Historical epics are often met with mixed reactions from the masses. For every singular triumph like 300, there are many more disappointments. So it should be no surprise that producers, eager to fill cold seats with warm bodies, have returned to the time and place of one of recent cinema's most celebrated historical epics: sixteenth century England. Elizabeth was one of 1998-99's biggest art house hits (so big, in fact, that it spilled into some mainstream theaters), grossing more than $30 million domestic and garnering seven Oscar nominations. That kind of success can justify another installment, especially if the filmmakers feel there's more of the story to be told. Shekhar Kapur's Elizabeth: The Golden Age is the result, one of those rare beasts - a sequel to a movie whose primary audience is not teenagers. Presumably, Kapur rejected calling the movie Elizabeth II because that would have created all sorts of confusion.
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