Charles Shyer’s The Affair of the Necklace, filmed at Versailles, recounts the true story of the theft of a diamond necklace from Marie Antoinette by Jeanne de la Motte-Valois, played by Academy Award winner Hilary Swank. Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes star in The Duchess, the compelling story the Duchess of Devonshire in a lavish world filled with smoldering passion and heartbreaking deception. In Desirée , Director Henry Koster (The Robe) , creates a sumptuous cinematic epic of Napoleon and his first (and lasting) love, Desirée Clary, starring Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons in the lead roles. Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend star in the lavish historical drama The Young Victoria , based on the courtship and early reign of one of Britain’s longest-serving monarchs. Finally, in Stephen Frears’ The Queen, Helen Mirren brilliantly portrays Queen Elizabeth II’s struggle (occasioned by the death of Princess Diana) to adjust her instinct for upholding royal traditions to reflect her people’s expectations and demands. In addition, the epic Mayerling , – starring Omar Sharif and Catherine Deneuve as the doomed star-crossed lovers Crown Prince Rudolf and Maria Vetsera, and including James Mason and Ava Gardner – will be serialized over the 5-week course. |