
The King's Speech
2010, Drama/History, 1h 58m
297 Reviews 100,000+ RatingsWhat to know
critics consensus
Colin Firth gives a masterful performance in The King's Speech, a predictable but stylishly produced and rousing period drama. Read critic reviews
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Movie Info
Cast & Crew
King George VI
Lionel Logue
Queen Elizabeth
King Edward VIII
Winston Churchill
Archbishop Cosmo Lang
News & Interviews for The King's Speech
Critic Reviews for The King's Speech
All Critics (297) | Top Critics (77) | Fresh (280) | Rotten (17)
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Travel without prejudice and you will enjoy a moving, impeccably acted and surprisingly funny slice of comfort food. There are worse ways of starting an unpromising looking year.
February 20, 2019 | Full Review… -
It's an uplifting audience pleaser that also showcases film-making arts and crafts at an exalted level.
February 20, 2015 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review… -
The King's Speech is a joy, and I adore it.
February 20, 2015 | Full Review… -
The film is richly rooted, with splendid trappings, including pea-soup fogs. For all the pomp and protocol, it's an intimate story about a scared man who must find his voice if he is to rise, in regal stature, above his epaulets.
February 20, 2015 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review… -
Hooper...has become something of a specialist in exhuming British history from the mothballs of Masterpiece Theatre.
November 7, 2013 | Full Review… -
A polite, occasionally rousing, and more often than not, boring affair.
February 16, 2013 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for The King's Speech
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Feb 05, 2016A true masterwork of modern cinema laced with exceptional acting and a story which makes for a nearly perfect period piece. One of the best films of the 21st Century by far.Kal X. A Super Reviewer
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Aug 13, 2013The Duke Of York hires an unconventional speech therapist when faced with Royal duties in the burgeoning media age to help him with a stammer that prevents his public speaking. The premise behind The King's Speech is a rather dry one and the trailers themselves make it seem to be a cross between The Madness Of King George and Pygmalion, but thanks to some winning performances and an interesting script portraying a behind the scenes window onto recent history it transcends the traditional comedy of manners formula that nearly all British films seem obliged to follow. Colin Firth's portrayal of a man thrust into the public eye by events beyond his control is sublime and it's fascinating to see a snapshot of the man behind a public face completely controlled by propriety and social convention. There's a real warmth in his unlikely friendship with a brewer's son from Australia and the gentle humour and subtle direction makes a very refreshing change from the ADHD firework displays that seem to make up the vast majority of modern cinema. Maybe not the masterpiece its multi-award winning reputation suggests, but a quality cast and sensitive storytelling make for a fine lightly comic and insightful historical character study.xGary X Super Reviewer
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Jul 22, 2013Please spell me out the "clichéd" and "formulaic" elements in The King's Speech, because even if it is a doubtful Academy Awards conqueror, Tom Hooper built a proper historical account about the struggle of a man to become a symbol of national resistance in imminent war times that were about to shape the world. It has been accused of being "predictable" as well. Maybe that's because the story was based on true events? The art of cinema retelling true stories resides in the ability to properly, yet respectfully carry on the task of dramatization, one of the main successes of <i>The King's Speech</i>. I applaud the performances and the execution. Dialogue handling was impeccable, and the cinematography was worthy of a disciple of Carol Reed, capturing the size of the scenarios, the tension of the situations and the psychological difficulties faced by King George VI. I wonder, therefore, what would the opinion of the audiences be if this had been a film directed by Carol Reed in the 40s. Perhaps they would have been quicker to applaud. Do not let the debated Academy Awards be distractions to you. 78/100Edgar C Super Reviewer
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Jan 17, 2013It's the sign of a talented director that a bunch of scenes of people talking (or stammering) in rooms can look cinematic.Daniel P Super Reviewer
The King's Speech Quotes
Lionel Logue: | Do you know any jokes? |
King George VI: | ...Timing isn't my strong suit. |
George 'Bertie' VI: | For the second time in the lives of most of us we are at war. Over and over again we have tried to find a peaceful way out of the differences between ourselves and those who are now our enemies. But it has been in vain. We have been forced into a conflict. For we are called, with our allies, to meet the challenge of a principle which, if it were to prevail, would be fatal to any civilized order in the world. Such a principle, stripped of all disguise, is surely the mere primitive doctrine that might is right. For the sake of all that we ourselves hold dear, and of the world’s order and peace, it is unthinkable that we should refuse to meet the challenge. It is to this high purpose that I now call my people at home and my peoples across the seas, who will make our cause their own. I ask them to stand calm and firm, and united in this time of trial. The task will be hard. There may be dark days ahead, and war can no longer be confined to the battlefield. But we can only do the right as we see the right and reverently commit our cause to God. |
George 'Bertie' VI: | I'm not here to discuss personal matters. |
Lionel Logue: | Why're you here then? |
Lionel Logue: | Why are you here then? |
George 'Bertie' VI: | Because I bloody well stammer! |
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