DVD Review: A Royal Night Out

A Royal Night Out
(DVD Royal)

With the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II in England this past week, there has been renewed interest in her life, especially as presented in films and television. I checked out this DVD to see how she was portrayed as Princess Elizabeth on VE Day, the day that the war with Germany was declared to be over. With the deprivation and sacrifice behind them, the people in Britain are given the opportunity to celebrate the end of the war this particular night. Elizabeth and her sister Margaret receive permission from their parents to go out that evening to celebrate the end of this terrible war. This opportunity is not one to be missed — the one time in their lives when they can mingle with the crowds “incognito” and celebrate alongside their British subjects. Unfortunately, the Queen Mum has other ideas in mind — she sends them out with military escorts who take them to the Ritz to celebrate with older upper crust society members — certainly not their idea of a good time! Both Princesses manage to escape and the adventure begins, taking them all over London and into areas that were considered to be the roughest at that time. Here Elizabeth meets Jack, a pilot gone AWOL who helps her to navigate the streets of London in an effort to find Margaret who is caught up in the wild partying throughout the London streets. This DVD was very enjoyable — it has romance, humor and drama, much like Roman Holiday with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, one of my all-time favorite films. Sarah Gadon and Bel Powley do an excellent job of portraying the young royals, Elizabeth and Margaret. I especially enjoyed the performance by Roger Allam (DCI Thursday of Endeavour fame) as Stan, a kingpin in the underworld of London. This is definitely a film worth watching!

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Roman Holiday, or The King’s Speech.)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this film ) | ( official A Royal Night Out web site )

 

Recommended by Kim J.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you watched this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!