Elizabeth [1998]  In 1998's Elizabeth, Shekhar Kapur added a
layer of suds to his history lesson; the director follows the
same audience-pleasing recipe in Elizabeth: The Golden Age.
Since the first film, Blanchett scored an Oscar for her note-
perfect rendition of Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator, and she
plays the preternaturally bemused monarch in a similar fashion.
By 1585, Elizabeth I is an experienced ruler about to face two
of her biggest challenges: betrayal by her Catholic cousin, Mary
Stuart (Control's Samantha Morton), and invasion by the Spanish
Armada. It isn't so much that the Protestant Elizabeth wishes to
rid England of "papists," but that she wants her country to
remain free from foreign domination. Closer to her home, she
enjoys a sisterly relationship with lady-in-waiting Bess (rising
Aussie star Abbie Cornish). That changes when Sir Walter Raleigh
(a dashing Clive Owen) hits the scene. In order to continue
exploring the New World, he seeks the queen's sponsorship. She
is charmed, but Raleig