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Last KingRating:
Release Date: 27 April, 2004 Retail Price: $24.95 OUR Price: $21.99 You SAVE: $2.96! Cast: Complete Cast (14 total) |
Last King Reviews
AN ENTERTAINING AND ABSORBING HISTORICAL-POLITICAL DRAMA
THE LAST KING refers, I presume, to the last king not entirely selected and controlled by Parliament. That was Charles II, played here remarkably well by Rufus Sewell. Charles I was executed by Parliament and his son Charles went into exile and returned only upon the death of Oliver Cromwell. Being a Puritan-type, Cromwell had a rather depressing effect on theater, the arts and fun in general during his reign. Charles II had no such qualms and THE LAST KING portrays a liberated Protestant monarch who had many lovers while being fond of and keeping his Catholic queen. And ultimately, the conflict here is about religion, not unlike today. Except, instead of Islam vs Christianity, back then it was Protestant vs Catholicism. One was afraid of being ruled by the Pope and the other defended the "one true faith". In order to keep England Protestant, Parliament felt it needed to exert its control over the king. The intrigue all boiled down to who the successor would be to Charles II: his Catholic brother James or his illegitimate Protestant son. THE LAST KING has excellent production values, fine acting, a tight script and plenty of drama. The viewer sees a seemingly remarkably realistic slice of 17th century life. We learn that apparently many men wore their hair cut very short under their long, flowing wigs. There is plenty of bedroom business but it is always tastefully done, the power of the imagination proving again greater than the camera lens. I highly recommend this entertaining and absorbing historical-political drama.
Great Movie
This movie takes a look at the life of Charles II after the execution of his father Charles I. This movie is very good, but I do wish that it would have focused more on Charles II dealings with politics, instead of his love life. It is also not accurate to call Charles I the last king. Many Monarchs after him had power, influence, and the ability to run their country, and fight with parliament after him. Anyone who likes British History though should watch this movie, it was interesting, and I recommend it. But it needs to be kept in context.
More Customer Reviews (17 total)
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