Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush & Helena Bonham Carter star as The King’s Speech comes to DVD and Blu-ray, April 30^th.

The King’s Speech, winner of the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Original Screenplay, comes to DVD and Blu-ray for the first time on Saturday 30^th of April, 2011.

Produced by British-Australian production company, See-Saw Films, with Bedlam Productions, The King’s Speech has been the very definition of a runaway success. It has grossed over $30m at the Australian box office and has garnered critical acclaim both here and around the world, cleaning up at every major awards ceremony and taking home four Academy Awards, five BAFTAs and seven Golden Globes as well as Screen Actors Guild, Producers Guild and Directors Guild Awards.

Set in 1937, The King’s Speech is based upon the true story of the coronation of Britain’s reluctant monarch, King George VI, and the relationship between him and his irreverent Australian speech therapist, Lionel Logue – the man who turned the stammering Prince Albert into King George VI, the leader of an Empire.

Prince Albert, “Bertie”, was the second son of King George V and so never destined to rule but after the passing of his father and the scandalous abdication of his brother, Edward VIII, just eleven months into his reign, Bertie finds himself facing accession to the crown and leadership of an Empire on the verge of war.

Bertie has forever been crippled by a debilitating speech impediment and in the age of radio, with his country in need of a leader for the war with Germany that is sure to come, Bertie’s wife Elizabeth realises her husband needs help. It is through her search that the Prince arrives at the office of Lionel Logue, an eccentric Australian speech therapist living in the poorer part of London, whose unorthodox techniques are a long way from the medical norm.

After a rough start, the King and the Speech Therapist delve into the treatment and so begins a most remarkable relationship between the two men, a relationship that transcends class and nationality, a relationship that will change the world, for with the support of Logue, and the support of his family, the new King will overcome his stammer, find his voice and deliver a radio address that will unite a nation.

In addition to winning four Academy Awards, The King’s Speech was also nominated in the categories of Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Editing, Original Score and Sound Mixing. Its success must also be attributed, in part, to the amazing performances of a stellar cast: Colin Firth as Prince Albert, Geoffrey Rush as Lionel Logue and Helena Bonham Carter as Elizabeth as well as Derek Jacobi, Michael Gambon, Guy Pearce and Timothy Spall all under the direction of Tom Hooper.

Heading the Australian element of the production team was Emile Sherman whose previous productions include: The Kings of Mykonos, Linear, Candy, Rabbit Proof Fence and $9.99.

DVD TECHNICAL DETAILS

BLU-RAY TECHNICAL DETAILS