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| Director: Charles Jarrott
Actors: Vanessa Redgrave, Glenda Jackson, Patrick Mcgoohan, Timothy Dalton, Nigel Davenport
Studio: Universal Studios
List Price: $14.98
Buy Used: $4.00
You Save: $10.98 (73%)
New (13) Used (37) Collectible (2) from $4.00
Rating:  85 reviews
Sales Rank: 13424
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 128 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 078322771X
UPC: 096898035538
EAN: 9780783227719
ASIN: B00004REFE
Theatrical Release Date: 1971
Release Date: April 18, 2000
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 85
 Mary and Liz's Not-So-Excellent Adventure November 2, 2000
Thomas A. DiMaggio (York, PA United States)
25 out of 29 found this review helpful
The conflict between Mary Stuart and Elizabeth I is one of the truly great matchups that history has to offer -- which is why it is nothing short of astonishing that, to date (2000 talking), no filmmaker or playwright has done anything remotely approaching justice to it. What makes this film's failure to break that cycle particularly acute is that no two actresses have ever been better suited to these parts than Vanessa Redgrave and Glenda Jackson.(Redgrave is even tall, like Mary!) Jackson, of course ,had already given the definitive performance of Elizabeth in the superb British television miniseries "Elizabeth R" -- the difference being that there she had a script that at least attempted to be worthy of its epic subject. This film, like virtually all of its predecessors, treats Mary like a refugee from a Barbara Cartland romance novel, a woman concerned first and foremost with finding the Right Man. The real Mary was a shrewd and savvy political operator who, for the first five and one-half years of her six-year reign, defused a complex religious situation that might have taxed the abilities of Elizabeth herself, successfully suppressed three rebellions (by taking the field against them in person, something her Tudor cousin never did), and instituted the first decrees on religious tolerance in the British Isles. The eternal mystery about her is why, in those last six months of her reign in 1567, she went utterly to pieces, behaving in a scandalous fashion that virtually compelled her subjects to overthrow her (in what was arguably the first popular revolution in European history). The most plausible explanation is that she suffered a complete moral and physical collapse after being raped by Bothwell, and having been led by him to tacitly connive at the murder of her husband. (The dreadful paradox of being a queen, whose entire position depended upon being seen by the world as an inviolate being, having to cope with the ultimate violation, with all of the political and religious explosiveness that would have entailed -- now THERE'S a theme to engage a real writer!)Also, this film seems not to know, or care, that to invent not one, but TWO meetings between the queens is not only to change history -- it is to be writing about two completely different people. The fact that Elizabeth had never seen Mary was probably what ultimately gave her the courage to execute her; while Mary lived and died never having laid eyes on the person who had controlled her destiny more than any other. The film's failure to develop any number of the rich characters in the story is really inexcusable. What, for example, about Mary's several confrontations with John Knox, the father of the Scottish Reformation? The perfumed and bejewelled queen, sitting on her throne, and arguing theology (including a woman's right to wield political power) with the fiery-eyed, ascetic, bearded Knox, a prophet right out of the Old Testament -- any writer who doesn't thrill to the prospect of dramatizing THAT ought to turn in his word processor.I give this film two stars only because Redgrave and Jackson are goddesses among 20th-century actresses,and can never be really dull.Too bad that this time around they are a pair of emeralds in a tin setting.
 The Life, Loves, And Tragedy Of The Beautiful Queen of Scots April 8, 2003
Simon Davis
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
"Mary, Queen of Scots", despite its occasional diverging with historical fact has always been a favourite history drama of mine. Being as fascinated by Tudor and Stuart history as I am I was always bound to love this lavish production but it is the lavish production, beautiful location photography in France and Scotland, exquisite costumes and historical attention to detail that always intrigue me. They all come together in an engrossing chronicle of the story of the tragic young Mary, Queen of Scots from her early years of a priveledged existence at the refined French court, through her years of personal rule in Scotland to her abdication and then her nineteen lonely years as Queen Elizabeth's "unofficial" prisoner in England till her execution for treason. Here is a historical legend if ever there was one.
The production boasts a stellar cast of seasoned British acting greats and in particular alot of the film's majesty comes from the brilliant playing of the two leads in their only meeting on screen Vanessa Redgrave who plays Mary and Glenda jackson repeating her Emmy Award winning interpretation of Queen Elizabeth 1 from her earlier stunning BBC mini series "Elizabeth R". Nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actress for her performance here Vanessa Redgrave has never been more luminous than in her playing of the romantic young Queen torn from her comfortable surroundings at her beloved French court for an uncertain future in the Protestant dominated far north of her native Scotland. She is at turns innocent, wily, stunningly beautiful, and unfailingly brave and optimistic, in short a perfect representation of the fascinating real life historical Queen. Glenda Jackson matches her every step of the way as her rival and enemy and ultimately her goaler and executioner. Her's might be the smaller of the two roles but she is magnificent in her scenes and makes all the recent portrayals of Queen Elizabeth seem very pale in comparison. I wont spend alot of time debating the fictional events that are woven into the story here but I will say that this film must first be viewed as part fact, part fiction, and there is no point in getting upset of some of the scenes included here. First and foremost a lot of discussion is always spent around the two meetings between Mary and Elizabeth in the film. As any avid reader of the history of this period will know, despite the fact that both women's lives were torturously intertwined for many years they never actually met. That said and done these two scenes in "Mary, Queen of Scots", showing the two women meeting are superb and the sparks ingnited between Vanessa Redgrave and Glenda Jackson add up to wonderful acting and drama. Here are two extremely gifted actresses in roles totally suited to their characters and they achieve memorable work together.
The film is rich with other stunning performances as well. Ian Holm is first class as the tragic Riccio, Mary's private secretary who pays the ultimate price for his loyalty to her. Timothy Dalton an actor who I have long admired excels as the vain and beastly Darnley, Mary's second husband who helps lead Mary to her eventual ruin. Nigel Davenport plays the Earl of Bothwell more as a roguish cavalier than as the uncouth adventurer that Bothwell was in real life. Nevertheless his acting with Vanessa Redgrave in the scenes just prior to Mary's abdication are matchless in their romantic passion. Patrick McGoohan plays James Stuart the wily illegitimate brother of mary with just the right levels of malice and superficial grace. At the English court the British acting talent is just as much on display with veteran Trevor Howard portraying a superb Sir William Cecil, Elizabeth's cunning Chief advisor and Daniel Massey, who just prior to this role had made a great impression portraying Noel Coward in "Star!", plays Robert Dudley, Elizabeth's supposed lover for most of her reign.
The production is blessed with sceneic views that will take your breath away and the overall production has a wonderfully lavish look about it as befits such a sweeping historical saga. I've always enjoyed this drama and if you appreciate fine acting despite the divergence from historical fact then this production cannot be bettered. Certainly it gives a sympathetic view of Mary's life and career but I feel where possible all the elements of her fascinating character have been included. I highly recommend this very dazzling production of "Mary, Queen of Scots", to all lovers of history and those that admire fine acting.
It's about time! August 28, 2007
M. Ward (Texas)
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
I've been waiting for "Anne" to come out on DVD for years! I saw it the year it came out when we were on a family vacation in Florida and fell in love with the movie. Genevieve Bujold is a feisty, flirty, and highly ambitious Anne Boleyn. "Mary" is an excellent movie as well--Redgrave creates a queen who rules with her heart instead of her head, which leads to her downfall.
It's about time these two films became available.
 Two Tudor Triumphs September 22, 2007
G M. Stathis (cedar city, utah USA)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
The film world in the 1960s and 1970s exhibited a fascination with Tudor England as demonstrated by a number of fine films and PBS/BBC television productions: A Man for All Seasons (1966), Anne of the Thousand Days(1969), Mary Queen of Scots(1971), Elizabeth R (1972). And The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970). Recently that fascination has returned with cable productions of Elizabeth I, and The Tudors, and the anticipated Elizabeth the Golden Age. Universal Studios has determined to use two of the earlier films in part as promotion for this October's release of Elizabeth the Golden Age. The fact that Anne of the Thousand Days and Mary Queen of Scots should be released on a single DVD set would otherwise be curious indeed. Together as a promotional DVD or separate, no matter, many viewers will just be happy to see these films released in this format. They are both tour de force productions that show off the acting talents of major actors. And it should be noted neither pretends to be purely historical; they are historical dramas. And both are commendable even with the passing of time. Anne of the Thousand Days gives us one of the better later performances of Richard Burton as Henry VIII, and a young Genevieve Bujold as Anne Boleyn, a sound script (based on an earlier play), solid production values, and a wonderful score by Georges Delerue (who also scored A Man for All Seasons). Mary Queen of Scots suffered from a bit of a convoluted plot but a literate script nevertheless (also loosely based on a prior play), and still had dependable performances across the board with Glenda Jackson reprising her portrayal of Elizabeth I from Elizabeth R with great gusto, and Vanessa Redgrave in a very believable interpretation of Mary (ironically, she did a cameo as Anne Boleyn in A Man for All Seasons). Many of the supporting roles are notable as well, Patrick McGoohan, Trevor Howard, Daniel Massey and Nigel Davenport. The production is grand, and the score by John Barry is one of the highlights of the film, so much so that Universal has provided the musical track only option (with commentary) on this disc which is an unexpected treat. This is one of Barry's best works! The music of Delerue and Barry really set the standard for films in this genre, and nothing has really equaled them to date. The two films counted fifteen Academy Award nominations between them. Good production values,and nicely packaged.
Excellent costume movie. December 22, 2005
lordhoot (Anchorage, Alaska USA)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
After reviewing several excellent notes at this site, I see little reason to rehashed the plot scenes and all that. In my humble opinon, I found this movie to be well made, well scripted and excellently acted. The two female stars, Vanessa Redgrave and Glenda Jackson proves to be at the top of their game. I think Redgrave captured Mary pretty well. Her Mary was a lovestruck woman who think implusively with her heart, rarely with her brain. But there is no doubt that Jackson was born to portaryed Elizabeth and her performance was fantastic as it was when she portaryed Elizabeth in that Masterpiece Theater series, Elizabeth R. Although Jackson was the supporting player in this movie and don't appeared much, her presence dominate the movie.
Both of them were ably supported by the rest of the cast. Most notable were Nigal Davenport who played charming and forceful Bothwell superbly well and Timothy Dalton who played weak and corrupt Lord Darnley nicely. Ian Holm whined and craved perfectly well as unfortunate Rizzo. Overall, a great supporting cast all around.
This movie is basically a character study between Mary and Elizabeth, their struggles and plans against each other. Mary failed because as it accurately stated in the movie, Mary behaved like a woman first, queen second. Elizabeth on the other hand, always a Queen first, everything else second. Although the script take many historical liberties, I thought it captured the character and the spirit of both Mary and Elizabeth.
For the historical minded, Mary and Elizabeth never met in person. Although Mary's son James inherited the English throne, he belonged more to Elizabeth then to Mary.
I am bit surprised and disappointed that this movie have not yet been release in the DVD format.
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