples are proof to the phrase "Less is more."

3. Skipping Scenes (or Worrying about Skipping Scenes) is Not Fun

This kind of expands off of two, but it's kind of on it's own too. For the most part in classic literature, nothing gets graphic or is shown. If any scandal is mentioned at all, it's mentioned very discreetly. Therefore, it is unnecessary to add those scenes considering that you could completely skip those scenes and not miss anything in the plot. Andrew Davies (it seems recently) has been adding these unnecessary scenes. For example, in the Sense and Sensibility, you don't hear about any scandal until the second half of the book, and even then it's very brief; in the 2008 version, the scandal that was so briefly mentioned was shown in the very first scene. Or how in Northanger Abbey 2007, Catherine's dreams were a bit mature for her, and considering Catherine's innocent nature, this was not only inaccurate, but also unnecessary. Or in Little Dorrit there was the one scene that was a completely different scene in the book. These scenes take what would otherwise be great period dramas and make them a little difficult to watch. Sure, they can be easy to skip if you know what to look for, but it's not fun waiting to skip scenes; it's much preferred to simply watch a period drama all the way through. He didn't always add in these kinds of scenes -- Pride and Prejudice, Wives and Daughters, and Emma got along well without them. This seems to be more of a recent trend. You don't need those scenes to make a great period drama.




That would summarize my opinion on Andrew Davies's screenplays. Overall, the man is talented in writing screenplays, but when he does one or more of the three things that aren't so good, the screenplays aren't as good. We can hope that his future period dramas don't have some of the problems that some of his screenplays have had...

God Bless,
 

More Icons and Icon Page

Couple more icons have been made...



...and today I'm introducing the Icon Page! Now you can find all the icons easier! Go to the side bar and click on the link or simply click here!


God Bless,