The Queen
(DVD)

Special features: The Making Of ... "The Queen" part one "Playing real people" ; part two "The design" ; part three "That week" (20 min.) ; audio commentary by director Stephen Frears and writer Peter Morgan ; audio commentary by British historian and royal expert Robert Lacey, author of "Majesty".

Director of photography, Affonso Beato ; editor, Lucia Zucchetti ; music by Alexandre Desplat ; archive consultant, Adam Curtis.

Helen Mirren (HM Queen Elizabeth II), Michael Sheen (Tony Blair), James Cromwell (Prince Philip), Helen McCrory (Cherie Blair), Alex Jennings (Prince Charles), Roger Allam (Robin Janvrin), and Sylvia Syms (HM The Queen Mother).

The Queen begins with a familiar epigraph "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown" - Henry IV, Part II. The action of the film takes place during the week following the death, on August 31, 1997 of Diana, Princess of Wales. One of its accomplishments, courtesy of adroit use of newsreel and other contemporary footage, is to remind viewers of the deep sadness that surrounded that event. It is also about the divergent and potentially ruinous ways the monarch and Prime Minister Tony Blair responded to the resulting torrent of national grief.

DVD format, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, Region 1, 1.85:1 widescreen presentation.

In English or Spanish; optional subtitles in English and Spanish.

Golden Globes, 2006: Best Actress, Helen Mirren and Best Screenplay; Academy Awards, 2006: Best Actress, Helen Mirren.