The Duchess [Blu-ray]

The good: very well acted, a moving and poignant story. Beautiful costumes and set, which was important since Georgiana is supposed to be very influential in the fashionable world. And I believed it with those gorgeous outfits! More importantly, it is a story about how marriage shouldn't be entered into lightly, for "convenience."The bad: I agree with other reviewers that I don't think this should have been PG 13. Maybe they don't show any specific body parts (except for one butt shot), but there are several sex scenes that are very disturbing, not to mention one particular gratuitous sexual encounter (Thank God for the 10 second skip button). Maybe I should've expected that in a plot that surrounds the sex lives of an unhappy married couple, but let's just say I didn't expect the Duke to be THAT horrible of a human being. Secondly and relating to that point, I thought the ending was a little rushed, mostly because they try to make the Duke a complex character that isn't totally unredeemable, and they maintain the friendship between his mistress and Georgiana. As the viewer, I was still so upset by his forcing her to stay with him and give up her illegitimate child (while he does whatever he wants and fathers many more children) that I couldn't really accept that she is basically ok with the two of them now. I believe that it's historically accurate, I'm just saying the writers could've warmed us up to the Duke a little more to make this ending more emotionally satisfying.

I was quite surprised at the quality of this excellent movie. It was extraordinarily well done. I had not heard anything about this movie prior to purchase. It was one of those movies Amazon had suggested when I purchased a copy of the Vivian Leigh movie about Lady Hamilton. So I bought, The Duchess" with no prior knowledge of its quality or story.Since this is a historical movie about a true story, I really don't think the term "Spoilers" applies. But if you don't want to know anything about movie details in advance, you probably shouldn't be reading our comments... especially mine. So, stop here if you don't want to hear details of the movie.My first impression of the actress playing Georgiana in the very first scene was that she was pale and sickly looking. But she surprised me by giving a resounding, strong, believable performance of the real Duchess; presenting her as described in historical documents (which I read after watching the movie).I also later learned that her fashions, hairstyles, personality and details of her life very closely followed the actual Georgiana. The movie's attention to detail and realism by shooting in the actual palaces and ornate surroundings of the real Georgiana were stunningly accurate. Much better than they could have done in a studio or CGI. My complements to the producers and directors for their choosing real locations and following historical documents and paintings to duplicate the real life and surroundings of Georgiana.The movie failed to inform the viewers that Georgiana was a Spencer... a direct ancestor of Princess Di or that Georgiana was also a direct ancestor to Princess Fergie by means of a child Georgiana had with her lover. So, I had no idea of the significance of this Duchess when I watched the movie... yet I could not help but see both Fergie and Diana in Georgiana before I knew there was any connection.Without that foreknowledge, I had noticed that Georgiana (as portrayed) had a vivacious party girl personality when she entertained very much like Fergie. Yet she lived a tragic, loveless married life just like Princess Di and was beloved by everyone... except her husband. Her only job was to provide an heir for the Duke.Georgiana's marriage was tragic and loveless. Her husband blatantly lived with his mistress in their home for over a decade and later married that mistress after Georgiana died. Sound familiar... Camilla?The only love Georgiana had ever known was denied her by threats of losing her children and threats against her lover. So the one baby girl she had with her lover, she had to give up to her lover's family shortly after her birth and returned to her loveless marriage to the Duke. Her lover later became Prime Minister.It was ok for the Duke to have his mistress right in the same house... but Georgiana was not permitted the same option.My only criticism is that the movie producers and director should have let the audience know the significance of Georgiana's ancestral bloodlines shared with Princess Di and Fergie and that Georgiana was a Spencer... even if it was only mentioned by a text insert at the end of the movie. It should have been mentioned somewhere, especially for those of us who are not from the UK and don't know the minute details of Royal bloodlines. I had never heard of Georgiana prior to watching this film. If I had not looked it up on Wikipedia, I would not have known how Georgiana was related to Di and Fergie and how their tragic fates were all intertwined. There was no mention of this on the movie. After I read about her, it really brought more significance to Georgiana's tragic life as depicted in this movie.The similarities between Georgiana and her descendents, Princess Di and Fergie are quite disturbing. Almost a mirror of things to come. It was sad to learn that their shared ancestor, Georgiana had suffered a similar fate. A tragic story to be sure, but well worth the time to watch. If this movie didn't win any academy awards... it should have. An unforgivable oversight by the Academy.Ralph Feines was quite surprising in his portrayal of the Duke. Quite believable. I have a feeling his portrayal of the Duke was a bit softer than the real Duke. I was surprised to see him in a historical role like this after Voldemort and the Red Dragon... but he did an excellent job.My only other comment is that the print on the screen was much too small to see on any TV. It was so tiny, I had to get out of my chair and get within 4 ft of the TV to read it. (and I have a large screen). Filmmakers need to keep in mind that home audiences need to be able to read a properly sized font on their TV screen when the film includes text details for the audience. They should make allowances for this issue prior to releasing the DVD version.For those reviewers who have made derogatory comments on the costumes and hairdo's... they obviously have not taken the time to read about the life of Georgiana or looked at the portraits and biographies of her... or even bothered to watch the extra's included with the DVD. If they had bothered, they would have seen that this movie recreated the real Georgiana's hairstyles and unusual fashions to the tiniest detail. It may seem bizarre to us, but Georgiana was famous for her hair and clothes, which were a constant source of interest by the media and public throughout her life. Very similar to the same attention that Princess Diana attracted by her life and fashions. If this movie had not portrayed Georgiana's hair and clothing fashions as she had actually worn them, it would have been as bad as a 23rd century producer portraying Princess Di wearing dime store fashions. Accuracy is very important in historical films about real people. To depict them differently than they really were just to suit those with limited historical knowledge, would have been of the utmost disrespect.So don't listen to people with no appreciation for historical detail. With those attitudes, I don't know why they would even bother to watch a high caliber historical movie like this.To fully appreciate the accuracy of this film, I recommend reading up about the Duchess of Devonshire on Wikipedia and taking a look at some of the paintings of Georgiana.

I have watched this movie over and over, so many times. So exceptionally well done and a feast for the eyes.

Very well done. Loved every minute of this program. Definitely makes you respect women from their era and the freedom we have now.

A difficult time for women and still women are not fully emancipated across the globe.The movie and script are well portrayed and stellar acted by highly priced actors.No spoiler alert, watch the movie!

Sad story but I love it!

I really enjoyed the Duchess. It is a beautiful period piece about a strong willed, intelligent female who sought to express herself in the only ways that she could in a male dominated society. While she was not always successful, she did her best to live within her boundaries, while attempting to change the system. I would recommend the movie to anyone, even though I am not sure that many will want to view this over and over. Therefore I would suggest renting the Duchess. The acting was really good, the story was nicely presented, and the movie itself looked amazing.Overall Score 9/10

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this because of the link with the late Princess of Wales I presumed it was going to be a glossy Americanised period drama! How wrong I was. It was beautifully filmed and acted with an engaging story, fabulous costumes and settings all the better for watching in glorious high definition! Highly recommended.

my mum told me to watch this film after she saw it on channel 4 one night, she said it was really compelling and you can really feel the connection between every character; by my surprise she was right I loved the film and keira knightley really gives a good performance, I really felt like emotionally attached to her character

Very pleased with product and service

Great film,we felt very sorry for the Duchess.We could not see a Duke getting away with such behaviour today. Would recommend