Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A treasure chest, 10 Jun 2005
Real devotees (and English teachers), don't hesitate. This box set includes the 2nd tetralogy (Richard II, Henry IV, parts 1 & 2, and Henry V) and Richard III in impeccable productions. Nothing earth-shattering, no soldiers dressed as Nazis, GIs, ballerinas or cavemen. Just good actors who can speak Shakespearian verse with grace, intelligence and fluency, in period costume and realistic settings, directed with clarity and taste. For the rare plays alone this set would be worth the price of admission; getting Derek Jacobi in the role of Richard II makes it priceless. The videos have been remastered for DVD, well if not perfectly (some echo momentarily escaped retouching, and DVD as usual introduces the microscopic glitch), and the subtitle option (English only) is a boon to students of the text. Those interested in seeing the entire 1st trilogy may complete this set by buying the Henry VI plays individually (also edited by Ambrose DVD - at steep prices, but as the saying goes, buy now while supplies last).
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A brief synopsis and history of the work, 25 Jul 2008
Richard II, who ascended to the throne as a young man, is a regal and stately monarch. He believes he is the rightful ruler of England, ordained by God, yet he is a weak and ineffective king - wasteful in his spending habits, unwise in his choice of counsellors and detached from his country and its people. When he seizes the land of his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, both the commoners and the king's noblemen decide that their king has gone too far. . .
This production boasted the most distinguished cast of the entire project, with Derek Jacobi in the title role and John Gielgud as John of Gaunt. Perfectly suited to a play that consists entirely of verse, their efforts were augmented by a studio set that enable the director to reflect an intense psychological struggle as well as a taut political drama
DVD Regions (2+4) ~ Certificate U
Running Time Approx. 2 hours 38 minutes
©BBC TV Production in association with Time Life Television - All Rights Reserved
Produced & Distributed by DD HE/Simply Home Entertainment
for A Superior Quality Reproduction
Originally Transmitted: 10th December 1978
~ COLOUR ~ DVD PAL FORMAT
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Derek Jacobi as Richard II
John Gielgud as John of Gaunt - Jon Finch as Henry Bolingbroke - Wendy Hiller as Duchess of York - Charles Gray as Duke of York - Mary Morris as Duchess of Gloucester - David Swift as Duke of Northumberland - Clifford Rose as Bishop of Carlisle - Charles Keating as Duke of Aumerle - Richard Owens as Thomas Mowbray - Janet Maw as Queen - Jeffrey Holland as Duke of Surrey - Jeremy Bulloch as Henry Percy - Robin Sachs as Bushy - Damien Thomas as Bagot ` Alan Dalton as Green - David Dodimead as Lord Ross - John Flint as Lord Willoughby - Carl Oatley as Earl Berkeley - William Whymper as Sir Stephen Scroop - John Barcroft as Earl of Salisbury - David Garfield as Welsh Captain - Desmond Adams as Sir Pierce of Exton - Joe Ritchie as Groom - Paddy Ward as Keeper - Bruno Barnabe as Abbot of Westminster - Jonathan Adams as Gardener - Luciano Pigozzi as Gardener's Man - John Curless as Lord Fitzwater - Terry Wright as Murderer
Ronald Fernee as Servant - Tim Brown as Herald - Mike Lewin as Herald
Phillida Sewell as Queen's Lady - Sandra Frieze as Queen's Lady
~ et al . . . ~
Directed by David Giles Produced by Cedric Messina
Adapted from William Shakespeare's original play
A Brief Historie of the Play
Richard II, after poisoning his uncle, ascends the throne of England but his cousin Bolingbroke raises an army against Richard, and after a bloody war executes him at Pomfret Castle. Bolingbroke crowns himself Henry IV . . . So begins the War Of The Roses . . . The subject matter of Richard II seemed inflammatorily topical to Shakespeare's contemporaries. Richard, who had notoriously indulged his favourites, had been compelled to yield his throne to Henry Bolingbroke, Earl of Hereford: like Richard, the ageing Queen Elizabeth had no obvious successor, and she too encouraged favourites - when the play first appeared in print in 1597 and the two succeeding editions the episode showing Richard yielding the crown was omitted . . .
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