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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: The Hollow Crown: BBC Shakespeare
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ken
Ship's Roundhead
# 2460
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Posted
Watched the first hour or so of the second part of Henry IV last night (then fell asleep cos it was about 2am). Very, very good.
As someone said, it was easier to watch the scenes with the King or the rebels in the North than the Falstaff ones, because the Falstaff scenes are so utterly utterly sad (which seeing as the King's scenes are about a man who knows he's dying and fears his son will destroy his life's work, and the rebels a re centred about a man who is in despair because his sone was killed by the other bloke's son, that takes some doing)
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Ken
L’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle.
Posts: 39579 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2002
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Eigon
Shipmate
# 4917
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Posted
Golly, Henry V was a bit grim, wasn't it?
I went and looked at the play straight after watching the BBC version, and they'd cut out about 90% of the light relief scenes - and Henry himself was pretty savage. I was expecting stirring battlefield speeches and "Yay! We beat the French!" but this was all about the heavy responsibility of taking the decision to go to war.
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Laugh hard. Run fast. Be kind.
Posts: 3710 | From: Hay-on-Wye, town of books | Registered: Aug 2003
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Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
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Posted
I am a bit behind here, since we were away the last week or so, so I have H4 pt2 and H5 recorded for when we have time to watch 4 hours or so of Shakespeare.
I can see why - in the era of Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan - the aspect of Why go to war? looms rather larger than the for England and St George! of the wartime Olivier version.
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
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Pine Marten
Shipmate
# 11068
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Posted
We caught up with Henrys IV pt 2 and V, having been away for a few days.
Yes, Henry V was a bit grim. They cut out an awful lot, and I rather missed the scenes with Fluellen (eat the leek, look you!) and the Englishman, Irishman, Scotsman daftness.
Things that struck me: I noticed the expression of shock on Henry's face when he was told that it was Bardolph who had been hanged for looting. Also, the look on everyone else's faces when he was ranting and threatening before the gates of Harfleur - I think he may have also shocked himself by his vehemence. And the mud, the filth, the blood - realistic fighting, not heroic.
And Jeremy Irons, whose performance as Henry IV was again wonderful.
And finally, lovely John Hurt as the boy/chorus.
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Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. - Oscar Wilde
Posts: 1731 | From: Isle of Albion | Registered: Feb 2006
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Pre-cambrian
Shipmate
# 2055
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
Top marks to the BBC, which should be doing productions like this. Come on, guys, how about doing all the plays?
Well they've done four, and there are four more to the end of the Wars of the Roses, so I can certainly feel a second series coming on.
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"We cannot leave the appointment of Bishops to the Holy Ghost, because no one is confident that the Holy Ghost would understand what makes a good Church of England bishop."
Posts: 2314 | From: Croydon | Registered: Dec 2001
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