The Madness of King George
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- This article is about the 1994 film. For the play by Alan Bennett, see The Madness of George III (play) and for a 2004 political satire, see The Madness of King George (book)
| The Madness of King George | |
|---|---|
| Image:The Madness of King George.jpeg DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Nicholas Hytner |
| Produced by | Stephen Evans David Parfitt |
| Written by | Alan Bennett |
| Starring | Nigel Hawthorne Helen Mirren Ian Holm |
| Music by | George Fenton |
| Distributed by | Samuel Goldwyn Company |
| Release date(s) | December 28, 1994 (USA) |
| Running time | 107 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Madness of King George is a 1994 film. It was directed by Nicholas Hytner and adapted by Alan Bennett from his play The Madness of George III. Bennett refused to sanction a film version unless Hawthorne was given first refusal for the title role after having a highly acclaimed performance in the theatre.
The film tells the story of King George III's deteriorating mental health, and the equally declining relationship between him and his son, the Prince of Wales, particularly focusing on the period around the Regency Crisis of 1788. Modern medicine has suggested that the King's symptoms were the result of porphyria.
It stars Nigel Hawthorne as George III, Helen Mirren as Queen Charlotte, Ian Holm as Dr. Willis, Rupert Graves as Greville, Amanda Donohoe as Lady Pembroke, Rupert Everett as the Prince of Wales, Julian Rhind-Tutt as the Duke of York, Julian Wadham as George III's Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger, and Jim Carter as Whig MP Charles James Fox.
It won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction, and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Nigel Hawthorne), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Helen Mirren) and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.
[edit] Title change
An urban legend circulates to this day that the Roman numerals were removed from the title of the film because U.S. test audiences misinterpreted them to mean it was a sequel. The Madness of King George at the Urban Legends Reference Pages suggests that this is not entirely true.
The film was based on the play The Madness of George III. In Britain, it can be assumed that most people would realise this refers to King George the Third, but this might not be so clear in other countries. The title change was suggested by Hawthorne himself during a photoshoot at Arundel Castle for the film's poster. The concept was George III sitting on his throne with a sceptre in one hand and a piglet in the other. Sir Nigel was told this was to symbolise both his regality and his insanity. Upset by this over-literal approach, Hawthorne suggested the change to The Madness of King George.[citation needed] This title was used all over the world, not just in America as has sometimes been claimed.
