Posterized: Judi Dench
Friday, March 6, 2015 at 11:30AM Today marks yet another onscreen reunion of besties & Dames Maggie and Judi: The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel opens in limited release (it goes wide next weekend). They shared a dressing room at the Old Vic in the 1950s and they've been tight ever since.
Dame Judi & Dame Maggie in 2014
They're both Oscar Royalty of course, among the most beloved actresses to ever live, but Judi Dench's story is particularly interesting since it took her so long to cross over into full stardom. Long a valued commodity in the UK, America was slow to discover her. Perhaps it started with the international hit and Best Picture nominated A Room With a View (where she & Maggie played spinster friends - they both won BAFTAs for their roles, Maggie in Lead, but only Maggie went on to an Oscar nomination with a demotion to supporting). By the time Judi got her first true lead film role in Her Majesty Mrs Brown, Maggie was already a two-time Oscar winner, with five nominations under her belt.
So Judi's late life success is a unique story. Let's look at her career since her stateside breakthrough. How many of these 24 Judi Dench films have you seen?
1997-1998 A sudden Oscar star!
Her Majesty Mrs Brown - Her first true leading role at 63 (!). Golden Globe & BAFTA Win. Oscar Best Actress Nomination. (Considered the Oscar frontrunner but Helen Hunt, the late arrival, stole everyone else's thunder)
Tomorrow Never Dies -second outing as "M"
Shakespeare in Love - Oscar & BAFTA Supporting Actress wins ('sorry about last year!')
1999-2004 Miss Dependable. Ensemble Good Luck Charm
Tea With Mussollini (reuniting with Maggie), The World is Not Enough, Chocolat (Oscar /BAFTA/SAG/Globe Nomination, SAG Ensemble nod). And during this time period she also won an Emmy & SAG nom, her second Golden Globe, and her ninth BAFTA for the TV film The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2000)
Iris (Oscar/SAG/Globe nominations, BAFTA win), The Shipping News (completely unneccesary BAFTA & SAG nominations), The Importance of Being Earnest
Die Another Day, Chronicles of Riddick, Ladies in Lavender (again with Maggie)
2005-2014 Okay, she's just a full on movie star at this point. Headlining consistent arthouse hits, increasingly successful Bond outings, and the random prestige ensembles.
Pride & Prejudice, Mrs Henderson Presents (Oscar/BAFTA/Globe/SAG nominations), Casino Royale
Notes on a Scandal (Oscar/BAFTA/SAG/Globe nomination), Quantum of Solace, Nine (SAG Ensemble Nod).
During this time frame she also had a huge TV hit with Cranford miniseries (BAFTA/Emmy/Globe nominations),
Jane Eyre, My Week With Marilyn (BAFTA nomination), J. Edgar
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (another outing with Maggie earned her a Globe nomination & they were both SAG nominated as an Ensemble), Skyfall (BAFTA nomination), Philomena (Oscar/BAFTA/Globe/SAG nominations)
HOW MANY HAVE YOU SEEN?
On a scale of 1-10 how much of a fan are you of Dame Judi?
Reader Comments (58)
First lead role at the age of 63???
O´Good god.... But well, better late than never.
I've seen 8 movies, including SIL, Nine, MWWM and J.Edgar.
Didn't really dislike any of them, though I'm still surprised she got nominated for Mrs. Henderson Presents.
But overall I like this lady, so I am an 8 in a scale of 1-10.
Dame Judi and Maggie get all the best roles for older women :)
I'll basically see anything with Dame Judi. We're just in love despite the 50-year age difference. No judgment.
I have to LOL at how many of those posters put her in the "...and Judi Dench" position. It's like throwing down that last trump card to take the game.
I've seen 11 with a couple in the queue.
I'm a 9 out of 10 on Dench.
Did you purposely put in a poster of the SECOND Best Marigold Hotel instead of the first one? They're so interchangeable lol.
I weirdly have seen every single one of these except the one that started it all, Mrs. Brown (and Second Exotic, which is soon to come)! Love me some Judi Dench-notch me toward a 9 or 10!
I've seen 18 (counting the first instalment of Marigold rather than the second in the poster), She's always good, although often she's praised for stuff she could do in her sleep. See the few noms she got for The Shipping News , as you mentioned (it's a bit like when Helen Mirren almost got an Oscar nom for Hitchcock ).
I've seen 17, and am a fan (9/10). Best performances: Barbara Covert (NOAS) and M (Skyfall)!
13. I don't do Bond films. It's say Iris was the best of this lot, though that had much to do with Broadbent too.
M y fave is NOAS but i do think she is better than her co star and film in Iris an was looked over by Oscar in 97 but HBC desereve that award.
Because of her late life stardom, I never had an image of her as a young woman. Then I found her on YouTube in a 1962 production of The Cherry Orchard. She's just lovely as the young ingenue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeFMWSbincc
17 films watched.
I'm not a big fan (7/10), but I love her in Notes on a Scandal and think she is interesting to watch through most of her filmography. But I'll never understand any award she was nominated/won for Mrs Henderson Presents...
14 with Notes on a Scandal being my favorite film and performance from her.
Judi was cast as the original Grizabella in Cats by Lloyd Weber, but then snapped her Achilies tendon and had to back out.
I have seen 22/24 of her films, I skipped "Chronicles of Riddick" and "J Edgar" because they just don't appeal to me. She never wastes a moment of screen time and really knows how to work a line, and the camera.
As soon as she said yes to "The Exotic Marigold Hotel", John Madden said the rest of the cast signed on. All that, and she is great fun on a talk show.
oh God I had forgotten Dench won a BAFTA for A Room With a View. And then I was angry at Jacki Weaver and Amy Adams for being Oscar nominated in 2012. Shame on me.
Oscar is a bitch, but BAFTA is a cunt; the English will reward anything that's British, no matter how pedestrian it is. Like... does Dench deserve 10 BAFTAs? No, a clear Hell no. London has this perverted affiliation with her films regardless of quality and screen time.
I've seen 17, though mostly supporting performances
I love her imperious grande dame roles (Shakespeare, Earnest, Pride &P), deadly serious, bulldozing power, so funny.
I love her tough girl, don't mess with me, roles. Imo she's the ingredient that rejuvenated the Bond series. That they would even think to replace her as M with a guy, not another fabulous woman, is a lapse in judgement.
My favorite performance (which again, she gets across in such a short screen time) is Dame Sybil Thorndyke in My Week With Marilyn. Sure, Branagh knew Olivier, but Judi also knew Dame Sybil.
The whole range is there. The sweetness and generosity, the tireless fighter for an actor's Union and professional respect, the understanding that it is as a united group that artistry survives and flourishes, the woman who will not be dictated to. Dame Judi shows the link between the work of the actresses of the past and of the present.
I have liked them both since the Sixties, and was lucky enough to see them both on stage several times. New Yorkers had Geraldine Page or Julie Harris on stage a lot, we in London had Maggie and Judi. Dench has been amazing in several roles: Notes On A Scandal, and she beomes that Irish mother in Philomena, and has a great number in Nine. Her M is terrific too. Amazing that she was Sally Bowles in the 1968 London production of Cabaret, and she was perfect as Desiree in A Little Night Music at the National Theatre over a decade ago.
Maggie of course has been sensational in so many things, but on stage she was a great Hedda as directed by Ingmar Bergman in 1970 (I went to it twice!), as well as Private Lives, Lettuce and Lovage and more. Great that they are still so busy at 80. I won't be rushing to the second Marigold Hotel though - I hated the first one.
I haven't seen enough, but I'll tell you one thing: one of my very favorite voices in the movies. I won't be seeing Exotic 2 - not my thing - but I'm sad that I won't be seeing the trailer anymore before movies, for my weekly fix of Judi Dench's voice.
Good gawd, I've only seen 7, and I love her! I'm mostly remiss with her early filmography, and I need to rectify that. She is one of the very best we have, and a master of subtlety. She does nearly everything with her eyes. Just wonderful.
It's really a shame she didn't break through earlier in life - though if she had, maybe we wouldn't have gotten all these wonderful late career performances. I love Dench, have since she first showed up in the Bond movies. My favorite is definitely Notes on a Scandal, a towering performance for which she should have won the Oscar. I've always loved her biting supporting turn in Pride & Prejudice - she's used so effectively, and so sparingly, there. Which makes it look like I only enjoy Judy when she's in a bad mood, but I also loved her in Philomena - the movie less so, but she really captured something unique and lovely - graceful, really - in her performance.
coco -- that's funny. I DIDN'T DO IT ON PURPOSE. ;)
I've seen 16 of those. The biggest one I missed is Mrs Brown. I would say she's an 8.5 for me. Really reliable, immensely fun and you can count on her to wear a movie on her shoulders (Notes on a Scandal), liven up a boring movie (Chocolat) or just being a stand-out fun presence in good movies (Shakespeare in Love, Skyfall, Pride & Prejudice) or even mediocre ones (Philomena). Moreover, she's just as good in comédies and dramas. She's just great!
Seen them all except the ones with Cher and Diesel, and the new one. Favorite performances: Mrs Brown, Shakespeare in Love, Iris, Philomena, Notes on a Scandal, Pride and Prejudice, The Importance of Being Earnest and the Craig Bonds.
Love Dame Judi. 9/10.
The only thing I did not see was Chronicles of Riddick. I'm surprised even if I do love Dame Judi Dench. So many good roles, very few bad choices, really interesting run. This especially for a lady of a certain age when good roles don't come as easy.
PS. Seven Academy Award nominations (including the first one) after the age of 60. I think that's a record.
15 including her last 10 films apparently! Wow. I'm a fan. 8/10.
I've only seen 11, even though I'd rate her a 9/10, and have on occasion gone to a movie simply because she was in it.
I guess my favourite would be her turn in Notes on a Scandal. I saw that one with my best friend, and as we exited he said that Dench gave a new meaning to the word "vampire."
23/24, plus on Broadway in 1999, and in London twice, PLUS with Joan Plowright in NYC while promoting "Tea." Yeah!!! Both autographed my program!
I've seen 17 of them. I guess I'm a 9/10 fan. Though you could say I'm a 10 but too lazy to watch everything she's been in. I *have* seen Esio Trot though, in which she's great.
Nathaniel: You put the second Marigold Hotel movie poster instead of the first. :)
5 Best Judi Dench performances, GO!
Holy Mother! Does this mean I have to watch Chronicles of Riddick since I've seen all the others? It seems a high price to pay for being a fan. She should have won for Mrs. Brown. As Good As It Gets is a piece of crap that I can't believe anyone won anything for.
She's great. 9/10
5 best Judis:
1. Room with a View
2 Skyfall
3. A Fine Romance.
4. Notes on a Scandal
5. Nine
Honorable mention: Henry V, Cranford, As time goes by, Casino Royale, Iris.
Lady Edith’s comment on how she never wastes a moment of screen time is spot on. Maybe that should be a good measure of an actor. Notes on a Scandal is the measure of making a character the audience won't like but will understand. My sentimental fav is Tea and Mussolini . Her appearance in the Bond films may be miss-able but she SO classes up the role and the perception of M.
But she SINGS!!!!!!!!! Can anyone point to a film or you tube clip?
I've seen 19 and saw the second marigold last night. Mrs Brown is by my TV waiting for me! While I prefet Maggie and hope you'll do the same for her, I will admit that Judi has been more willing to stretch herself and try different roles in later life. Judi exudes warmth from every angle and is truly a dame for the ages!
5 favourites?
Notes On A Scandal - wow. Just wow.
Skyfall - she really should have been nominated for this, she's brilliant
Philomena - warm, lovely and graceful enough to rise above the movie's treatment of her
Shakespeare in Love - short but totally worth it
The second best exotic - perhaps because it's fresh on my mind, but she's so damned sweet, warm and believable. Her arc with Biill Nighy is the movie's most believable and just made me delighted that actresses like her still get the opportunity to play these parts.
NOTES ON A SCANDAL IS EVERYTHING!!!!
Leslie19: Here she sings for Stephen Sondheim: http://youtu.be/yvZex3Qf7QQ.
I love, love Judi Dench and would watch nearly everything she's in—Philomena didn't appeal to me and neither did J. Edgar. I loved her turn in Jane Eyre, she brought such humanity and warmth to the film.
Her performance in Notes on a Scandal is impossible to surpass tho.
And has anybody seen the short-film "Friend Request Pending"? Pretty cute: https://vimeo.com/29835179
Notes on a Scandal, in spite of the movie and that score making her sound like Hannibal Lecter while everybody loves Blanchett's crazy teacher. Omg I hate that score
Only 8, and most of those James Bond. I... that surprised me. Guess I have some work to do.
I have seen 20 of these films. I am generally an 8 with her. That means that I don't jump to see every movie she's in, but I believe she does add some clout to her projects. In other words, she is more consistently solid than fucking fantastic (save for "Notes on a Scandal" where she is just completely Oscar-worthy!)
Nat, what are your fave Judi Dench performances and why?
I've seen 14 of these, plus a fair amount of her 80s/90s stuff (e.g. A Room with a View, A Handful of Dust, Henry V, GoldenEye). She's a national treasure here in my native Britain. When I was a child she was beloved in TV comedy series like A Fine Romance (with her late husband Michael Williams) and As Time Goes By (with her future Tomorrow Never Dies sparring partner Geoffrey Palmer). As others here have said, she has a great range - and a great voice!
In terms of Oscar, she's done amazingly well, especially considering she didn't get her first nomination until she was over 60. I think her win for Shakespeare in Love was well-deserved - and I've never understod the grumbles that she had so little screen time: in the context of that story, Queen Elizabeth I is the quintessential supporting role, no? And Dame Judi is so great in the part, her impact is massive and transcends the eight minutes she has.
I also agree with Morganisaqt that she should have been nominated for Skyfall. Though I would have nominated her in the leading category for that one!
Funny how on this site, everything is generational. For example, most folks who come here suggest they are introduced to Streep through The Devil Wears Prada and then go back and see her filmography. Same with Dench and Notes on a Scandal. Doesn't matter when you discover Dame Judi, as long as you do!
I've seen all of them. First noticed her in A Room with A View, then loved loved loved her in Mrs. Brown. And whenever I visit my inlaws, they seem to be watching PBS, and invariably, As Time Goes By!
Love the EW mag from 2007 with her, Mirren, and Streep on the cover.
1. Notes on a Scandal
2. Mrs. Brown
3. Skyfall
4. Philomena
5. Shakespeare in Love
Nathaniel, Judi won the SAG for 'Chocolat'. Notice that!!
I've seen 10, including The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (I love when movies come out in the UK first ;)). Dame Judi is incredible on everything. I saw Mrs Brown last year for the first time and was blown away by her performance.
I saw Dame Judi on stage a couple of years ago (with Ben Whishaw) and it was just incredible.
10! duh
Judi just seems as a very nice grandma, and now I realize that she is overdue for a Best Actress Oscar win
I've seen 21 so I guess I'm a 10.
Here I am JUDI! Here I am!!
I've seen 19 of these and all of the Bond films that she did. She was a great M. She will be missed as M. I hope they put a portrait of her next to the one of Bernard Lee.