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The World Beyond BetterMost => The Culture Tent => Topic started by: southendmd on January 04, 2011, 12:25:31 am

Title: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: southendmd on January 04, 2011, 12:25:31 am
*the usual possible spoilers warning*

I haven't seen The King's Speech mentioned much, so I thought I'd start a little thread.

Just saw it tonight.  I'd seen the trailer and thought it would be interesting.

Of course, having loved him in A Single Man, I had high expectations of Colin Firth.  He doesn't disappoint, I'm happy to say.  

Just like A Single Man, the camera lingers on his face, letting him express what he needs to, often without words (which are the King's nemesis).  

After George V dies, "Bertie", the Duke of York, senses that he's in for a greater role, yet is hampered by a life-long stammer.  He meets Lionel Logue, an Australian speech therapist with unorthodox methods.  A very unlikely, but true story of a friendship unfolds.  They challenge each other.  

Lionel dares to delve beyond just the surface, questioning the origins of the stammer.  Luckily, no neat psychobabble answers here.  

Excellent performances by Firth and Geoffrey Rush (who also is executive producer).

Overall, an incredible cast, really evoking the period.  Timothy Spall as Churchill!  Guy Pearce absolutely dead-on as Edward VIII.  

Special treats for Brideshead Revisited fans:  Claire Bloom as Queen Mary (who knew she was still around?!), and an almost unrecognizable Anthony Andrews as Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin.  (Oh, and for fans of the film, Michael Gambon plays George V.)

Alexandre Desplat (from Lust, Caution) did the music.  A very effective use of Beethoven's 7th.

The R rating is just silly. 
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: brianr on January 04, 2011, 02:53:00 am
I thought it was brilliant. I guess the R rating is for the language. It is only M in Australia (not recommended for under 15) it has not yet opened in NZ (I saw it while back in Sydney for Christmas)  I hate the F word ( sorry but a legacy of teaching and reprimanding teenagers for 40 years) but it was justified in this movie.
I gave it a 10 on my IMDB ratings and that is rare for me (you can guess one of the others :))
I was a bit concerned beforehand as Colin Firth and George VI have no resemblance whatever but found that did not matter. Colin Firth is quickly becoming my favourite actor. Of course, I was proud that Logue was an Aussie and portrayed by an excellent Aussie actor. As a keen reader of Royal histories I knew the general story beforehand. I have always believed that God's mysterious hand was in the succession dilemma. Just imagine if England had entered the war with Edward as King, the thought is too horrible to contemplate.
 There was discussion in the Sydney papers that the Duke of York opened Australia's first Parliament house in 1927 despite the stammer. But others pointed out that Logue began treating him in 1926. It would be interesting to find a recording of that earlier speech. I was only 7 years old when George VI died but can clearly remember the newspaper headlines and the solemnity of the adults around me that day. It is probably my earliest memory of a newsworthy occasion. The Queen Mother approved the original screenplay but asked that the film not be made in her lifetime.You can find the actual King's speech at the beginning of WW2

Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Monika on January 04, 2011, 03:52:50 am
I´ll give this one a go, I think. I read about a few days ago (after finally having watched A Single Man) and it seemed interesting. Colin Firth seems to be an obvious choice for the role.
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Penthesilea on January 04, 2011, 07:52:00 am
I´ll give this one a go, I think. I read about a few days ago (after finally having watched A Single Man) and it seemed interesting. Colin Firth seems to be an obvious choice for the role.

Early February for you (opening on the forth, I think), and mid-February (17th) for me.
This looks like a good movie.
I have to admit that I always mix up Colin Firth and Colin Farrell's names. ::) Just the names, not the guys.
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Monika on January 04, 2011, 09:15:35 am

I have to admit that I always mix up Colin Firth and Colin Farrell's names. ::) Just the names, not the guys.
I do that all the time with Colin Farrell and Will Farrell :D
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Meryl on January 04, 2011, 10:21:50 pm
*the usual possible spoilers warning*

I haven't seen The King's Speech mentioned much, so I thought I'd start a little thread.

Just saw it tonight.  I'd seen the trailer and thought it would be interesting.

Of course, having loved him in A Single Man, I had high expectations of Colin Firth.  He doesn't disappoint, I'm happy to say.  

Just like A Single Man, the camera lingers on his face, letting him express what he needs to, often without words (which are the King's nemesis).  

After George V dies, "Bertie", the Duke of York, senses that he's in for a greater role, yet is hampered by a life-long stammer.  He meets Lionel Logue, an Australian speech therapist with unorthodox methods.  A very unlikely, but true story of a friendship unfolds.  They challenge each other.  

Lionel dares to delve beyond just the surface, questioning the origins of the stammer.  Luckily, no neat psychobabble answers here.  

Excellent performances by Firth and Geoffrey Rush (who also is executive producer).

Overall, an incredible cast, really evoking the period.  Timothy Spall as Churchill!  Guy Pearce absolutely dead-on as Edward VIII.  

Special treats for Brideshead Revisited fans:  Claire Bloom as Queen Mary (who knew she was still around?!), and an almost unrecognizable Anthony Andrews as Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin.  (Oh, and for fans of the film, Michael Gambon plays George V.)

Alexandre Desplat (from Lust, Caution) did the music.  A very effective use of Beethoven's 7th.

The R rating is just silly. 

Thanks for starting this thread, Paul.  I agree with your take on the film.  It's excellent!  Colin Firth just gets better and better, and I'm glad he's been getting roles with real substance lately.  The cast were all marvelous, and I didn't even recognize Jennifer Ehle, the actress who so beautifully played Elizabeth Bennett to Colin Firth's Darcy in A&E's terrific "Pride and Prejudice" some years ago.

Brian, thanks for the link to the real King's speech.  Fascinating!  8)
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on January 05, 2011, 10:14:32 am
Special treats for Brideshead Revisited fans:  Claire Bloom as Queen Mary (who knew she was still around?!).

Assuming you meant Queen Mary and not Claire Bloom, Queen Mary lived until 1953:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_of_Teck (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_of_Teck)

In fact, I'm sure that somewhere I've seen a marvelous photograph, from the funeral of her son George VI (d. 1952), of the three queens together, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth ("the Queen Mum"), and the present Queen Elizabeth.
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Shakesthecoffecan on January 05, 2011, 10:37:43 am
Assuming you meant Queen Mary and not Claire Bloom, Queen Mary lived until 1953:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_of_Teck (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_of_Teck)

In fact, I'm sure that somewhere I've seen a marvelous photograph, from the funeral of her son George VI (d. 1952), of the three queens together, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth ("the Queen Mum"), and the present Queen Elizabeth.

I know the photo you speak of Jeff, and know that this is not it, but it has them in it, along with George VI and Princess Margaret:

(http://www.wallisandedward.com/images/photos/15.jpg)
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: southendmd on January 05, 2011, 11:26:59 am
Assuming you meant Queen Mary and not Claire Bloom, Queen Mary lived until 1953:

Pardon my misplaced modifier.  :-X
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on January 05, 2011, 12:00:04 pm
Pardon my misplaced modifier.  :-X

Speaking grammatically, I don't think the modifier was misplaced. I was just be deliberately obtuse.  ;)
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: brianr on January 05, 2011, 01:57:47 pm
(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g218/brianr44/quenmtr28.jpg)
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: southendmd on January 05, 2011, 04:11:35 pm
Thanks for the historical perspective, Brian.  And for the photo.

One of the reviews I read mentioned that Queen Mary was about as warm as a submarine filled with ice cream!
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on January 05, 2011, 07:23:56 pm
(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g218/brianr44/quenmtr28.jpg)

Thank you, Brian. That's exactly the photo I remembered.

In addition to the antique-length dress, Queen Mary also appears to be wearing an old-fashioned "widow's peak" mourning bonnet.
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Shakesthecoffecan on January 05, 2011, 07:28:39 pm
(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g218/brianr44/quenmtr28.jpg)

Yes, I thought that was the one Jeff mentioned.
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: brianr on January 05, 2011, 07:51:08 pm
Style has changed, Here is the Queen at her mother's funeral in 2002
(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g218/brianr44/_1918908_salute1.jpg)
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: brianr on January 05, 2011, 09:31:01 pm
The Sydney Morning Herald
Stutterly marvellous: why we clamour for the stammer story
"Who would have thought a film about a stuttering monarch almost a century ago would capture the hearts of Sydneysiders to such an extent that they clap when the credits roll.

Yet The King's Speech is proving more popular than Slumdog Millionaire, cinema operators say.

Audiences have left theatres gushing about how "truly empowering" the British period drama was, calling it one of the best films they've ever seen, they say.

Some have also returned to watch it numerous times.

Greater Union, one of the country's two major operators, said it was expanding its release due to strong demand, after an initial limited release restricted by the number of available copies of the film.

"This film ... is doing extraordinarily well due to a combination of outstanding critical reviews, great word of mouth and the Australian connection with Geoffrey Rush," said Kristie Atkins of Greater Union.

"We're thrilled with the response. ... There's certainly a lot of buzz around it."
...........
Logue wrote to Queen Elizabeth after his death, expressing his condolences, and she replied with the letter: "I know perhaps better than anyone just how much you helped the King, not only with his speech, but through that his whole life and outlook on life.

""I shall always be deeply grateful to you for all you did for him."
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on January 05, 2011, 10:06:45 pm
Style has changed, Here is the Queen at her mother's funeral in 2002
(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g218/brianr44/_1918908_salute1.jpg)

No more mourning veils.
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: serious crayons on January 08, 2011, 11:17:34 am
Pardon my misplaced modifier.  :-X

Speaking grammatically, I don't think the modifier was misplaced. I was just be deliberately obtuse.  ;)

LOL, you guys are funny. I was sitting here thinking, Wait, I'm pretty sure he meant Claire Bloom. (I was being accidentally obtuse.)


Queen Mary also appears to be wearing an old-fashioned "widow's peak" mourning bonnet.

So that's where that term comes from. I always assumed it referred to the shape of a cliff off of which a grief-stricken widow could fling herself.


Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: southendmd on January 08, 2011, 11:24:42 am
LOL, you guys are funny. I was sitting here thinking, Wait, I'm pretty sure he meant Claire Bloom. (I was being accidentally obtuse.)

If you were being obtuse, I was being abstruse.
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on January 08, 2011, 11:56:54 am
So that's where that term comes from. I always assumed it referred to the shape of a cliff off of which a grief-stricken widow could fling herself.

I copied the following from Wikipedia's article on the widow's peak hairline.

Quote
Etymology
The term widow's peak is from the belief that hair growing to a point on the forehead – suggestive of the peak of a widow's hood – is an omen of early widowhood.[4] Peak is the same word as pike and beak, all of which refer to something that has a projecting point.[5] The use of peak in relation to hair dates from 1833.[6] The expression widow's peak dates from 1849.[6] The use of peak may refer to the beak or bill of a headdress, particularly the distinctive hood with a pointed piece in front – a biquoquet[5] – which widows wore as a hood of mourning dating from 1530.[6] Another explanation for the origin of the phrase suggests that it may be related to the mourning caps worn as early as the 16th century.[7] A mourning cap or Mary Stuart Cap is a cap which features a very distinctive triangular fold of cloth in the middle of the forehead, creating an artificial widow's peak.[7] The use of peak referring to a point in the cloth covering the forehead dates to at least 1509 when it appears in Alexander Barclay’s The Shyp of Folys.

Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: serious crayons on January 08, 2011, 12:02:36 pm
I copied the following from Wikipedia's article on the widow's peak hairline.

Interesting. Thanks, Jeff! I never even knew that traditionally widows wore distinctively shaped headwear.

OT, but I wonder if widowers have been expected to do anything fancy. I guess they'd probably wear black for a little while and that's about it, hunh? They're certainly not expected to throw themselves on the pyre. I suspect their main duty has been to get themselves a new wife ASAP. After all, somebody has to take care of those children.



Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 08, 2011, 12:26:16 pm



No more mourning veils.


Probably one of the last:

(http://www.sott.net/image/image/s1/25834/full/9738193.jpg)(http://artmuseum.msu.edu/exhibitions/past/grief/images/kennedy.jpg)(http://www-personal.arts.usyd.edu.au/sterobrt/hsty3080/StudentWebSites/AMELIA/My%20Webs/AMELIA%20RFK%20WEB/images/photoalbum/images/jackie%20%2B%20flag_jpg.jpg)

Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 08, 2011, 12:38:12 pm


(http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/Pictures/web/b/a/s/ron_case_obit_pic_large.jpg)

King George VI died on the night of February 6, 1952. The funeral took place on a dreary winter day — an even grimmer occasion than the average royal funeral. Photographer Ron Case (aged 27; of Keystone Press Agency), who was with a group of other press photographers outside St George’s Chapel, Windsor, had only RAF aerial reconnaissance camera. With that old wartime equipment he took the photo of Princess Elizabeth (the new Queen); Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) (l. to r.) making their way slowly into the chapel where the king’s body lay in state.

The picture, which came to be known as the ‘Three Queens in mourning’, is a truly haunting image. All three grieving queens, representing three changing generations, were clearly seen through their veils. Although other photos of three queens altogether exist, they were nearly all official portraits, and Case’s informal photo revealed the rarely seen aspect of the modern royalty: trained from birth to repress their emotions, they were still capable of humane emotions. The next day, the photo also made the front pages of every single national paper, and subsequently become one of the most widely distributed British photographs of the 20th century.

Ron Case, however, didn’t make a single pence from his photo–the rights belonged to Ron’s employer, the Pinkerton Press Agency.


http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2010/04/21/three-queens-in-mourning/

http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/3700047._Royal__snapper_dies_aged_83/

Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on January 08, 2011, 06:47:14 pm
Thank you for that information, John. I'm still sort of just relieved to know that I hadn't imagined the photo.  :-\

It is truly an amazing photograph. Queen Mary looks so ... stricken. One would love to know what the Queen was saying to her grandmother (at least, to me, it looks like she's leaning slightly to say something quietly to her grandmother). And the poor Queen Mum, with her eyes closed, just looks like she's in pain.  :'(
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on January 08, 2011, 06:51:25 pm
Interesting. Thanks, Jeff! I never even knew that traditionally widows wore distinctively shaped headwear.

Next time you watch GWTW, look closely at the bonnet Scarlett wears in the bazaar at the armory sequence.  :)
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 09, 2011, 12:20:33 am



Next time you watch GWTW, look closely at the bonnet Scarlett wears in the bazaar at the armory sequence.  :)


(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IlLjSCl62J8/TFworcN6EKI/AAAAAAAAA88/zJdJWCljLcM/s320/dance.jpg)   (http://19thcenturypaperdolls.weebly.com/uploads/9/6/2/7/962723/2325124_orig.jpg)   (http://19thcenturypaperdolls.weebly.com/uploads/9/6/2/7/962723/7066679.jpg)

 ::)

Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 16, 2011, 05:09:55 pm


I forgot this:

(http://images.arcadja.com/moneta__j__jr__sleet-pultizer_prize_winning_photo_of_mrs__~300~10636_20090514_2180_324.jpg)

MONETA J. SLEET, JR. (1926-1996)
 
"Pultizer-prize winning photo of Mrs. Martin Luther King Jr. comforting her daughter Bernice, age 5, during her husband's funeral in Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church."

Silver print, 8 3/4x7 inches (22.2x17.7 cm.),
with caption information below the image, and notations and typewritten notes on verso.

Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Meryl on January 17, 2011, 12:23:58 am


(http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h269/merylmarie/Emoticons%20and%20Avatars/DiscoDarcy.gif)

Congrats to Colin Firth, winner of the Golden Globe for Best Actor!  8)
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: belbbmfan on January 17, 2011, 03:03:18 pm

(http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h269/merylmarie/Emoticons%20and%20Avatars/DiscoDarcy.gif)

Congrats to Colin Firth, winner of the Golden Globe for Best Actor!  8)
Disco Darcy?  :o  :laugh:

Here's my favourite Darcy.

(http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m312/Belbbmfan/Pride_and_Prejudice_Colin_Firth_Wet_Shirt.jpg)
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Meryl on January 17, 2011, 03:13:16 pm
Disco Darcy?  :o  :laugh:

Here's my favourite Darcy.

(http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m312/Belbbmfan/Pride_and_Prejudice_Colin_Firth_Wet_Shirt.jpg)

Yes indeed, I will take Damp Darcy any day!  ;D
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 26, 2011, 07:31:10 pm



Oh, Christopher, Christopher.   ::)


http://www.slate.com/id/2282194/pagenum/all/#p2


Churchill Didn't Say That
The King's Speech  is riddled with gross falsifications of history.
By Christopher Hitchens
Posted Monday, Jan. 24, 2011, at 12:20 PM ET



(http://img.slate.com/media/1/123125/2073765/2279603/2279604/110124_FW_KINGSSPEACH_TN.jpg)
Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter
in The King's Speech



The King's Speech  is an extremely well-made film with a seductive human interest plot, very prettily calculated to appeal to the smarter filmgoer and the latent Anglophile. But it perpetrates a gross falsification of history. One of the very few miscast actors—Timothy Spall as a woefully thin pastiche of Winston Churchill—is the exemplar of this bizarre rewriting. He is shown as a consistent friend of the stuttering prince and his loyal princess and as a man generally in favor of a statesmanlike solution to the crisis of the abdication.

In point of fact, Churchill was—for as long as he dared—a consistent friend of conceited, spoiled, Hitler-sympathizing Edward VIII. And he allowed his romantic attachment to this gargoyle to do great damage to the very dearly bought coalition of forces that was evolving to oppose Nazism and appeasement. Churchill probably has no more hagiographic chronicler than William Manchester, but if you look up the relevant pages of The Last Lion,  you will find that the historian virtually gives up on his hero for an entire chapter.

By dint of swallowing his differences with some senior left and liberal politicians, Churchill had helped build a lobby, with strong grass-roots support, against Neville Chamberlain's collusion with European fascism. The group had the resonant name of Arms and the Covenant. Yet, as the crisis deepened in 1936, Churchill diverted himself from this essential work—to the horror of his colleagues—in order to involve himself in keeping a pro-Nazi playboy on the throne. He threw away his political capital in handfuls by turning up at the House of Commons—almost certainly heavily intoxicated, according to Manchester—and making an incoherent speech in defense of "loyalty" to a man who did not understand the concept. In one speech—not cited by Manchester—he spluttered that Edward VIII would "shine in history as the bravest and best-loved of all sovereigns who have worn the island crown." (You can see there how empty and bombastic Churchill's style can sound when he's barking up the wrong tree; never forget that he once described himself as the lone voice warning the British people against the twin menaces of Hitler and Gandhi!)

In the end, Edward VIII proved so stupid and so selfish and so vain that he was beyond salvage, so the moment passed. Or the worst of it did. He remained what is only lightly hinted in the film: a firm admirer of the Third Reich who took his honeymoon there with Mrs. Simpson and was photographed both receiving and giving the Hitler salute. Of his few friends and cronies, the majority were Blackshirt activists like the odious "Fruity" Metcalfe. (Royal biographer Philip Ziegler tried his best to clean up this squalid story a few years ago but eventually gave up.) During his sojourns on the European mainland after his abdication, the Duke of Windsor never ceased to maintain highly irresponsible contacts with Hitler and his puppets and seemed to be advertising his readiness to become a puppet or "regent" if the tide went the other way. This is why Churchill eventually had him removed from Europe and given the sinecure of a colonial governorship in the Bahamas, where he could be well-supervised.

All other considerations to one side, would the true story not have been fractionally more interesting for the audience? But it seems that we shall never reach a time when the Churchill cult is open for honest inspection. And so the film drifts on, with ever more Vaseline being applied to the lens. It is suggested that, once some political road bumps have been surmounted and some impediments in the new young monarch's psyche have been likewise overcome, Britain is herself again, with Churchill and the king at Buckingham Palace and a speech of unity and resistance being readied for delivery.

Here again, the airbrush and the Vaseline are partners. When Neville Chamberlain managed to outpoint the coalition of the Labour Party, the Liberal Party, and the Churchillian Tories and to hand to his friend Hitler the majority of the Czechoslovak people, along with all that country's vast munitions factories, he received an unheard-of political favor. Landing at Heston Airport on his return from Munich, he was greeted by a royal escort in full uniform and invited to drive straight to Buckingham Palace. A written message from King George VI urged his attendance, "so that I can express to you personally my most heartfelt congratulations. … [T]his letter brings the warmest of welcomes to one who, by his patience and determination, has earned the lasting gratitude of his fellow countrymen throughout the Empire." Chamberlain was then paraded on the palace balcony, saluted by royalty in front of cheering crowds. Thus the Munich sell-out had received the royal assent before the prime minister was obliged to go to Parliament and justify what he had done. The opposition forces were checkmated before the game had begun. Britain does not have a written Constitution, but by ancient custom the royal assent is given to measures after they have passed through both houses of Parliament. So Tory historian Andrew Roberts, in his definitively damning essay "The House of Windsor and the Politics of Appeasement," is quite correct to cite fellow scholar John Grigg in support of his view that by acting as they did to grant pre-emptive favor to Chamberlain, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter to you) "committed the most unconstitutional act by a British Sovereign in the present century."

The private letters and diaries of the royal family demonstrate a continued, consistent allegiance to the policy of appeasement and to the personality of Chamberlain. King George's forbidding mother wrote to him, exasperated that more people in the House of Commons had not cheered the sellout. The king himself, even after the Nazi armies had struck deep north into Scandinavia and clear across the low countries to France, did not wish to accept Chamberlain's resignation. He "told him how grossly unfairly he had been treated, and that I was genuinely sorry." Discussing a successor, the king wrote that "I, of course, suggested [Lord] Halifax." It was explained to him that this arch-appeaser would not do and that anyway a wartime coalition could hardly be led by an unelected member of the House of Lords. Unimpressed, the king told his diary that he couldn't get used to the idea of Churchill as prime minister and had greeted the defeated Halifax to tell him that he wished he had been chosen instead. All this can easily be known by anybody willing to do some elementary research.

In a few months, the British royal family will be yet again rebranded and relaunched in the panoply of a wedding. Terms like "national unity" and "people's monarchy" will be freely flung around. Almost the entire moral capital of this rather odd little German dynasty is invested in the post-fabricated myth of its participation in "Britain's finest hour." In fact, had it been up to them, the finest hour would never have taken place. So this is not a detail but a major desecration of the historical record—now apparently gliding unopposed toward a baptism by Oscar.
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: serious crayons on January 27, 2011, 01:17:24 am
I saw this, and thought it was blown a bit out of proportion. Churchill, for his part, is such a marginal character in the movie -- and not my favorite one; I thought the ubiquitous pouty-lipped scowl seemed like an over-the-top caricature.

Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Front-Ranger on January 31, 2011, 05:24:31 pm
http://www.denverpost.com/lifestyles/ci_17221059 (http://www.denverpost.com/lifestyles/ci_17221059)

This is a great article about a British man who was commissioned to create tiny German soldiers for King George. Alec Nesbitt continued his hobby when he moved to Denver and now focuses on HO scale models. His most famous is the Gare de l'Est train platform in Paris in 1914. He saw the movie and was astounded to see Colin Firth as King George focusing on building a model plane.
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: southendmd on January 31, 2011, 05:35:20 pm
Cool story.  Thanks, Lee.
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Front-Ranger on January 31, 2011, 05:46:19 pm
I was delighted to read that he makes his little soldiers out of drops of...solder!
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on January 31, 2011, 07:42:07 pm
A historical movie riddled with historical inaccuracies? What a surprise. ...  ::)

Hitchens needs a laxative.
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: serious crayons on February 01, 2011, 10:16:58 am
Excerpt from a NYT story about TKS's Oscar prospects:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/movies/awardsseason/01smear.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha28 (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/movies/awardsseason/01smear.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha28)

... And before those ballots come due on Feb. 22, an army of competing Oscar strategists will be probing for any sign that “The King’s Speech” can be beaten.

In the last week or two a flurry of news reports and Internet banter have chewed over questions about the real King George, particularly whether he was actually less than stalwart in his opposition to the Third Reich.

On Jan. 24, for instance, Christopher Hitchens wrote on Slate.com that the king was devoted to Neville Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement, and “even after the Nazi armies had struck deep north into Scandinavia and clear across the low countries to France, did not wish to accept Chamberlain’s resignation.”

So far, there has been no sign that any stain on the real George has tainted the more heroic portrayal by Mr. Firth, who on Sunday night was received royally.

Nor is it clear that any competitor has circulated such reports, in possible violation of an academy rule that forbids “casting a negative or derogatory light on a competing film.” A year ago something like that happened when Nicolas Chartier, a producer of “The Hurt Locker,” sent academy voters an e-mail urging votes for his movie over “Avatar,” then seen as its main competitor. Mr. Chartier was banned from the awards ceremony as punishment, but his film won the best picture Oscar anyway.

That doesn’t mean that there haven’t been some not-so-subtle jabs thrown around. On Friday the cover of Daily Variety carried an advertisement boldly proclaiming Paramount’s “True Grit,” with its 10 Oscar nominations, to be the “most honored American movie” of the year — lest anyone forget that a vote for “The King’s Speech” is a vote to send the top Oscar offshore.

The Weinstein Company has had a battery of publicists poised to respond to any negativity with countermeasures that point to the film’s authenticity and the king’s integrity.

“We’re obviously prepared,” said David Glasser, the Weinstein Company’s chief operating officer. “A lot of time and planning went into writing the screenplay and making the movie, to ensure the accuracy of this picture,” Mr. Glasser said.

And it is lost on few here that a primary competitor, “The Social Network,” has also faced questions about the veracity of its portrayal of the Facebook entrepreneur Mark Zuckerberg, so any showdown between that film and “The King’s Speech” over matters of fact and fiction might end in a draw. (... continues)

Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: HerrKaiser on February 02, 2011, 08:15:15 pm
Hollywood's versions of history rarely get it 100% correct. The error in the film I found most annoying, although it did not deflect much on the overall greatness of the movie, was the characterization of the Duchess of Windsor as a loud-mouthed, sloppy, drunk. Totally wrong. Wallis had the royal family in turmoil partly due to her very urbane and polished demeanor.
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Shakesthecoffecan on February 02, 2011, 11:20:13 pm
Hollywood's versions of history rarely get it 100% correct. The error in the film I found most annoying, although it did not deflect much on the overall greatness of the movie, was the characterization of the Duchess of Windsor as a loud-mouthed, sloppy, drunk. Totally wrong. Wallis had the royal family in turmoil partly due to her very urbane and polished demeanor.

In real life, Waltons's Mountain was Spencer's Mountain.
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on February 03, 2011, 12:19:06 am






The Royal Fambly
(Over the Years)


(http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/02/01/arts/SMEAR1/SMEAR1-popup.jpg)

(http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/02/01/arts/JP-SMEAR/JP-SMEAR-popup.jpg)

(http://www.celebrity-parenting.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Helena_Bonham_Carter_in_Fantasy_World.jpg)

 :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: serious crayons on February 03, 2011, 01:08:35 am
 :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on February 03, 2011, 01:34:00 am




(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Edward_VII_UK_and_successors.jpg/435px-Edward_VII_UK_and_successors.jpg)
H.M.S. Pinafore by Sir Arthur Sullivan and Sir William Schwenck Gilbert?
No! It's the Four Kings: King Edward VII (far right), his son George,
Prince of Wales, later George V (far left), and grandsons Edward,
later Edward VIII (rear), and Albert, later George VI (foreground),
c. 1908.

Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Mandy21 on February 17, 2011, 07:51:53 am
Saw this last night and thought it was glorious.  I wasn't overly worried about the historical accuracy.  I enjoyed Colin Firth's and Helena Bonham Carter's and Guy Pearce's performances.  It was entertaining, and I thought they all did a superb job.
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Penthesilea on February 19, 2011, 01:57:46 pm
The King's Speech started this week in Germany. I plan to see it on Friday; looking forward to it :)
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: Lynne on March 17, 2011, 03:34:11 am
I finally saw The King's Speech yesterday at the Wednesday afternoon showing.  Colin Firth really was brilliant.  I was struck also with how well the crowds (extras?) did with making the silences 'uncomfortable' - you could feel it yourself on Bertie's behalf.

It's been a Colin Firth 24 hours, or 36 hours or something, because night before last Paulie and I watched Another Country, which has a very young Colin Firth (before he learned to act all stoic-like).

Here's Part 1 of that film.  It's available on Netflix streaming and also seems to be on youtube in 9 parts.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDw_oPPDVlw[/youtube]
Title: Re: The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again
Post by: brianr on January 25, 2012, 02:06:41 pm
It has just been announced that Geoffrey Rush has been awarded Australian of the Year.