Mar 21, 2025
The King's Speech (2010)
My rating: 6/10
seen from Japan
seen from Germany
seen from T1
seen from United States
seen from India
seen from T1
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seen from Belarus
seen from Russia
seen from T1
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seen from United States
seen from United States
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seen from T1
seen from T1
seen from T1
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seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
The King's Speech (2010)
My rating: 6/10
Post # 082
The King's speech
In 2011, a British film - The King's Speech - got nominated for 12 Academy awards and won 3 of them. It got nominated for a record 14 BAFTA awards and won 7 of them. It got nominated for 8 SAG awards (Screen Actors Guild awards) and won 1 of them. It made USD 425 million on a budget of 15 million. So, net-net, it was a smash hit!
This film is the extraordinary story of King George VI of Great Britain, who used to stammer, and his friendship with his speech therapist, Lionel Logue. The story is set up in the 1930s.
Imagine being the king of the empire on which the sun never set. You are one of the most powerful people on earth. You are supposed to address your people, give them confidence and command the respect of your Prime Minister and his council. For that, you have to make speeches frequently.
But you stammer!
How would you feel? Where would you get the confidence from? How will you command respect from others when your self-respect is on shaky ground?
That was King George VI's plight.
Enter Lionel Logue, an unconventional speech therapist, who through a series of mechanical techniques and psychological counselling sessions, supported by King George VI's strength of character and his wife, Queen Elizabeth's implicit backing, helps the King make the most important speech of his life - declaring Britain to be in a state of war with fascist Germany, in 1939.
That last scene from the movie, where King George VI makes his speech, haltingly initially, then slowly growing in confidence, finishing strongly and proudly soaking in congratulations from all, and his wife, the Queen, saying "Thank you" to Lionel Logue, is one of the best scenes I have seen in movies, ever. Colin Firth, as King George VI, Geoffery Rush as Lionel Logue and Director Tom Hooper blow your mind and steal your heart.
Here it is - the last scene...
This extraordinary film is the dream child of its British-American screen writer, David Seidler. It is a beautiful story.
David Seidler was born in London in 1937. When he was three years old, he developed a stuttering problem, caused by the emotional trauma of World War II and the murder of his grandparents during the Holocaust. And he grew up with it.
Even as a child, King George VI was his hero. David grew up listening to King George's speeches, finding hope and gaining strength in how he overcame his stammer. His dream was to write about him one day.
David started researching in the 1970s. In 1981, he found the surviving son of Lionel Logue, Dr. Valentine Logue, now a retired brain surgeon. Dr. Logue was keen to talk with Seidler and even shared the notebooks his father kept while treating the King, but on the condition that he received written permission from the Queen Mother - Elizabeth I - first. Upon writing to her, Seidler received a reply from her private secretary, asking him not to pursue the project during her lifetime. Consequently, Seidler abandoned the project in 1982.
The Queen Mother died in 2002. David restarted the project in 2005. In 2010, the movie came to life. David's dream came true and how! In form of an Oscar!
Queen Elizabeth II, the daughter and successor of King George VI, watched the film and was "touched by a moving portrayal of her father". Seidler called the compliment "the highest honour" the film could receive.
(King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth I)
RAVENCLAW:
“BERTIE: Listen to me. Listen to me! LIONEL: Listen to you? By what right? BERTIE: By divine right, if you must. I am your king. LIONEL: No, you're not. You told me so yourself. You said you didn't want it. Why should I waste my time listening...? BERTIE: Because I have a right to be heard! I have a voice! LIONEL: Yes, you do …You have such perseverance, Bertie.”
–David Seidler (The King's Speech)
Tucker The Man and His Dream
Peter Sandys-Clarke and Arthur Hughes as Bertie and Lionel Logue in « The King’s Speech ».