Customer Reviews

BBC Shakespeare Histories (Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, Henry V, Richard II, Richard III)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The BBC Shakespeare videos are now roughly 25 years old. Much criticized when first shown, they have stood the test of time well. Ironically, the plays most watchable today include many early entries in the series, done in the traditional style of BBC video drama. The later, "painterly" productions of Jonathan Miller and Elijah Moshinsky, directors brought in to "rescue" a supposedly failing venture, do not seem particularly superior today. Four of the five plays in this set are from early in the series, and the fifth, Richard III, was directed by Jane Howell, in her own unique style, and not by Miller or Moshinsky.

Of Shakespeare's ten histories, eight can be grouped together as the continuous story of England's royal history from the late fourteenth to the late fifteenth century. These eight are customarily divided into two four-play sets ("tetralogies"), with the set covering the later period of history actually written earlier in Shakespeare's career.

This boxed set includes one of the tetralogies complete (covering the earlier period, though written later) plus one play from the other. Richard II, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2, and Henry V have continuity of plot, cast and direction. Several performances are outstanding: Anthony Quayle as Falstaff, Derek Jacobi as Richard II, Jon Finch as Bolingbroke/Henry IV, and David Gwillim as Hal/Henry V, Tim Pigott-Smith as "Hotspur". I regard Quayle as the definitive Falstaff of our time, though his portrayal is of the traditional lovable rogue, not the reconstructed Shakespearean "ideal man" lately promoted by Harold Bloom (a wrongheaded notion altogether, a perfect example of how even a genius can have silly ideas). David Giles' direction is superb, if traditional, and belies any notion that the series needed rescuing after its first season. It's heresy to endorse Shakespeare on video, but I believe these are among the best performances of these plays available in any medium, including the live stage, during my life.

Janes Howells did an equally great, if very different, job with the other tetralogy: Henry VI Parts 1, 2, and 3 and Richard III. Unfortunately only Richard III is included here. Standing alone, this is just another of the many productions of that play, albeit a good one. As the final entry in the whole tetralogy, it gains immeasurably from the familiarity with the actors, plotlines and sets acquired in the earlier plays. For example, the sets, used in all four plays, go from pristine and brightly colored in the first play to dilapidated and gray in the fourth, mirroring England's descent into evermore violence and death. But they will merely seem odd to one watching only the fourth play. Similarly, the aged Queen Margaret is just an old crone in the last play; in the earlier plays we see her evolve from young beauty, to steely ruler, to one who has lost all. The final scene, in which she laughs hysterically while perched above a mound of dead, cannot resonate unless the earlier plays have been seen. So, my advice is, get Henry VI Parts 1, 2 and 3 from Ambrose video, and watch them before you watch this Richard III. The Henry VI plays are much better than their current reputation, and were superbly acted and directed for the BBC. If you don't do that, then stick with Olivier or McKellen for Richard III.

This is the BBC series marketed by Ambrose Video that many colleges and libraries have purchased (see ambrosevideo.com). These DVD packages are a very good deal because the original videos are prohibitively expensive (although I broke down and purchased several of the plays that are simply not available on any other media - when was the last theater run you saw of Cymbeline, Henry VIII, or Troilus And Cressida?). The 37 play VHS series is still >$2,500, the DVD series ~$3,000, selected 5 play sets on DVD $150, and individual plays around $100. The series was remarkable in that it actually included all 37 plays in full with a solid set of players (many famous) who worked hard at maintaining as much historical accuracy as possible, but especially with the verbiage.

This set makes a total of 15 of the plays now available at reasonable cost on DVD. There are 3 five play DVDs now available as follows (I've reviewed on all of them):

Tragedies

Romeo & Juliet
Hamlet
Macbeth
Julius Caesar
Othello

Histories

Henry V
Richard II
Richard III
Henry IV, Part I
Henry IV, Part II

Comedies

As You Like It
The Taming of the Shrew
The Tempest
A Midsummer Night's Dream
The Merchant of Venice

The Histories Series has some of the best, so it is well worth the expense. The problem is that many of the scenes are less than sparkling....it's very much like watching the filming of the series of plays instead of watching a movie or TV version.....even the Bard himself would have struggled to keep the life in them with no audience. Sometimes the effort for accuracy actually shows in some of the acting. You have to give the various troups credit for sticking to the goals of the series, but realize that it is done with some sacrifices to the thrill and magic at some points.

What I like about the BBC series is the hard-to-find plays.....like All's Well That Ends Well, Coriolanus, Cymbeline, Measure For Measure, Henry VI, Henry VIII....it's nice to see the whole Wars Of The Roses historical series with the same troup.

Here is the information on each play in this series (as given by Ambrose Video):

Henry V
In the third play portraying England's most admired national hero, Henry V unites his people, invades France, deals with traitors and cements the peace. Starring David Gwillim, Rob Edwards and Julian Glover. Running Time: 163 minutes.

Richard II
Richard II, defying tradition and laws of succession, disinherits Bolingbroke and uses that money to finance a military adventure in Ireland. A stellar cast includes Derek Jacobi, Sir John Gielgud, Charles Gray, Jon Finch and Dame Wendy Hiller. Running Time: 157 minutes.

Richard III
A huge success in its day, this historical play centers around the character of Richard of Gloucester, a self-proclaimed villain who usurps the crown. Through political marriages and military coups, this play portrays an intricate period in English history. Stars: Ron Cook, Michael Byrne, and Brian Protheroe. Running Time: 228 minutes.

Henry IV, Part I
The boisterous Falstaff leads Prince Hal, the heir to the throne, through London''s lowlife taverns. While the young prince wasters his youth, a civil war threatens the monarchy. When the battle of Shrewsbury results, Prince Henry redeems himself at last. Stars Jon Finch, Anthony Quayle and David Gwillim . Running Time: 147 minutes

Henry IV, Part II
A panorama of Medieval English life. The passage of time brings the older generations closer to the grave, and the young closer to leadership. The play ends with the death of Henry IV, banishment of Falstaff and the coronation of Prince Hal as Henry V. Stars Jon Finch, Anthony Quayle and David Gwillim. Running Time: 151 minutes

First of all, probably the rating I would give the set as a whole is closer to three and a half stars, but as the Amazon system doesn't allow for it, four it is.

Now, then. The word that springs to mind most readily in trying to describe this set is "inconsistent." There are some parts of it that are thoroughly brilliant, and others that had me cringing in embarrassment for all involved (mostly in Henry V), although I will admit that some of the parts I thought weaker might be more palatable to someone less madly in love with the second tetralogy than I am!

To break it down a bit, and hopefully not too wordily:

Richard II is the strongest of the set by far, thanks to a bravura performance from Derek Jacobi in the title role; he's equally convincing both as callous upper-class twit in the first acts of the play and as self-styled, even self-concious, royal martyr (but no less poignant for the self-styling) being painfully awakened to his own humanity. The supporting cast is pretty consistently strong, too: John Gielgud's performance as Gaunt has become definitive for me (his delivery of "This England" is positively spine-tingling), Jon Finch is an impressively calculating Bolingbroke, and Charles Gray does good work as the conflicted Duke of York (as does Wendy Hiller, in a rare Shakespearean appearance, as his extremely proactive duchess).

The two Henry IV plays are rather more uneven, with part two, perhaps surprisingly, being stronger than part one; perhaps the fact that 2H4 is a play of decline and decay means that it's easier to do in the BBC's limited format than the more energetic 1H4. This (along with a rather unimpressive supporting cast) also might explain why, in the first part especially, the tavern scenes, which should be so terrifically lively, are actually the weaker half of the play. Most of the central performances are fairly strong, particularly Anthony Quayle's Falstaff, who is of course very funny but also gets a lot of mileage out of the anxious and wistful undertones in the dialogue -- his relationship with Hal is ultimately an untenable one, and some part of him seems to be in denial about that. Jon Finch also does good work as King Henry: witnessing his downward spiral over the course of three plays, from dynamic young usurper to burnt-out and leprous wreck, is remarkably poignant. And in the first half, Tim Piggot-Smith is a terrific Hotspur, offering a more thoughtful reading of the role than many actors give. I'm less impressed with David Gwillim's Prince Hal, though, which weakens the production considerably given that Hal, really, is the pivotal role in the sequence. Gwillim acquits himself well enough in some scenes -- particularly in the two confrontations (one in each part) between King Henry and Prince Hal -- but on the whole, his performance is fairly bland and disappointing.

This blandness goes from a defect to a cripping blow once the series gets to Henry V, because Gwillim just doesn't have the necessary charisma in the title role, and as a result the play is positively leaden. I didn't find him remotely believable as someone who could lead men into battle and inspire them to potentially go to their deaths in his service -- I'm not sure I'd follow this Henry V to the pub. Unless it was a really good one. And he was buying. Anyway, Gwillim's insipid production, combined with the uninspired effort at cinematic realism when there weren't really the resources for it, made the production largely unwatchable. There are some respectable efforts from the supporting cast (especially Alec McCowen as Chorus and Julian Glover as the Constable of France) but Henry so dominates the play that nobody else can go very far towards salvaging it.

Going from the second tetralogy to the first, the last play included is Richard III. Even out of context, I think it's the second-best of the set. Ron Cook's performance in the title role is probably television-sized rather than the larger-than-life deal needed to make a stage production succeed, but it does work well enough for the format, and the supporting cast is almost uniformly excellent (especially Michael Byrne's Buckingham, Julia Foster's Margaret, and Annette Crosbie's Duchess of York). Also, the decision to eschew realism in favor of a more expressionist design is a very good one: it looks more like you're watching a filmed stage production, but that allows you to concentrate more easily on the performances rather than occasionally being thrown out of the play by ill-founded efforts at realistic settings that weren't at all, and it feels much less like the play is being compressed into a small box (in an almost literal sense).

On the whole, the set is worth watching, particularly if you're an aficionado of the history plays anyway (and, really, more people ought to be). It's inconsistent, yes, but also has some excellent moments. I do hope they release a second volume with the Henry VIs, King John, and Henry VIII; I've wanted to see the HVIs in particular for years.

This is an acceptable version of Shakespeare's The War of the Roses, but why leave out Henry VI, which was filmed using the same cast. I hope that the rest of the Shakespeare plays in this series come out on DVD. Meanwhile, the only complete version of The War of the Roses on DVD cost $500 from Films for the Humanities & Sciences. It is by The English Shakespeare Company, in World War II dress, and has the greatest Hotspur I have ever seen.

I saw the histories on vhs from my library years ago along with the comedies and tragedies, fantastic! Like you I am glad that they are finally available to the public for private ownership as they are the best. You should be able to get Henry VI (the BBC recorded Shakespeare's complete works) by calling the company number (I found it at the end of one of the tragedies). I filled out my collection of dramas and comedies this way. The single dvd are a bit pricey (but still under $50.00 each). It is currently the only way to get the plays not released in the sets. Since the vhs were only made available to institions (schools and libraries)we're ahead of the game on dvd.

Great product. Well acted. Gives you the main Shakespeare historical plays all in one. Highly recommend for the Shakespeare fan.

This set of plays is well worth the price. Top notch actors make Shakespeare accessible and ever more fascinating in this set. Particularly nice is the continuity of characters/actors in the second tetralogy (Richard II, Henry IV part one, Henry IV part two, and Henry V). The actor playing Falstaff is fantastic! He alone is worth buying the set. I will say, however, that the BBC shied away from producing Henry V in its entirety, and therefore -- as usual with the production of this play -- made the play more patriotic than Shakespeare's in-tact play. If that were not the norm, it might be worth taking away half a star from the overall review.

Overall, well worth watching! And also a gem to show students!

History part 2 of Shakespeare's works.

Richard II to Richard III between them Henry 4,5,6 not the 7th.
Well preformed (the very best) and gives one a look at English Values.
Turn your system volume way up and cool. Why was it recorded soft volume?
Anyway, works well and I was into the history of that time (Robin Hood).

I bought this set to see Richard II for the first time in almost 30 years. I am a great fan of Derek Jacobi from "I, Claudius" to "Cadfael" and beyond, and his Hamlet is the best I have ever seen.

The history plays, for this 21st century American, simply aren't as compelling as the major tragedies. Anthony Quayle makes a fine Falstaff in Henrys 1 & 2, and I haven't watched Richard III yet, suspecting that Olivier's film cannot be surpassed.

Jacobi is at his bardic best as Richard II, but he is not a likable character. He is actually quite annoying -- a prissy poppinjay and fey fop. When he died, I cried, "The King is dead, long live the Queen!" Not that there's anything wrong with being a queenly king, of course.

This turned out to be a great gift for the Shakespeare Histories lover in the family. I like the comedies and, after her rave reviews of the histories, am thinking about purchasing the Shakespeare Comedies set for myself. The plastic was a little ripped when it arrived, but otherwise it looked great and arrived in plenty of time for the holidays.