The Madness of King George is a
1994The year 1994 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :*This was the Highest Grossing film of 1994 Worldwidesource: - Awards :Academy Awards:* Andre...
film directed by
Nicholas HytnerNicholas Robert Hytner is an English film and theatre producer and director. He has been the artistic director of London's National Theatre since 2003.-Biography:...
and adapted by
Alan BennettAlan Bennett is an English author, actor, humorist and playwright.-Early years:Bennett was born in Armley in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The son of a co-op butcher, Bennett attended Leeds Modern School , learned Russian at the Joint Services School for Linguists during his National Service, and gained...
from his own play,
The Madness of George IIIThe Madness of George III is a 1991 play by Alan Bennett. It is a fictionalised biographical study of the latter half of the reign of George III of Great Britain, his battle with mental illness and the inability of his court to handle his condition...
. It tells the true story of
George IIIGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
's deteriorating
mental healthMental health is a term used to describe either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life...
, and his equally declining relationship with his son, the
Prince of WalesGeorge IV was the king of Hanover and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
, particularly focusing on the period around the Regency Crisis of 1788. Modern medicine has suggested that the King's symptoms were the result of
porphyriaPorphyrias are a group of inherited or acquired disorders of certain enzymes in the heme biosynthetic pathway . They are broadly classified as acute porphyrias and cutaneous porphyrias, based on the site of the overproduction and accumulation of the porphyrins...
.
- Nigel Hawthorne
Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne CBE was an English actor, perhaps best remembered for his role as Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Permanent Secretary in the sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister.-Early life:Hawthorne was born in Coventry, England, the son of Agnes...
as George IIIGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
- Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes and four Emmy Awards during her career.-Family:...
as Queen CharlotteCharlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was the queen-consort of the United Kingdom as wife of King George III.Queen Charlotte was a patroness of the arts, known to Johann Christian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, among others. She was also an amateur botanist who helped establish Kew Gardens...
- Ian Holm
Sir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles, including the hobbit Bilbo Baggins in the first and third films of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, the athletics trainer Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire, Father Vito Cornelius in The Fifth Element and the...
as Dr. WillisFrancis Willis was a Lincolnshire physician and clergyman, famous for his treatment of George III.-Early career:...
- Rupert Graves
-Personal life:Graves was born in Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, England, to Mary Lousilla , a travel co-ordinator, and Richard Harding Graves, a music teacher and musician. He first entered the entertainment business by leaving Wyvern Secondary School at the age of fifteen, to become a...
as GrevilleRobert Fulke Greville was a British Member of Parliament and courtier.The son of Francis Greville, 1st Earl of Warwick and Elizabeth Hamilton, and brother to Charles Francis Greville, he was educated at Edinburgh University...
- Amanda Donohoe
-Early life:Donohoe was born in London, the daughter of Joanna and Ted Donohoe, antique dealers. Her father , is of Irish/Russian descent and her mother is Swiss. She left home at sixteen, and in her early twenties she was accepted at the Central School of Speech and Drama...
as Lady PembrokeElizabeth Herbert, Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery was the daughter of Charles Spencer and Elizabeth Trevor. Her siblings were George, Charles, and Diana.At nineteen she married Henry Herbert, 10th Earl of Pembroke...
- Rupert Everett
Rupert James Hector Everett is an English actor and singer. He first came to public attention in 1981, when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country as an openly homosexual student at an English public school, set in the 1930s...
as The Prince of WalesGeorge IV was the king of Hanover and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
- Julian Rhind-Tutt
Julian Alistair Rhind-Tutt is an English actor, best known for his starring role as Dr. "Mac" McCartney in the comedy television series Green Wing, the second series of which finished on Channel 4 in May 2006.-Early life:...
as The Duke of YorkThe Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany was a member of the Hanoverian and British Royal Family, the second eldest child, and second son, of King George III...
- Julian Wadham
Julian Wadham is a British actor of stage, film and television.-Career:He has appeared on television as both Charles II and George V...
as George III's Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom and the Head of Her Majesty's Government...
William Pitt the YoungerWilliam Pitt, the Younger was a British politician of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
- Jim Carter as Whig
The Whigs are often described as one of the two original political parties in England and later the United Kingdom from the late 17th to the mid-19th centuries. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
MPA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of...
and leader of the opposition Charles James FoxCharles James Fox was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger...
.
Bennett refused to sanction a film version unless Hawthorne was given
First RefusalRight of first refusal is a contractual right that gives its holder the option to enter a business transaction with the owner of something, according to specified terms, before the owner is entitled to enter into that transaction with a third party...
for the title role after having a highly acclaimed performance in the theatre.
In adapting the play to film, the title was changed from
The Madness of George III to
The Madness of King George.
The Madness of King George is a
1994The year 1994 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :*This was the Highest Grossing film of 1994 Worldwidesource: - Awards :Academy Awards:* Andre...
film directed by
Nicholas HytnerNicholas Robert Hytner is an English film and theatre producer and director. He has been the artistic director of London's National Theatre since 2003.-Biography:...
and adapted by
Alan BennettAlan Bennett is an English author, actor, humorist and playwright.-Early years:Bennett was born in Armley in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The son of a co-op butcher, Bennett attended Leeds Modern School , learned Russian at the Joint Services School for Linguists during his National Service, and gained...
from his own play,
The Madness of George IIIThe Madness of George III is a 1991 play by Alan Bennett. It is a fictionalised biographical study of the latter half of the reign of George III of Great Britain, his battle with mental illness and the inability of his court to handle his condition...
. It tells the true story of
George IIIGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
's deteriorating
mental healthMental health is a term used to describe either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life...
, and his equally declining relationship with his son, the
Prince of WalesGeorge IV was the king of Hanover and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
, particularly focusing on the period around the Regency Crisis of 1788. Modern medicine has suggested that the King's symptoms were the result of
porphyriaPorphyrias are a group of inherited or acquired disorders of certain enzymes in the heme biosynthetic pathway . They are broadly classified as acute porphyrias and cutaneous porphyrias, based on the site of the overproduction and accumulation of the porphyrins...
.
Cast
- Nigel Hawthorne
Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne CBE was an English actor, perhaps best remembered for his role as Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Permanent Secretary in the sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister.-Early life:Hawthorne was born in Coventry, England, the son of Agnes...
as George IIIGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
- Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes and four Emmy Awards during her career.-Family:...
as Queen CharlotteCharlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was the queen-consort of the United Kingdom as wife of King George III.Queen Charlotte was a patroness of the arts, known to Johann Christian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, among others. She was also an amateur botanist who helped establish Kew Gardens...
- Ian Holm
Sir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles, including the hobbit Bilbo Baggins in the first and third films of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, the athletics trainer Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire, Father Vito Cornelius in The Fifth Element and the...
as Dr. WillisFrancis Willis was a Lincolnshire physician and clergyman, famous for his treatment of George III.-Early career:...
- Rupert Graves
-Personal life:Graves was born in Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, England, to Mary Lousilla , a travel co-ordinator, and Richard Harding Graves, a music teacher and musician. He first entered the entertainment business by leaving Wyvern Secondary School at the age of fifteen, to become a...
as GrevilleRobert Fulke Greville was a British Member of Parliament and courtier.The son of Francis Greville, 1st Earl of Warwick and Elizabeth Hamilton, and brother to Charles Francis Greville, he was educated at Edinburgh University...
- Amanda Donohoe
-Early life:Donohoe was born in London, the daughter of Joanna and Ted Donohoe, antique dealers. Her father , is of Irish/Russian descent and her mother is Swiss. She left home at sixteen, and in her early twenties she was accepted at the Central School of Speech and Drama...
as Lady PembrokeElizabeth Herbert, Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery was the daughter of Charles Spencer and Elizabeth Trevor. Her siblings were George, Charles, and Diana.At nineteen she married Henry Herbert, 10th Earl of Pembroke...
- Rupert Everett
Rupert James Hector Everett is an English actor and singer. He first came to public attention in 1981, when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country as an openly homosexual student at an English public school, set in the 1930s...
as The Prince of WalesGeorge IV was the king of Hanover and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
- Julian Rhind-Tutt
Julian Alistair Rhind-Tutt is an English actor, best known for his starring role as Dr. "Mac" McCartney in the comedy television series Green Wing, the second series of which finished on Channel 4 in May 2006.-Early life:...
as The Duke of YorkThe Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany was a member of the Hanoverian and British Royal Family, the second eldest child, and second son, of King George III...
- Julian Wadham
Julian Wadham is a British actor of stage, film and television.-Career:He has appeared on television as both Charles II and George V...
as George III's Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom and the Head of Her Majesty's Government...
William Pitt the YoungerWilliam Pitt, the Younger was a British politician of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
- Jim Carter as Whig
The Whigs are often described as one of the two original political parties in England and later the United Kingdom from the late 17th to the mid-19th centuries. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
MPA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of...
and leader of the opposition Charles James FoxCharles James Fox was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger...
.
Background and production
Bennett refused to sanction a film version unless Hawthorne was given
First RefusalRight of first refusal is a contractual right that gives its holder the option to enter a business transaction with the owner of something, according to specified terms, before the owner is entitled to enter into that transaction with a third party...
for the title role after having a highly acclaimed performance in the theatre.
Title change
In adapting the play to film, the title was changed from
The Madness of George III to
The Madness of King George. An urban myth has developed that the title change derives from the fear that American audiences would think the film was a sequel, due to the Roman numerals. However, Hytner has stated that the principal reason was to clarify that this was a film about a king. According to a biography and interview with Nigel Hawthorne, however, this [this what?] was apparently true.
Filming locations
The film was shot at
Shepperton StudiosShepperton Studios is a film studio in Shepperton, Surrey, England with a history dating back to 1931. A part of the Pinewood Group along with Pinewood and Teddington Studios, it has produced many notable films.-History:...
and on location at:
- Arundel Castle
Arundel Castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England is a restored medieval castle. The castle dates from the reign of Edward the Confessor and was completed by Roger de Montgomery, who became the first to hold the earldom of Arundel by the graces of William the Conqueror...
, Arundel, West SussexWest Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
- Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
, OxfordOxford is a city, and the county town of Oxfordshire, in South East England. The city has a population of just under 165,000, with 151,000 living within the district boundary. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre...
- Broughton Castle
Broughton Castle is a medieval manor house located in the village of Broughton which is about two miles south-west of Banbury, Oxfordshire, England on the B4050 road ....
, Banbury, OxfordshireOxfordshire is a county in the South East England region, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire....
- Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent boarding school for boys aged approx. 13 to 19. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, EtonEton is a town in Berkshire, England, lying on the opposite bank of the River Thames to Windsor and connected to it by Windsor Bridge. It was transferred from Buckinghamshire to Berkshire in 1974...
, BerkshireBerkshire is a county in the South East of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1958, and Letters...
- Royal Naval College, Greenwich
- St. Paul's Cathedral, London
[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
- Syon House
Syon House, with its 200-acre park, is situated in West London, England. It belongs to the Duke of Northumberland and is now his family's London residence...
, BrentfordBrentford is a suburban area of the London Borough of Hounslow at the confluence of the River Thames and the River Brent in West London, situated 8 miles west south-west of Charing Cross.- History :...
, MiddlesexMiddlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
- Thame Park
Thame is a town in Oxfordshire about southwest of Aylesbury. It derives its toponym from the River Thame which flows past the north side of the town.-History up to 1800:...
, OxfordshireOxfordshire is a county in the South East England region, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire....
- Wilton House
Wilton House is an English country house situated at Wilton near Salisbury in Wiltshire. It has been the country seat of the Earls of Pembroke for over 400 years....
, WiltonWilton is a town in Wiltshire, , England, with a rich heritage dating back to the Anglo-Saxons. Today it is dwarfed by its larger and more famous neighbour, Salisbury, but still has a range of notable shops and attractions, including Wilton House.The River Wylye meets the River Nadder at Wilton.-...
, WiltshireWiltshire is a ceremonial county in the south west of England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers 3,485 km²...
Themes
The film deals with the relatively primitive medical practices of the time and the suppositions that physicians made in their efforts to understand the human body. The King's doctors attempt humoral cures such as blistering and purges. Meanwhile, another of the King's physicians, Dr. Pepys, blindly analyzes the King's stool and urine believing that body wastes may contain some clue to the Royal malady. Finally, Lady Pembrooke recommends Dr. Willis, an ex-minister who attempts to cure the insane through behavior modification. None of the three methods of treatment entirely cures the King; eventually his body heals on its own.
Besides the King's personal struggle with mental illness, the film also depicts the relative powerlessness of the British monarchy in a time when Parliament had become supreme. The scene where the King is told what to do by a doctor for the first time (in breach of established protocol) and is restrained in a seat shows the King finally accepting his diminished role despite his protestations that he is the "King of England" and can do as he pleases. After his recovery, he is seen at the end of the film explaining to the
Prince of WalesPrince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the Heir Apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland...
that the role of the royal family is to be seen to be happy, to wave to the crowd, and to be a model to the people of how to behave and conduct oneself. Thus the film also documents the shift in the British government from a monarchy with limited political power to a constitutional monarchy based mainly in the rural aristrocracy.
Academy Awards
- The film won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
, and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading RolePerformance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
(Nigel Hawthorne), Best Actress in a Supporting RolePerformance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
(Helen Mirren) and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another MediumThe Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
.
BAFTA Awards
- The film was nominated for a total of 14 BAFTA Awards and won three: the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film, the Best Actor
Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.- Winners and nominees :...
(Nigel Hawthorne) and the Award for Best Make Up/Hair (Lisa Westcott).
Cannes Film Festival
- Helen Mirren won the Best Actress
The Best Actress Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.- Award Winners :-External links:* * ....
Award and Nicholas Hytner was nominated for the Golden Palm at the 1995 festival-Jury:*Jeanne Moreau *Gianni Amelio *Jean-Claude Brialy *Nadine Gordimer *Gaston Kabore *Michele-Ray Gavras *Emilio Garcia Riera *Philippe Rousselot *John Waters...
.
External links