Product: Victoria & Albert: A Royal Love Affair [VHS] (2001)
Rating: 4.0
A&E's "Victoria and Albert"
As much as I have read about Victoria and Albert, I found this 2001 A&E production to be interesting and historically informative, made all the more enjoyable with superb acting by Nigel Hawthorne, Diana Rigg, David Suchet and Peter Ustinov. But I simply could not "connect" with the casting of Victoria Hamilton as Queen Victoria (brown eyes?), or with Jonathan Firth as Prince Albert. Each time I saw their characters, I couldn't help imagining it was was a younger Connie Francis and Richard Chamberlain playing Victoria and Albert. Immediately afterwards I had to watch "The Young Victoria" to remind myself how much more charming and believeable Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend were in their portrayals of Victoria and Albert. Now if it were possible to substitute/transport Blunt and Friend into A&E's more comprehensive production of "Victoria & Albert", that would be perfection!