When the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival lined up its Gala slate, Cate Blanchett’s ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age’ took the top billing. It was a fitting launch for one of the most closely watched costume dramas of the year, and the start of an awards run that would make a small piece of Oscar history.
‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age’ was set to have its world premiere at the Toronto fest as a Gala presentation, the highest-profile slot at the Canadian festival. That premiere landed on Sunday 9 September 2007, with a second screening the following afternoon.
Festival organisers had earlier announced a batch of 32 pictures that already played other festivals that year, including a slew of Cannes entries. Toronto itself ran 6 to 15 September.
Blanchett returns as the Virgin Queen
In ‘The Golden Age,’ Blanchett reprises the role she played in the Oscar-nominated ‘Elizabeth’ from 1998. Geoffrey Rush returns as the queen’s spymaster and adviser, Sir Francis Walsingham. Shekhar Kapur directed, as he did the original, and Clive Owen stars as Sir Walter Raleigh.
The script came from William Nicholson and Michael Hirst. Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Jonathan Cavendish produced for Working Title Films, with StudioCanal also behind the production and Universal handling the United States release.
Conceived as a sequel to Kapur’s 1998 film, the story moves to the later years of Elizabeth I’s reign. It draws in the threat of the Spanish Armada, the plotting around Mary, Queen of Scots, and the ambitions of King Philip II of Spain.
Samantha Morton appears as Mary, Jordi Molla plays Philip, and Abbie Cornish features as the queen’s lady-in-waiting, Bess Throckmorton. Craig Armstrong and A. R. Rahman composed the score together.
The release and the awards run
Universal opened the film in the United States on 12 October 2007. A London premiere followed on 23 October, and the wider UK release came on 2 November. The running time is 114 minutes.
Critical reaction proved mixed. The awards, less so. Alexandra Byrne won the Academy Award for Costume Design, and Blanchett earned a Best Actress nomination. That nomination made her the first performer ever shortlisted twice for playing the same character, having already been nominated for the 1998 ‘Elizabeth’.
The rest of the Toronto slate
Joel and Ethan Coen’s ‘No Country for Old Men,’ which had world premiered in competition at Cannes, was lined up for its North American premiere in Toronto. The release was set to make its U.S. bow just after the festival at the New York Film Festival. Carlos Reygadas’ ‘Silent Light,’ which tied for the jury prize at Cannes, was also in the lineup.
The Masters section carried a strong run of auteur titles. Among them were Russian director Alexander Sokurov’s ‘Alexandra,’ Hou Hsiao-hsien’s French and Taiwanese co-production ‘Flight of the Red Balloon,’ Bela Tarr’s ‘The Man from London,’ and Jacques Rivette’s ‘The Duchess of Langeais’ (also known by its French title ‘Ne touchez pas la hache’), based on a Balzac story and set amid the lavish balls of 1820s Paris.
Also on the menu were Italian director Ermanno Olmi’s ‘One Hundred Nails,’ German director Volker Schlondorff’s ‘Ulzhan,’ and Canadian director Bruce McDonald’s ‘The Tracey Fragments,’ which had premiered in Berlin. Photographer turned director Anton Corbijn’s Ian Curtis biopic ‘Control,’ a Cannes entry, played Toronto too.
For the record, the festival opened with Jeremy Podeswa’s ‘Fugitive Pieces’ and closed with Paolo Barzman’s ‘Emotional Arithmetic.’ The People’s Choice Award, Toronto’s headline prize, went to David Cronenberg’s ‘Eastern Promises.’
Frequently asked questions
When did ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age’ premiere at Toronto?
The film had its world premiere on Sunday 9 September 2007 as a Gala presentation at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, with a second screening the next afternoon. The festival itself ran from 6 to 15 September 2007.
Who starred in ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age’?
Cate Blanchett returned as Queen Elizabeth I, with Geoffrey Rush as Sir Francis Walsingham and Clive Owen as Sir Walter Raleigh. Samantha Morton played Mary, Queen of Scots, Jordi Molla played Philip II of Spain, and Abbie Cornish appeared as Bess Throckmorton.
Did the film win any Oscars?
Yes. Alexandra Byrne won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design. Cate Blanchett was also nominated for Best Actress, which made her the first performer to be nominated twice for playing the same character, having earned a nod for the 1998 film ‘Elizabeth’.
When was the UK release?
The film had a London premiere on 23 October 2007 and opened across the wider UK on 2 November 2007. It had already opened in the United States on 12 October. The running time is 114 minutes.
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