The Brits certainly do love their royals—or at least tell-all tales about them—which explains the reason for this lavish 13-part miniseries about Edward VII, who as Prince of Wales lived in the shadow of his mother Queen Victoria for 60 years before embarking on a largely undistinguished reign as king from 1901 to 1910. “Bertie,” as he was known before his accession, suffered from the strictness of his disciplinarian father Prince Albert—until the prince died in 1861—after which the widowed monarch long denied Edward any real responsibility in government, partially because he was often enmeshed in scandals that reflected badly on the royal family (treated here with great restraint). After Victoria's death, new ruler Edward tried to balance the interests of his fellow European monarchs and even became known as a peacemaker—although, in fact, he helped establish the alliance systems that would later transform a local Balkan conflict into World War I. This 1975 series portrays Edward in a better light than he probably deserves, but as a royal soap opera it's an amusing if also very stagy effort. Two actors play Bertie—Charles Sturridge in the younger years, and Timothy West as the elder Edward—and though the change is initially jarring, both are fine in the role, while Annette Crosbie nicely captures Victoria's transformation from petulant girl to dominating matriarch. As an added bonus, it's a joy to watch old pros like John Gielgud and Michael Hordern posture and declaim as Disraeli and Gladstone, respectively. DVD extras include audio commentaries on several episodes, two featurettes (the first a 2003 video memoir by Robert Hardy, who plays Prince Albert, and the second a film summary of the entire series ), and a photo gallery. Recommended. (F. Swietek)
Edward the King
Acorn, 4 discs, 678 min., not rated, DVD: $59.99 December 8, 2008
Edward the King
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