The Duke is a British comedy-drama film directed by Roger Michell and based on a script by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman. It is set to be released in 2020. Jim Broadbent, Helen Mirren, Fionn Whitehead, Anna Maxwell Martin, and Matthew Goode star in the picture.
The Duke is set in 1961, when Kempton Bunton, a 60-year-old taxi driver, robbed the National Gallery in London of Goya’s picture of the Duke of Wellington. It was the Gallery’s first and so far, only theft. Kempton wrote ransom notes to the government, stating that he would return the painting if the government agreed to offer free television to the elderly.
The events that followed became legendary. The complete tale was only revealed 50 years later, a surprising revelation of how a good man set out to alter the world, saving his kid and his wife in the process.
Following its world premiere at the Venice Picture Festival, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph gave the film five stars. On September 4, 2020, the film made its global debut at the Venice Film Festival.
Prior to being cancelled due to the COVID-19 epidemic, it was also selected to screen at the Telluride Film Festival in September 2020. Sony Pictures Classics bought the film’s distribution rights in the United States, Scandinavia, and Latin America shortly after.
The Duke filming locations
Matthew Goode joined the cast in November 2019, and filming began in November 2019. Bradford was used as a location, and the production team also utilised Prime Studios in Leeds.
The various locations used for filming are Hyde Park, Leeds, Bradford, Cartwright Hall, Lister Park, North Park Road, Manningham, Lister Park, Manningham, Bradford, Bradford City Hall, London, Greater London, Leeds, West Yorkshire, West London Film Studios, London, England, UK.
We see Hyde Park in the movie. Hyde Park is a prominent park in Central London with a Grade I listing. It is the largest of four Royal Parks that run from Kensington Palace’s main entrance through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, via Hyde Park Corner and Green Park, and on to Buckingham Palace’s main entrance.
Leeds
Leeds is a city in Yorkshire, a county in northern England. The Royal Armouries are located on the south bank of the River Aire and hold the national collection of armaments and artillery.
Across the river, the Call Lane regenerated industrial neighbourhood is known for its bars and live music venues housed in renovated railway arches. Hundreds of indoor and outdoor stalls make up Leeds Kirkgate Market.
Bradford
Bradford is a city in West Yorkshire, a county in northern England. Bradford Industrial Museum, housed in a 19th-century mill, features displays on textile machinery, steam power, and engineering. The National Science and Media Museum contains an IMAX theatre and focuses on photography, film, and television. Lister Park features a boating lake as well as the Cartwright Hall art gallery, which features a special room to local artist David Hockney.
Part of the shooting in Bradford was also done in Cartwright Hall. Cartwright Hall is a civic art gallery in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is located in the Manningham neighbourhood, about a mile from the city centre. It is named after Edmund Cartwright and was built on the former site of Manningham Hall with a £40,000 bequest from Samuel Lister.
Some other Bradford locations include Bradford City Hall, in Centenary Square, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, which is a 19th-century town hall. It is a Grade I listed building known for its iconic bell/clock tower.
Along with Lister Park is a scenic public park located between Manningham, Heaton, and Frizinghall in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.
Since the film is set in the 1960’s, all of these locations are brought to life with a period charm to them as we follow the story of this ‘innocent’ art thief.