18th-Century Quest: The Madness of King George (1994)

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Are you anything like me? Did you see The Madness of King George (1994) back in the day, remember that it had great performances and costumes, but never quite get around to watching it again because it’s not the happiest of stories?

WATCH IT AGAIN. SERIOUSLY. RIGHT NOW. I’LL WAIT RIGHT HERE TIL YOU’RE DONE.

YOU’RE WELCOME. Oh my god. How AMAZINGLY good is this movie? Okay, no, it’s not a Jane Austen adaptation. There’s no meet-cute, no young love, no fresh young heroines pitter-pattering over manly yet dapper hunks.

But there is:

1994 The Madness of King George

Rupert Everett as the BEST DAMN PRINNY EVER.

1994 The Madness of King George

HAIR LIKE YOU WOULDN’T IMAGINE. Like, the perfect dead ringer hair on William Pitt the Younger.

1994 The Madness of King Georg

The stunning Amanda Donohue as the best dressed lady-in-waiting EVER. And Rupert Graves when he was young and cute! (He’s now older and cute.)

1994 The Madness of King George

Sparkly, shiny, glittery court dresses.

1994 The Madness of King George

A truly heartfelt, emotional relationship.

1994 The Madness of King George

Ridiculous court protocol.

1994 The Madness of King George

Foppy McFoppersons.

1994 The Madness of King George

Dubious father/son relationships.

1994 The Madness of King George

Men in uniform.

1994 The Madness of King George

McFoppersons!

THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE, Helen Mirren, 1994, (c) Samuel Goldwyn

Regal royals.

1994 The Madness of King George

Semi-ditzy secret wives.

1994 The Madness of King George

Inappropriate attentions.

1994 The Madness of King George

REALLY good wigs on the ladies (except that they have obvious wigline, which was avoided for women).

1994 The Madness of King George

Stiff upper lips.

1994 The Madness of King George

Did I mention the stunning court dress?

1994 The Madness of King George

Ladies in uniform.

1994 The Madness of King George

I may have forgotten to mention THE COURT DRESS.

1994 The Madness of King George

Wigs like NOBODY’S BUSINESS. Oh, and poo.

So yeah. My 18th-century quest — to see as many 18th-century costume movies as possible — forced me to rewatch this one, which I probably saw around when it came out and have put off rewatching since. Well, I’m an idiot, because while this IS a sad story, it’s also emotional, funny, and FABULOUSLY costumed.

Most people know the story of King George III, who went crazy at various points in his elder years and had to be replaced by the Prince Regent (later George IV). For a long time, researchers thought he suffered from porphyria, an obscure, inherited disease. Now, new research is showing that he was probably bipolar.

The film The Madness of King George was originally a stage play, then a movie. It won the Academy Award for art direction, and best actor (Nigel Hawthorne), actress (Helen Mirren), and adapted screenplay nominations. It was nominated for 14 BAFTAs and won three: best British film, actor (Hawthorne), and makeup/hair (Lisa Westcott). Helen Mirren won best actress at the Cannes film festival.

All of these awards were incredibly well deserved, but here’s the important thing: the costumes (designed by Sue Honeybourne and Mark Thompson) are STUNNING. And, while the story certainly many sad moments, they are totally offset by PRINNY and ridiculous doctors and political shenanigans and PRINNY.

WATCH IT AGAIN. Again, you’re welcome!

5 Responses

  1. aelarsen

    Wonderful film! Too bad that its approach to George’s illness is so problematic, and it paints the Prince to be much worse than he was.

  2. Johnny

    The sad thing though it never received an Oscar nomination for its costume design but the Baftas saw fit to nominate it.

  3. mcmonacocoxnet

    Nobody, BUT NOBODY — does period dress like you British. I have an M.A. in Theatre with a specialty in costume design and construction from one of America’s great universities. One of our instructors was British.

    You British are such a breath of fresh air in a film/theatre world corrupted by American commercialism. Fourteenth century men’s haircuts is a case in point. No one but you wonderful British would stick to such woefully unattractive hair in films and theatre. I remember handsome film actor Tyrone Power in a film obviously shot in Britain.

    His haircut looked as if a bowl had been put on his head and the hair cut around it — marvelous authenticity but so satisfying to someone like me, with an historical viewpoint! I salute you!

    Thank you, than you, thank you!

  4. Jane

    I don’t remember much from the movie except that Nigel Hawthorne was TERRIFIC. I will follow your advice to revisit it.