The Special Relationship | |
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Genre | Biographical drama |
Written by | Peter Morgan |
Directed by | Richard Loncraine |
Starring | |
Music by | Alexandre Desplat |
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Original language | English |
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Producers |
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Cinematography | Barry Ackroyd |
Editor | Melanie Oliver |
Running time | 93 minutes |
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Original release | |
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Release | May 29, 2010 |
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The Special Relationship is a 2010 biographical drama television film directed by Richard Loncraine and written by Peter Morgan. It is the third film in Morgan's informal "Blair trilogy", which dramatizes the political career of British Prime Minister Tony Blair (1997–2007), following The Deal (2003) and The Queen (2006), both directed by Stephen Frears.
The first drafts of The Special Relationship dealt with Blair's special relationships with U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. However, Morgan excluded the Bush scenes from subsequent drafts (thus ending the narrative on January 20, 2001) because he found the Blair/Clinton dynamic more interesting. Morgan intended to make his directorial debut with the film but backed out a month before filming began and was replaced by Loncraine. The film was produced by Rainmark Films and backed by HBO Films and BBC Films.
The film stars Michael Sheen reprising his role as Blair, Dennis Quaid as Clinton, Hope Davis as Hillary Clinton, and Helen McCrory as Cherie Blair. Principal photography on locations in and around London, England ran from July 20 to September 4, 2009. The film was broadcast on HBO in the United States and Canada on May 29, 2010,[1] and on BBC Two and BBC HD in the United Kingdom on September 18, 2010.