Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Maddyclassicfilms Mary Queen of Scots is directed by Charles Jarrott, has a screenplay by John Hale, has music by John Barry and stars Vanessa Redgrave, Glenda Jackson, Trevor Howard, Nigel Davenport, Timothy Dalton, Raymond Massey, Patrick McGoohan and Ian Holm.The young Queen consort of France Mary(Vanessa Redgrave),is taken from France to Scotland to become Queen there after her husband dies.Mary is aided by an Italian spy David Riccio(Ian Holm)and the Scottish Lord Bothwell(Nigel Davenport). Bothwell is very blunt and is a man of action, he becomes totally loyal to the Queen and falls in love with her.Mary poses a threat to the English Queen, Elizabeth Tudor (Glenda Jackson). Both women want to be ruler of the country but in the end only one will keep her throne. Mary learns too late that to be a great Queen one must give up their inner self, sacrifice their own desires for the good of their country and their duty. Mary rules with her heart whereas Elizabeth rules with her head and is dominated by no consort, her decisions are completely her own.Elizabeth sets a trap for Mary in the form of Henry Lord Darnley (Timothy Dalton)and her own great love Lord Robert Dudley (Daniel Massey). Elizabeth's friend and adviser Lord Cecil (Trevor Howard)urges her to have Mary killed because she is too great a threat, Elizabeth won't do that and insists another way be found to stop her.The entire cast are excellent with Vanessa and Glenda giving the standout performances. Vanessa excels at conveying the innocence and sheltered nature of Mary, when she arrives in Scotland she has to become tougher and stronger and it isn't easy for her. Glenda's portrayal of Elizabeth is as good here as in the TV miniseries Elizabeth R, her Elizabeth is strong, fearless, intelligent, charming and cunning. The growing love between Mary and Bothwell is beautifully portrayed with him providing some comfort and safety that the Queen desperately needs. Davenport gives one of his best performances as Lord Bothwell and I missed him when he wasn't in a scene.The costumes are beautiful and John Barry's score is one of his very best.

T Y I watched this after viewing Howard's End a few time, which is a movie I like despite a problematic, mechanical supporting performance from Redgrave. She stands out for the wrong reasons. Every scene of competence is matched by one of diva-esque deliberation, incongruity or bewilderment.Jumping to this movie, it's shocking to see how inexperienced she is here too. While she manages to record each scene without falling on her face, the character just adds up to a cipher. Redgrave is quite adrift. She portrays Mary in a perpetually clueless state. So Mary seems like like a wide-eyed dingbat; to the point that viewers can't root for her at all.Timothy Dalton as a risible little snot of a king, is the sole entertainment value, but that that's only as a pure camp, effeminate, preening Snidely Whiplash of no import. He is not a sufficient foil for the piece. By the time he's breaking out of a prison in a nightgown (with what appear to be herpes blisters on his face) it's become a rather eye-rolling endeavor.

Julia Arsenault (ja_kitty_71) I love a historical film...hmm...because after watching the movie, you can research online or in a book and compare differences between the film and what really happen back then.This film is about one of my favorite royal women Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, who claimed the Scottish crown from her mother upon her death. Of course is was after her husband, the King of France had died of an ear infection that spread to his brain, because there wasn't a cure back then...or much of anything. But then she runs up against religious prejudice, both from the Protestant Elizabeth (who had met anti-Protestant bias before she took the throne) and from Mary's Protestant half-brother James Stuart. Elizabeth, whose own reign is shaky (given a strong Catholic presence in her country), is nervous about her Catholic cousin -- and made more so by Mary's seeming inability to appreciate the political niceties of the period.In the film, the ever-luminous Vanessa Redgrave (Camelot) takes on the role as Mary, and the sharp-edged Glenda Jackson as Queen Elizabeth, who knew a thing or two about palace intrigue. And Vanessa received an Oscar nomination for her performance. So overall, I would say about this film is that I love it from beginning to end, and I love the original soundtrack in the film, and as I say many times: I love a film with a good soundtrack.

bixster I only just saw this movie for the very first time on one of my cable movie channels and have seen it several times over the past week. I love British movies and I was blown away by all the great actors and the locations and castles used for the filming. The two ladies performances are so strong and were framed by all the great male actors. Patrick McGoohan is awesome, and his steely look playing other roles has always inspired me. From his role as the Disney "Scarecrow" to the Prisoner. Just awesome. I was mesmerized by Nigel Davenport. Nigel had my attention the entire time he was on screen. Nigel, like Patrick, has an awesome look about him and how he carries himself. I will definitely buy the DVD of this movie and get my son to watch it.