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Anchor bay
entertainment and
The Weinstein
company have
released the
critically-acclaimed,
Oscar winning film
The King's Speech
on Blu-ray and DVD.
Tom Hooper's film
tells the tale of
King George VI.
George VI was King
of England before
and after World War
II. He never wanted
to be King, and
really he never
wanted to be in the
public spotlight.
But that was what he
was born into, so he
manned up and did
his duty with public
appearances before
becoming King, and
later accepted the
duty of King when it
came to him.
George VI, or Bertie
as he was known to
his family was the
Duke of York. He was
second in line to
the throne after his
older brother King
Edward VIII. The
time period that
The King's Speech
takes place is right
after the radio was
invented. With the
invention of radio,
that meant that
Kings, Queens,
Presidents,
monarchs, and rulers
would have to
address their people
on 'the wireless.'
That meant that
Bertie, would have
to deliver speeches
on the radio.
Unfortunately for
Bertie he also had a
speech impediment. A
terrible stammering
problem. He and his
wife Elizabeth had
done everything to
try and fix the
problem. They'd seen
dozens of doctors
with nobody being
able to help. That
is until Elizabeth
looked up Lionel
Logue and the two
went to visit the
speech therapist.
After that, Lionel
and Bertie developed
a friendship with
Lionel helping
Bertie conquer his
fear of public
speaking and Bertie
delivering key
speeches during hard
times in England and
Europe.
Colin Firth's
performance as
Bertie is the most
impressive thing
about
The King's Speech.
There are some
performances that
are good and some
actors who did good
work with different
movies. But Firth,
knocked his
performance out of
the park. He played
the frustrated,
angry, and
frightened Bertie so
impressively that he
won the Oscar for
his job portraying
the monarch. It
wasn't just Colin
Firth that was
impressive with
The King's Speech,
it was the entire
cast. Helena Bonham
Carter was
impressive as
Elizabeth and
Geoffrey Rush was
incredibly enjoyable
as Lionel Logue.
After that the job
that Tom Hooper did
directing this film
was impressive. I
can't imagine
anybody doing a
better job of
capturing the royal
family at the shift
of their power. He
used wide shots from
a distance perfectly
when showing them in
public, then when
the story had Bertie
and Elizabeth with
Lionel or somewhere
else warm, he did a
good job of using
different shots and
angles to convey
that warmth.
This Blu-ray has
terrific picture and
sound and it really
does Tom Hooper's
film justice.
Everything here
looks and sounds
brilliant. This Blu-ray
also comes with a
decent amount of
extras to go through
after you watch an
enjoyable film,
including two actual
speeches from King
George VI, a 20
minute making-of
featurette, a
commentary, and a
very odd Q&A session
that has some good
information.
The King's Speech
is a brilliant film.
Colin Firth was
incredible in the
lead role and all of
the cast surrounding
him was excellent
too. Everything
about this movie is
great, and the story
is a fantastic tale
that you'll be able
to watch and enjoy
every few years.
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