The Hollow Crown

[fastolfrus]

The RSC usually has a good selection of VHS/DVD productions.

[oxiana]

Finally able to catch up on these on iPlayer. Still reeling from Ben Whishaw's incredible performance as Richard – quite extraordinary.

The only thing I really didn't like were the pathetic crowd scenes. Is the BBC so hard up that it can't run to more than 10 extras when it needs to portray an army? Or is it some kind of inverse quasi-theatrical snobbery? An army of 10 men on a theatre stage might look quite convincing. An army of 10 men on the TV screen, when we're used to CGI armies of thousands from Peter Jackson and co, just looks pathetic.

Richard – perhaps you should be offering your skills? You must have enough of those Perry plastics painted up by now, and I think this is something we'd all enjoy seeing 

[Captain Blood]

 

If only i could animate them... 

Haven't watched Henry V yet. Looking forward to it, although sad to hear they cut the scene where the traitors get their comeuppance. One of my favourite bits in the play... 

I must admit I found Whishaw's Richard just a little too peculiar, but then I think the actor's a bit that way in real life 
Extraordinary though, yes.

IVpt1 is my favourite of the three I've watched so far...

[Steve F]

If only i could animate them... 

You wouldn't have to, to fit in with Henry V.  There are whole scenes with all the animation of tableaux vivantes.

[Arlequín]

Yep, a bit disappointed with V. Important bits to the storyline were missed out, making it somewhat choppy and incoherent. IV.2 was okay, but the Fastolf bits were meant to be the comic relief to the rest of the serious stuff. The page was meant to be an artful dodger type, but that didn't work well either. I can't really add anything to what's already been said, other than the best acting was essentially delivered by the minor cast members, something that has run through all four plays.

I'd imagine that this group of plays would reinforce anybody watching's pre-prejudice,that Shakespeare is dry, dusty and inaccessible to most people. I was happy with the battle scenes with a cast of a few, but there's no excuse for the director not drawing good performances from the actors playing the main parts.

    

[JollyBob]

Unfortunately, I've got to agree, Henry V was a bit of a disappointment. 

After a pretty barnstorming couple of weeks with Henry IV, I was really looking froward to seeing Harry's greatest moment. All fell a bit flat though. I've never heard a more lacklustre rendition of the Cripsin's Day speech. Instead of rabble rousing, blood pumping encouragement, we essentially got Tony Blair saying "yeah, guys, but look, if we get away with it, we'll be minted..."

Harfleur was alright though, liked the barely restrained viciousness when talking to the Mayor. Shame he couldn't carry it on to the main event.

Obviously Jeremy Irons was working some arcane magic and getting everybody else to up their game. I'd actually kind of like to see him doing Agincourt...

[TWD]

Have to agree that I thought Henry V wasn't as good at the previous one.
Whereas IV pt2 used the TV medium to enhance the drama, the director of Henry V didn't take advantage and it felt quite "stagey" to me.

Part of the problem for me is that I think Henry V is a bit of a one note play. It's nationalistic, patriotic, rabble-rousing and even jingoistic. Whilst Shakespeare can withstand almost any form of interpretation I don't think the modern "war is hell" interpretation works well with the source material. The Branagh version suffered a bit from this too. And when you make odd choices to remove some of the subtler bits that provide shade and depth - the traitors and the attack on the camp - it exacerbates that problem.
I thought the acting was as consistently good as it has been, but the interpretation and direction were wanting.
Finally, if you are going to do a "historical" take on Agincourt you do really need more than 50 or so extras. The great charge of the knights looked more like one of those re-enactor events when a couple of dozen blokes with beards, beer bellies and hangovers re-stage Marston Moor or whatever. Especially if you're leaving in the lines about ten thousand casualties.

In my view the best way to do Henry V is to turn everything up to eleven and give it "The Full Larry"
Like this:

[Plynkes]

Maybe it's just because I'm not from that time, but I find Olivier doing Shakespeare to be unwatchable. I like him in other films when he acts appropriately for the medium, but his Shakespearean stage acting just comes over as shouty and unbelievably hammy on screen. I think he is awful.

I imagine he was great in the theatre, but if we are talking about a filmed version give me Brannagh's Hal any day.


Unfortunately I missed it this week. Was away for work for the week and forgot to set the video.

[smirnoff]

Maybe it's just because I'm not from that time, but I find Olivier doing Shakespeare to be unwatchable. I like him in other films when he acts appropriately for the medium, but his Shakespearean stage acting just comes over as shouty and unbelievably hammy on screen. I think he is awful.

I agree and raised this with a mate. His response was interesting. The Olivier film was shot in 1944 and was a call to arms and 'stiffening of the sinews' of the UK populace after 5 long years of war. He addresses the whole army in the St. Crispin's day speech IIRC.
The recent Henry V St. Crispin's day speech was, for me, one of the most moving I have seen on screen or stage as it was delivered to his commanders in a more intimate manner.
Battle scenes were a bit naff though.....

[Steve F]

I don't like Olivier as a screen actor in anything.  His Henry also suffered from being made into an unambiguous hero, with stuff like his threat of murder, rape and pillage at Harfleur, his order to kill the prisoners at Harfleur Agincourt and his approval of the hanging of Bardolph all excised in the interest of producing straight-jawed propaganda.

Olivier was an interesting screen director, though.  The deliberate artificiality of Henry V is as bold as anything by Powell and Pressburger.  I was watching his Hamlet recently, and thinking how much has been lost by moving away from Academy ratio.  All those beautiful vertical compositions (in monochrome, of course) just wouldn't work in widescreen or Cinemascope.

[Plynkes]

Loki. Hal is Loki. Jesus, it took some time for that penny to drop. I can be such a dullard sometimes. I knew I'd seen him somewhere before, yet couldn't think for the life of me where.

[aecurtis]

Hmmm... no indication from either BBC America or PBS that these might be shown here, and iPlayer's no good if you're in the US of A.  Just have to wait for the DVDs, I suppose.

My first reaction when Plynkes first posted the trailer was that *some* of those "faces" have experience with Shakespeare on *both* stage and screen; others, not so much.  Sounds like that's proving to be the case.

What, no-one remembers the siege and battle sequences from the "Brother Cadfael" series?  Three men and a smal dog: sorted.

Allen