The King's Speech (2010) on Netflix
R20101h 58mBiographyDramaHistory
Prince Albert, called Bertie by his family, stammers through a public address. His wife Elizabeth brings him to Lionel Logue, an Australian speech therapist who insists they meet as equals.
- Netflix4.3/5
- IMDb8.0/10737,014 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes94%
Trailer
Plot summary
King George V worries about what lies ahead for Britain's monarchy in the mid 1930s. David, his eldest son and first in line, is involved with the American Wallis Simpson, who has divorced twice, and a marriage to her would conflict with the throne and with the Church of England. George's second son Albert, called Bertie by the family, has stammered since childhood, and his speech does not win him the confidence of the public, which matters if Britain goes to war with Hitler's regime. Bertie's wife Elizabeth wants him to speak at public functions with assurance, whether or not he ever becomes king. She brings him to Lionel Logue, an Australian-raised speech therapist whose methods are unconventional and who insists the two men address each other as equals during their sessions.
Cast
- Freya Wilsonas Princess Elizabeth
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The King's Speech (2010)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- David Seidler, who developed a stammer in his youth, began writing about George VI and his therapist in the 1980s but postponed the project at the request of the King's widow, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, until she died in 2002.
- Nine weeks before filming began, the filmmakers learned of notes kept by speech therapist Lionel Logue, which his grandson Mark and journalist Peter Conradi were using as the basis of a book, and were allowed to incorporate the material into the script.
- David Seidler thought Paul Bettany would be a good King George VI and Tom Hooper preferred Hugh Grant, but both actors declined the offer; Seidler and Hooper were convinced Colin Firth was right once they heard him read for the part.
- The opening Wembley Stadium scene was shot at Elland Road, home of Leeds United, and Odsal Stadium, chosen because its curved ends resembled Wembley in 1925; the crew got access only at 10 pm after a football game and used inflatable dummies and over 250 extras in period costume.
- Denied permission to film in Westminster Abbey because of the demands of tourism, the production used Ely Cathedral for the Abbey scenes instead, starting a week of filming there on 26 November with Firth, Rush and Jacobi, even though Lincoln Cathedral was architecturally the closer match.
- The real Duke of York began working with Lionel Logue in October 1926, ten years before the abdication crisis, and his speech improved in months rather than the years the film suggests.
- The BBFC first gave the film a 15 certificate because of its strong language; after Tom Hooper complained at the London Film Festival that Salt and Casino Royale got 12A despite torture scenes, the board lowered The King's Speech to 12A, letting under-12s in with an adult.
- The Beethoven movement heard under the film's climactic 1939 radio speech was a temp track added by editor Tariq Anwar; composer Alexandre Desplat refused to replace it, saying the theme has a universal quality.
