Hey, guys. Today, I'm going to be analyzing some of the film techniques used in the opening
scenes of The Queen. I'm doing this in hopes that it'll give you some insight into how I see things
when I'm watching a film that I'm supposed to be studying for a SAC or exam. And hopefully, by
giving you a few ideas at the very start, you can use some of these ways of looking at the film to
then go on and watch the remainder of the film and discover those film techniques for yourself.
Of course, there are plenty of resources out there that cover film techniques, and I'll make sure to
link anything that we've got for you down in the description box below, but I think the key is to
develop your own style of analysis. And of course you don't have to agree with my interpretation.
That's the beauty of English, or for some people, the curse of it as well. But let's get into it.
I hope I won't be copyrighted for showing you clips from the film. So, depending on how we
edit it, it might just look a little bit funny every now and then. I might just sort of pause
it and screenshot a particular scene just so that we don't get this video taken down.
To begin with, we have this quote that is displayed at the very start of the film,
and it says, "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown," and it's spoken by Henry IV Part II. So,
the Part II gives me an indication that this is a quote from some way in Shakespeare's texts.
If I then go on Google and actually have a look and type up this quote,
then I know for sure that it is indeed from Henry IV Part II, a text and play that was written by
William Shakespeare. So, I'm telling you these things because this is actually
how I would go on to learn information about the film. I don't just automatically know for sure
that it is from this particular text that Shakespeare wrote up. So, I want to ensure that
I'm right by going and having a look at Google. Quotes at the start of any film, at the start of
any book, usually have importance to them and they usually should give you an insight as to
what's to come. And, for me, I find when I look at this particular quote,
it definitely links to the themes of leadership, of motherhood, parenthood, and of perhaps the
sacrifices that the queen has needed to make in order to lead her nation. So, with this particular
quote, I would write it down somewhere and keep it in mind as you're watching the remainder
of the film, because you'll see those themes come to life and have a better understanding
of what this quote is talking about. ... finally strolled the few hundred yards to
the polling station, this election day morning. So, immediately, this film opens up with a news
presenter talking about Tony Blair going to the election polls. It's displayed as footage on a
TV screen. This gives us insight into a couple of different things. Firstly, it gives us context.
The second thing is that it's displayed on a TV and it's broadcasted by a news channel. And,
as you probably know, the media, the paparazzi, and just the entire culture of representing news
during this time is something that will be heavily explored throughout this film. Especially because
it may or may not have led to the death of Princess Diana.
So, again, contextually, it gives us an idea that around this time,
the news media was quite overwhelming and omnipresent, which means that it was sort of just
everywhere. It was always around. It's sort of no different from today, but there's a reason why
they establish it as an opening shot. And that's just sort of give us as viewers an understanding
that the news has a big play in what's going to happen in the remainder of this film.
We're in danger of losing too much, that is good about this-
So, I really liked the quote, "We're in danger of losing too much that is good about this country,
as it is," that's spoken by the painter, who's drawing a portrait of the queen.
This, again, sort of establishes that idea of change immediately at the beginning of the film,
or should I say, resistance to change. So, it's already sort of outlining the
path that this film is about to take. It would be nice to experience that once. But
the sheer joy of being- Again, I really like this quote, "The sheer joy of
being partial." So, from the onset with the queen, I think it's important to understand that we don't
villainize her, or at least the director doesn't viilainize her. He portrays her as a human being,
as somebody who is in this position of the queen, which has a lot of weight upon it.
And you can tell that she's all glammed up and she's fulfilling her role as the queen,
but she's admitting that she envies us as everyday citizens being able to vote,
to be able to have an opinion, and just go to the booths. To me, this establishes
her as somebody who I empathize with or sympathize with, even.
I think this part with the music in the background and how the queen breaks the fourth wall. So, the
fourth wall is basically when any character inside a field actually looks directly at the camera,
at you, as the audience. And, to me, this gives me a sense of joy. It makes me feel like it's quite
funny, the way that she's looking at us, especially with the ... and again,
this sort of reiterates my idea that we're not supposed to look at the queen as some evil or
some cold-hearted person who is unfeeling for Diana's death later on, but that she's
just like one of us and she can participate in a joke and we come to see this in a little bit.
So, in the next scene, we have a wide shot of Buckingham Palace, and
in the background, you can hear bagpipes playing. This is something called diegetic sound. Diegetic
sound is when you have sounds that come directly from the world in the film. So,
the bagpipes sort of establish this sense of tradition. There's,
everything in the scene represents tradition. Buckingham, Palace, the flag, the bagpipes,
and that as an early shot of this film sort of shows us the entrenched tradition that exists.
That nothing has changed as of yet, and things as sort of going on as they've always had.
Again, Frears is trying to show us the human side
of the queen. And so that's why we've got the shot of her waking up in bed.
She's all cuddled up and snuggled up in warm and comfy bedding. And it shows that she's vulnerable,
in a way. And this is important for us as viewers, as we come to understand her
inner thoughts and feelings later on. By a landslide.
Oh, I see. Oh, no, I heard you can't hear the lawn
mowers. Why do they always do lawn mowing when I'm filming, man?
So, immediately when the queen wakes up, she has a pile of newspapers in front of her. That adds,
again, to that sense of omnipresent media. It's all around us, at least in that period of time.
I guess most of them do know it's the Prime Minister waiting, lining in the streets there.
This time, we have archival footage. So, archival footage is footage that has been taken from that
period of time and placed into this film. It adds to the film's sense of authenticity,
the fact that it's based off historical events. ... manifesto promises the most radical
modernization and shake up of the constitution in 300
years. Oh...
I really like this shot as the queen and Robin walking down the hallway to meet Tony Blair.
This is a great snapshot and a great mise-en-scene. And mise-en-scenes, basically,
to me anyway, it's when you pause the screen and it's everything that's inside that shot from
props, in the foreground, in the background, what the person is wearing, or what the characters are
wearing. So, with this particular art, we can not only see the two characters, but we can also
see everything that's in the background. And again, this really adds that sense of
tradition because you've got all these paintings from probably famous people back in the day,
or ancestors of the monarchy, and then you've got Robin saying he's promising a constitutional shake
up, the first one in 300 years, and the queen saying, "Oh, you mean he's going to try and
modernize us?" This is a great juxtaposition between the new coming in versus the old.
You may remember her curtsy the first time you met. It could best be described as shallow.
When Robin makes the joke about Tony Blair's wife having a curtsy that's described as shallow,
it's humorous, it's funny, and the queen laughs as a result. The humor that's speckled throughout
this film, I think really helps to lighten up the situation, but also to again, show us that the
queen is human and that she can enjoy a joke. Wheen we reach the audience-
I think this is a great snapshot as well. So, we've got the camera looking down at Tony Blair
and his wife. When a camera does look down at an object or character, it gives us, as the audience,
a sense that that person or character is inferior or they're not in a position of control. And it
ties in with the fact that this is Tony Blair's first day in Buckingham Palace as a prime minister
and he's only just onboarding the role. So, in terms of him versus the queen or the
monarchy, which is symbolized by everything around him, the setting that he is encompassed
in, it shows that he really isn't the one who's playing the field here. He's not the one who is in
charge. I love that we've got one of the queen's men giving them rules on what they need to do.
The queen will extend her hand. You go to her, bow again, then shake her hand.
So, we're slowly walking up the stairs towards the queen who is in position of power. So,
the staircase is quite symbolic. Would you like to sit down, Mrs. Blair?
Another important thing to know is that Mrs. Blair is actually accompanying
the prime minister this first time round that he goes to Buckingham Palace.
It shows that he is nervous, he said it himself, but he's not entirely comfortable
with his role yet. So he needs the support of his wife. This is in comparison with later in
the film at the very end, actually, where Tony Blair goes to Buckingham Palace himself
and conducts a meeting with the queen, very similar to the one that he's doing now.
This shot where we've got Mrs. Blair sitting opposite the guard
at quite a distance adds to the sense of awkwardness, and it's paralleled with the
sense of awkawkwardness between the queen and the prime minister as well. So, it shows that
we've got the old and the new sort of coming together and sort of not really gelling.
My first, of course, was Winston Churchill. He sat in your chair in a frock coat and top hat.
Something to keep an eye on is parallels in the film. It's always a really good idea to compare
the start and end of this particular film, because we've got such similar scenarios in meaning at the
start of the film and in meaning at the end of the film. What you'll notice in this particular scene
is that they don't appear in the same shot. They sit opposite one another and one shot on
Tony Blair, one shot on the queen, and it sort of goes back and forth. And that's to heighten
that sense of distance between them. That sense of unfamiliarity. This is in comparison
with the end of the film when we see the two of them walking down the hallway together,
out into the garden as equal. The Duty falls upon-
Here's another great shot. So, to add on the idea of the queen having more power versus
prime minister, it's quite clear here as he sits down and asks for her hand.
And congratulation- I love the way that Mrs. Blair walks. She's
sort of like half... I don't know how you would explain her stride, but it's obviously
not one that is aligned with how the queen walks, which is quite poised and quite together.
Rather, Mrs. Blair's walk is sort of frumpy, it's sort of bouncy, and her arms are sort of flailing
around a little bit, and so adds to that sense of new, of change, of difference. And so that
adds to the story of Tony Blair and his family and what he represents as something new and
different and probably unwelcome for the queen. So, that's it, that's my analysis of the first 10
minutes or so of this film. If you're interested in a more detailed film technique analysis,
I've just written a killer comparative based on Ransom & The Queen. In this,
I show you film techniques that I pick out throughout watching the film, how to analyze them,
and also then go on to show you how they are used in A-plus essays. I'm so confident that
this study guide will be able to help you improve your understanding of both texts and get you
towards that A-plus for your SAC and exams. If you're curious about what's inside the study
guide and see if it's right for you, head on over and download a sample to see it for yourself.
I hope it gives you something to launch off. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them
in the description box below. I have plenty of resources for you guys down there as well
if you needed help for your SAC and exams and I'll catch you guys next time. Bye.