Movie Review: King George VI: The Man Behind The King's Speech

King George with Queen Elizabeth. Photo / NZ Herald

Less a documentary - no director is credited - than a marketing initiative for the Oscar-winning movie, which will doubtless end up as a DVD extra, this film certainly lives up to its name. It provides a more-than-useful summary of the life of Albert, Duke of York, the younger son of George V (and father of Queen Elizabeth II) who would become George VI when his brother Edward VIII abdicated.

More comprehensive than ground-breaking, it consists largely of oodles of Gaumont newsreels interpolated with talking heads including ITV News' royal correspondent; Peter Conradi and Mark (grandson of the speech therapist Lionel) Logue, who jointly wrote the film's source book; and, briefly, Colin Firth and director Tom Hooper.

The portrait that emerges - of a man who didn't want the throne and was anxious to avoid the war that made his reputation and destroyed his health - is an engrossing reminder of the major mid-century events that not many people now living remember as current affairs.

Stars: 3.5/5
Running time: 66 mins
Rating: G
Verdict: All you need to know

- TimeOut