I find that the truly
masterful feature of the movie (and I confess to never having seen the
play) is the way that
King George's
stable of
doctors are
portrayed as
quacks for the
constant attention they pay to the King's
urinary and
fecal output.
How silly!
The irony of this, I believe, is lost on most people; and it would have been lost on me had I not been married to a doctor myself: the change in urine color is now known to be a major diagnostic red flag for porphyria. So those quacks were on the right track after all.
This should not detract in any way from the excellent cinematic performance of Ian Holm (who plays a "cutting edge" health practicioner who cures King George through what is effectively psychotherapy).