The Madness of King George
The Madness of King George is a 1994 British biographical comedy drama film directed by Nicholas Hytner and adapted by Alan Bennett from his own 1991 play The Madness of George III. It tells the true story of George III of Great Britain's deteriorating mental health, and his equally declining relationship with his eldest son, the Prince of Wales, particularly focusing on the period around the Regency Crisis of 178889. Two text panels at the end of the film note that the colour of the King's urine suggests that he was suffering from porphyria, adding that the disease is "periodic, unpredictable and hereditary."
Plot
King George III's bout of madness in 1788 touched off the Regency Crisis of 1788 and triggered a power struggle between factions of Parliament under the Tory Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger and the reform-minded Leader of the Opposition Charles James Fox.
Awards
Cast
- Adrian Scarborough
- Alan Bennett
- Amanda Donohoe
- Anthony Calf
- Barry Stanton
- Caroline Harker
- Charlotte Curley
- Cyril Shaps
- Geoffrey Palmer
- Helen Mirren
- Ian Holm
- Janine Duvitski
- Jeremy Child
- Jim Carter
- John Wood
- Julian Rhind-Tutt
- Julian Wadham
- Michael Grandage
- Nicholas Selby
- Nigel Hawthorne
- Peter Woodthorpe
- Roger Ashton-Griffiths
- Roger Hammond
- Rupert Everett
- Rupert Graves
- Ryan Hurst
- Selina Cadell
- Struan Rodger