Elizabeth I: The Virgin Queen

Now, this is the way history should be told, full of passion and intrigue and drama! Lush in every possible way—visually, emotionally, even musically—this Masterpiece Theatre-aired British production, is an absolutely riveting retelling of the reign of the most famous daughter of Henry VIII. Anne-Marie Duff's Elizabeth is a truly regal presence—intelligent, aggressive, sly, capricious—as well as understandably human in ways that portraits of towering historical figures often fail to capture: she's conflicted, torn between a real sense of duty to her nation and desires of all kinds. For even as she fights her advisors and her Parliament for the right to rule alone—without a man at her side—Elizabeth longs for the one man she has always loved, and can never have, the married commoner Robert Dudley (Tom Hardy). Sure to be catnip to both Anglophiles and armchair history buffs, this is highly recommended. (M. Johanson)