"Charles II: The Power & the Passion" (2003)TV mini-series

Director:

Joe Wright

Writer:

Adrian Hodges (writer)

Release Date:

21 March 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The chronicle of Charles II's time on the throne, his 10 year exile from Oliver Cromwell's England, and his triumphant return.

Plot Keywords:

King | TV Mini-Series | Character Name In Title

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 4 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Martin Turner	...	Charles I
Rufus Sewell	...	King Charles II
Ian McDiarmid	...	Sir Edward Hyde
Rupert Graves	...	George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham
Michael Pober	...	Tutor
Ryan Nelson	...	Young Monmouth
Diana Rigg	...	Queen Henrietta Maria
Sean Biggerstaff	...	Henry, Duke of Gloucester
Helen McCrory	...	Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine
Richard Rowlands	...	Sir Roger Palmer
Charlie Creed-Miles	...	James, Duke of York
Peter Wight	...	Ormonde
Garry Cooper	...	General Monck
Martin Freeman	...	Lord Shaftesbury
Joel Sugerman	...	Antwerp Servant

Also Known As:

Charles II (UK) (short title)
Charles II: The Power and the Passion (UK) (DVD title)
The Last King (USA)
The Last King: The Power and the Passion of Charles II (USA) (DVD title)

Runtime:

235 min | USA:188 min

Country:

UK

Language:

Portuguese | English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 | Portugal:M/12 (DVD rating) | Singapore:M18 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

A&E Television Networks

Trivia:

Shirley Henderson's elaborate hairstyle for Catherine's arrival initially took two hours to create.

Quotes:

King Charles II: It's all been for nothing, Nell. The cause that gave my life meaning, will die with me. I fought to restore everything that was lost when my father was murdered but James will destroy it all. I know that, I've always known that.
Nell Gwynn: Then why did you fight so hard for him?
King Charles II: Not for him, for the principle. For the rights of Kings. Parliament will have its victory in the end.
Nell Gwynn: You know what I think about politics; it's all a lot of foolish men scheming to ruin each other for no reason anyone can remember a few years later. If it was up to me, I'd give the throne to Monmouth. Because, in my opinion, a King should always be handsome.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Making of 'Charles II' (2003) (TV)

More soap opera than history lesson

"The Last King" is a 3 hour, two part miniseries from the BBC which traces the life of King Charles II who ruled from 1649 until his death in 1685. The upside of this film includes its sumptuous appointments and excellent cast. Well directed and crafted, the film is engaging, passionate, and delivers a strong sense of Charles II, his Monarchy, and the period. On the downside, however, the film is very difficult to follow given the absence of any prologue or didactics, the mixing of sir names and titles, and the presumption of some knowledge of the history of the time. The film squanders time on the sexual intrigues and personal relationships of the womanizing King while largely ignoring the more historical and profound matters of state. The Dutch Wars, for example, are barley mentioned while much time is spent on the machinations of one of his mistresses, Barbara Villiers making the film a bit more of a soap opera than a historical chronicle. Nonetheless, this elegant film is a must see for anyone interested in King Charles II and a should see for those into stories of the history of England's monarchy. No one does English period films better than the Brits and this one has production value equal to any similar films from Hollywood. (Note - the DVD I watched has no CC's or Subtitles with much dialogue spoken in whispers or thick English, French, of Portuguese accents). B