Elizabeth at 90 – A Family Tribute [DVD] [2016]

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This unique celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s ninetieth birthday, narrated by the Prince of Wales, features previously unseen private film, and various members of the Royal Family watching it. Film-maker John Bridcut has been granted special access to Her Majesty’s complete collection of ciné films, by the Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen herself, as well as by her parents. The Queen makes history by discussing her own memories with Prince Charles as together they view this extraordinary footage. Other family members taking part include The Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry, the Princess Royal, the Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra, and the daughter of Princess Margaret, Lady Sarah Chatto. The home video tribute that is fit for a Queen. The structure of the documentary was akin to a bran tub at a school fete but every dip pulled out a prize. It was also Gogglebox. The commentary of the sofa-sitters before the flickering screens made it. For a family publicly susceptible to permafrost, the old movies cut an awful lot of ice and revealed an awful lot of character. […] There they were watching the movies, when Charles turned to his left and lo, his mama had joined the Gogglebox couch. The Queen was remarkable. She remembered every place, every name, every date. […] What a thoughtful present this compilation was from the BBC, like getting your gran’s VHS tapes on to DVD – except, of course, the celluloid was hers, and it was her gift to us, and it was perfect. Andrew Billen, The Times The Royal family show their private face to the public Let’s be honest, some royal documentaries are better than others, and over the last few decades there have been occasions when watching could feel more of a duty than a pleasure. Happily Elizabeth at 90 – A Family Tribute was a triumph from start to finish. I cannot recall ever seeing a more charming, warm and – dare I say ¬– human portrait of the Queen than this one lovingly pieced together from the Royal family’s own private archive of film taken over the last 90 years. As a documentary it hooked from the outset with the strains of a sumptuous Elgar composition written in honour of the five-year-old Princess Elizabeth playing out over a beautiful sequence of never-before-broadcast images of the Queen at various stages of her life and reign…. “The entire collection [of film]”, said Prince Charles, “provides a wonderful in into my Mama’s long life”. It certainly did, especially when spliced together so skilfully by director John Bridcut, whose selection was nothing short of superb. […] That was the beauty of this film. For once, it succeeded in blurring the boundary between public formality and private emotion as we saw warm smiles and flashes of delighted re flicker across the faces of the Queen, Princess Anne, the Duke of Kent and others at seeing happy past times. The result was a documentary that brilliantly sampled a full 90 years of a life both intensely public and guardedly private. A film that felt less like a tribute and more like a private view, and one you really didn’t need to be a bonkers-mad Royalist to enjoy. Gerard O’Donovan, The Daily Telegraph Watching home movies with the Queen – it’s like a royal Gogglebox Fascinating because, whatever you think of them, this family does have a place in the history of this country. In some ways, as her eldest son says, the birthday girl’s life has defined our age. Plus, it is a rare glimpse behind high walls, at the private life of a family that is nothing like anyone else’s. And yes, some of it is touching, such as the young Elizabeth, unburdened by her destiny, singing happily with her younger sister. Sam Wollaston, The Guardian