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Post by Phantom of London on Nov 11, 2020 22:50:54 GMT
With another lockdown, Heigh-ho this time I have been furloughed so cannot even work from home. I hope this one doesn’t last too long though - but the Winter is here and the evening dark and cold, so wondering what are the best of Shakespeare on DVD.
I have just watched again Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet, which is simply fantastic. Kenneth Branagh is superb, so are the all star cast especially the pompous windbag Polonius played by Richard Briers.
The Merchant of Venice with the excellent Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons.
Twelfth Night - Trevor Nunn’s production with Ben Kingsley, Nigel Hawthorne, Mes Smith and Helena Bonham Carter, is mildly enjoyable.
I’ve still to watch, but have on DVD.
Othello with Ian Mckellen, Imogen Stubbs and Willard White.
Richard III - Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson
Richard III - Ian McKellen, Robert Downey Jr, Kristin Scott Thomas and Maggie Smith
Romeo and Juliet - Leonardo DiCapio and Clare Danes
MacBeth - Patrick Stewart & Kate Fleetwood
Much Ado About Nothing - Kenneth Branagh, Richard Briers, Keane Reeves, Denzel Washington and Emma Thompson.
Hamlet - David Tennant and Patrick Stewart
King Lear - Ian McKellen, Frances Barber and Monica Dolan
Henry IV (Part 1&2) - Alex Hassell - Live from Stratford Upon Avon (RSC)
I know there is a few there, OST of these were purchased on Amazon, where I think the postage was the most expensive part.
Anyway what am I missing? Any of these you enjoy. I know times are had!!!
Of course all can be enjoyed with the obligatory glass of port and a mince pie.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 11, 2020 23:38:24 GMT
The Branagh LLL is fun. The recent RSC LLL is also delightful.
The Branagh AYLI is far less successful.
I recall enjoying the Sher/Walter Macbeth
The Holm Lear from the National is also very watchable
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Post by David J on Nov 11, 2020 23:43:14 GMT
Most of those are worth watching.
I'd watch the Globe Theatre's Henry IV. Way better than the RSC one especially with Roger Allam giving the best Falstaff in the last decade.
There's so many great Globe Theatre productions to watch on the Globe Theatre. As You Like It, Much Ado with Charles Edwards and Eve Best, The Comedy of Errors, The Taming of the Shrew with Samantha Spiro, Antony and Cleopatra with Eve Best, Titus Andronicus (maybe not with a mince pie!)
I'd highly recommend the RSC's African Julius Caesar that is on DVD.
Otherwise there's their latest Hamlet, Othello. Their Love's Labour's Lost and Much Ado is a lovely Christmas duo. All available on Digital Theatre
Otherwise there's the Ian McKellen and Judi Dench Macbeth. The Donmar Shakespeare Trilogy
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Post by peggs on Nov 12, 2020 0:42:50 GMT
Am forced to accept it turns out i've watched a fair bit of Shakespeare on dvd on the basis that i've seen lots of the above.
I'd second the Donmar trilogy, the Globe Much Ado is delightful and the Ian Holm Lear (that was the first time I realised what a nightmare as a father Lear was having been taught at school that it was just some benign figure that evil daughters did things to.
There's the SRB tempest though it's not as good on dvd as live unsurprisingly or the globe tempest if Roger Allam is your man.
I haven't watched them in years but the Mckellen othello was my first exposure to the play and I loved it at the time and i have memories of being somewhat scared silly by his Macbeth with Judi Dench. I also rate his RIII.
As noted there's loads of RSC on digital theatre.
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Post by Jan on Nov 12, 2020 7:53:31 GMT
Yes I think the Branagh Hamlet is great too. Also his Henry V. The Olivier Henry V is interesting for many reasons and stands up quite well.
Good ones also not mentioned above:
Ralph Fiennes "Coriolanus"
Orson Welles "Chimes at Midnight" (version of Henry IV)
Derek Jarman "The Tempest" (not for everyone, this one)
Julie Taymor "Titus Andronicus" (first 5 minutes only)
I think there was a DVD of Trevor Nunn's "Merchant of Venice" which was a sensational stage production. There are lots more of less than top quality.
Going off-piste I will once again recommend "Vanya on 42nd Street" which is better than most stage productions of "Uncle Vanya" you'll see.
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Post by lynette on Nov 12, 2020 14:55:35 GMT
I know made spesh for tv so not theatre as such ( as we who are old, will remember it) but that Hollow Crown with Hiddlesbum was pretty good.
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Post by Jan on Nov 12, 2020 16:26:27 GMT
I know made spesh for tv so not theatre as such ( as we who are old, will remember it) but that Hollow Crown with Hiddlesbum was pretty good. The best of that was Ben Whishaw as R-II directed by Rupert Goold. |
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Post by peggs on Nov 12, 2020 18:19:24 GMT
This thread is making me think I need to re-visit my old dvds if I still have something to play them on.
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Post by Phantom of London on Nov 12, 2020 19:24:57 GMT
I know made spesh for tv so not theatre as such ( as we who are old, will remember it) but that Hollow Crown with Hiddlesbum was pretty good. I have just bought the Hollow Crown off Amazon for £16 that is both Part 1&2, I could have paid £25 more to have it on Blu-ray, I know the history cycle can be a bit bloody, but I have no need to see it in that great detail, especially for £25 more. Didn’t the BBC once film all the Shakespeare? |
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Post by lynette on Nov 12, 2020 20:21:54 GMT
I dunno if they actually finished filming all of them , but ones I know of are not particularly good.
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Post by Phantom of London on Nov 12, 2020 20:27:16 GMT
Interesting. I wonder if the BBC should attempt to do this again, maybe in conjunction with th RSC or/and Globe. Actually just donea search on this and my good friend wiki has came up trumps. And wow what a informative Wiki page, I have never seen such an informative Wiki entry. It is amazing reading the cast list and who was in the plays, some really big names however I am not sure if they were when this was shot? Maybe some big names playing the starring roles, who were big at the time. But it depend on your age, I am 47, so wasn’t even a teenager when these were made. Some of these could have been household names depending on the generation. Of course being a nerd I was all over this. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Television_ShakespeareHere are view that catch the conscience of this poster. Romeo and Juliet - John Gielgud, Chorus and Alan Rickman, Tybalt. King Richard II - Derek Jacobi, King Richard and John Gieguld, John of Gaunt. As You Like It - Helen Mirren, Rosalind and James Bolam, Touchstone. Julius Caesar - None Measure for Measure - Tim Pigott-Smith, Angelo and Alun Armstrong, Provost. Henry VIII - Timothy West, Cardinal Wolsey. Henry IV/1 - Tim Pigott-Smith, Hotspur. Henry IV/1 - Anthony Quayle, Falstaff. Henry V - None Twelfth Night - Felicity Kendal, Viola; Robert Lindsay, Fabian and Sinead Cusack, Olivia. The Tempest - Nigel Hawthorne, Stephano and Andrew Sachs, Trinculo. Hamlet - Derek Jacobi, Hamlet and Patrick Stewart, Claudius. The Taming of the Shrew - John Cleese, Petrucio. The Merchant of Venice - John Nettles, Bassiano; Warren Mitchell, Shylock; Susan Jameson, Nerissa and Kenneth Graham, Gratiano. Alls Well That Ends Well - Robert Lindsay, First French Lord. The Winter’s Tale - None. Timon of Athens - Timon, Jonathan Pryce. Anthony and Cleopatra - None Othello - Bob Hoskins, Lago; Penelope Wilton, Desdemona and Anthony Hopkins, Othello. ***That is top draw casting.*** Troilus and Cressida - None. A Midsummer’s Night Dream - Robert Lindsay, Lysander; Phil Daniels, Puck and Helen Mirren, Titania. King Lear - Ken Scott, Curan; Anton Lesser, Edgar & Penelope Wilton, Regan. The Merry Wives of Windsor - Ben Kingsley, Frank Ford; Alan Bennett, Justice Shallow; Prunella Scales, Mistress Page and Richard Griffiths, Falstaff. Henry VI/1 - None Henry VI/2 - None Henry VI/3 - None Richard III - Ron Cook, King Richard and Zoe Wanamaker, Lady Anne. Cymbeline - Helen Mirren, Imogen and Robert Lindsay, Lachimo. Macbeth - James Bolam, Porter. The Comedy of Errors - Roger Daltry, Dromios. Two Gentlemen of Verona - None Coriolanus - None King John - John Thaw, Hubert de Burgh and Gordon Kaye, Lymoges. Pericles - None Much Ado About Nothing - Robert Lindsay, Benedict; Michael Elphick, Dogsberry; Clive Dunn, Verges and Gordon Kaye, First Watch. Love’s Labour’s Lost - Maureen Lipman, Princess of France. Titus Andronitus - None |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 12, 2020 20:28:41 GMT
The BBC complete Shakespeare is very variable in quality. Some great performances and some very questionable ones.
It is great to have the complete set but there are few i would actively seek to rewatch
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Post by Jan on Nov 13, 2020 7:47:25 GMT
The BBC complete Shakespeare is very variable in quality. Some great performances and some very questionable ones. Originally they filmed Much Ado with Penelope Keith and Michael York and Arthur Lowe as Dogberry which looks like great casting (in two of the roles anyway) but the result was so poor they junked it and re-filmed it with a new cast (as above) later on. I seem to recall that the ones directed by Jonathan Miller were the best (Taming of the Shrew ?). |
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Post by lichtie on Nov 13, 2020 9:01:20 GMT
Jonathan Miller's reign as producer in the middle years certainly had a bit more style to it. I certainly remember seeing quite a few of them at the time, for some reason the one that stuck the most was Midsummer Night's Dream (this is not saying it's the best!) Even then they received mixed reviews, split between those who wanted a traditional performance, those who thought the studio bound multi-camera nature simply killed the drama (and the acting), and those who preferred Miller's rather more Miller-esque approach.
If you're looking at BBC adaptations there are also the older An Age of Kings and Wars of the Roses ones from the early/mid-60s based largely on Old Vic/RSC productions I think. The former even features Sean Connery as Hotspur before 007 came calling. You can spot the original theatre basis for it from the fact that certain actors continually reappear rep-style (Frank Windsor pops up in virtually all of them I think).
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Post by Phantom of London on Nov 13, 2020 14:19:07 GMT
As Lynette said they’re not particularly good, but looks good on paper does not always translate well to stage and screen, despite some great casting. Shame it didn’t work out.
The Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet I looked up on Wiki, it got very positive reviews. It cost $18m to make, so with distribution, would have cost double that, it only made $5m in the box office. So one really for the arts.
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Post by Jan on Nov 13, 2020 14:46:25 GMT
As Lynette said they’re not particularly good, but looks good on paper does not always translate well to stage and screen, despite some great casting. Shame it didn’t work out. The Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet I looked up on Wiki, it got very positive reviews. It cost $18m to make, so with distribution, would have cost double that, it only made $5m in the box office. So one really for the arts. I think the worldwide gross was a bit more than that, but not much. One good thing about it is that it is uncut - there isn’t another film of Hamlet that is and they are very rare on stage - the Albert Finney one at NT was presented in two parts, and I think the Andrew Scott one was close to uncut, but normally there are extensive cuts including entire scenes and sometimes characters. Normally what gets cut are the "political" scenes relating to the state of Denmark and the "personal" scenes relating to Hamlet himself are left - I recall one director (I forget who) saying he always wanted to overturn this by cutting all the soliloquies and leaving all the rest in. |
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Post by Phantom of London on Nov 13, 2020 17:19:30 GMT
Brilliant
Hamlet is my favourite Shakespeare’s play for no other reason for the reasons you touched on, it contains Shakespeare’s best soliloquies. The role of Hamlet is truly the gold plus standard in acting. I would hazard a guess to learn the lines for that mammoth role of Hamlet, would take months? Oddly all the best soliloquies are in act 1-3. 4&5 fall a lot flatter, but still very good.
By saying Andrew Scott are you talking about the awesome Almeida production? Cut version being like Benedict Cumberbatch Hamlet at the Barbican, coming in over 2hr 40.
Received the Hollow Crown DVD in the post today, along with 2 watering cab roses (that is a different story) but thank you Lynette. Looks like I need to get more port and mince pies.
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Post by lynette on Nov 13, 2020 17:44:47 GMT
As Lynette said they’re not particularly good, but looks good on paper does not always translate well to stage and screen, despite some great casting. Shame it didn’t work out. The Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet I looked up on Wiki, it got very positive reviews. It cost $18m to make, so with distribution, would have cost double that, it only made $5m in the box office. So one really for the arts. I think the worldwide gross was a bit more than that, but not much. One good thing about it is that it is uncut - there isn’t another film of Hamlet that is and they are very rare on stage - the Albert Finney one at NT was presented in two parts, and I think the Andrew Scott one was close to uncut, but normally there are extensive cuts including entire scenes and sometimes characters. Normally what gets cut are the "political" scenes relating to the state of Denmark and the "personal" scenes relating to Hamlet himself are left - I recall one director (I forget who) saying he always wanted to overturn this by cutting all the soliloquies and leaving all the rest in. I am sure we have discussed this production before but just want to remind people that Branagh had his uni prof on set to help out with the ‘meanings’ etc of the lines. Cool. Cutting the political is criminal imo. Fortinbras is essential - the duplicitous soldier prince who takes it all. What was Shakespeare trying to tell us? Was he reflecting realpolitik of the day? Anyway, prob my fave Willie. |
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Post by peggs on Nov 13, 2020 17:51:59 GMT
I am sure we have discussed this production before but just want to remind people that Branagh had his uni prof on set to help out with the ‘meanings’ etc of the lines. Cool. Cutting the political is criminal imo. Fortinbras is essential - the duplicitous soldier prince who takes it all. What was Shakespeare trying to tell us? Was he reflecting realpolitik of the day? Anyway, prob my fave Willie. I could do with one of those when watching. The more I watch the more I realise how low my understanding is, I must slowly be understanding a bit more one would hope but I think especially if i'm watching with subtitles where I tend to focus more on the words, I keep thinking what does that mean, or does it mean what I thought it meant. Which on the upside means I can keep watching for ever but it would be nice to know a bit more (my mind is like a sieve, I try and ram more in but the interesting things fall out and the dross remains). Thinking now my familiarity with the political scenes is probably pretty poor then, my focus being pretty Hamlet orientated. Thank goodness for the board and other people's knowledge. |
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Post by Phantom of London on Nov 13, 2020 20:19:26 GMT
Funny enough I watch my Shakespeare with subtitles on, does no harm.
The language of Shakespeare no one is certain what it did mean, it is just consensus afterwards what it did mean, no one is even sure if Shakespeare did write what he did, the first folio was published years after his death, no doubt Shakespeare was a playwright but did he actually write what was attributed to him. I am not making an argument if he did or didn’t. No one is sure what he looked like and that is set in stone (literally) all these pictures of carvings you see of Shakespeare is just a figment of someone’s imagination.
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Post by Jan on Nov 13, 2020 20:49:14 GMT
Brilliant Hamlet is my favourite Shakespeare’s play for no other reason for the reasons you touched on, it contains Shakespeare’s best soliloquies. The role of Hamlet is truly the gold plus standard in acting. I would hazard a guess to learn the lines for that mammoth role of Hamlet, would take months? Oddly all the best soliloquies are in act 1-3. 4&5 fall a lot flatter, but still very good. By saying Andrew Scott are you talking about the awesome Almeida production? Cut version being like Benedict Cumberbatch Hamlet at the Barbican, coming in over 2hr 40. Received the Hollow Crown DVD in the post today, along with 2 watering cab roses (that is a different story) but thank you Lynette. Looks like I need to get more port and mince pies. Almeida. Yes. Robert Icke pulled together bits from the various versions of the text but it was basically uncut. Fortinbras. Right. Despite Lynette’s views to the contrary, one of the greatest coups de theatre of all time was at the end of the Michael Sheen Hamlet. It’s set in a mental hospital, it’s clear the story is all playing out in Hamlet’s mind based on his memories and the people there. At the end he’s killed, Fortinbras is there in battle dress, masked, taking over, just before the lights dim he takes his mask off - it’s Hamlet - he’s creating another story. |
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Post by Phantom of London on Nov 14, 2020 1:07:32 GMT
That Michael Sheen Hamlet sounds brilliant, can you remember what theatre it played?
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Post by Jan on Nov 14, 2020 13:57:53 GMT
That Michael Sheen Hamlet sounds brilliant, can you remember what theatre it played? Young Vic. You were led in through the backstage area, through a door at the back of the theatre, which was set up as a mental hospital - inmates exercising, medication schedules pinned on the walls, then into the main auditorium set up as the hospital sports hall, harsh white neon strip lighting, very institutional feel, Hamlet a patient there, the story playing out in his mind, identifying the director of the hospital as Claudius, one of the doctors as Polonius, one of his fellow patients as Ophelia and so on. It was the standard text but completely subverted. Ian Rickson directed it. |
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Post by Phantom of London on Nov 14, 2020 14:21:39 GMT
Oh wow. I wish I saw that.
It sound very much the stage is similar to Joe Penhall’s Blue/Orange which was done later at the the same venue.
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Post by Phantom of London on Nov 14, 2020 17:35:47 GMT
I am sure we have discussed this production before but just want to remind people that Branagh had his uni prof on set to help out with the ‘meanings’ etc of the lines. Cool. Cutting the political is criminal imo. Fortinbras is essential - the duplicitous soldier prince who takes it all. What was Shakespeare trying to tell us? Was he reflecting realpolitik of the day? Anyway, prob my fave Willie. I could do with one of those when watching. The more I watch the more I realise how low my understanding is, I must slowly be understanding a bit more one would hope but I think especially if i'm watching with subtitles where I tend to focus more on the words, I keep thinking what does that mean, or does it mean what I thought it meant. Which on the upside means I can keep watching for ever but it would be nice to know a bit more (my mind is like a sieve, I try and ram more in but the interesting things fall out and the dross remains). Thinking now my familiarity with the political scenes is probably pretty poor then, my focus being pretty Hamlet orientated. Thank goodness for the board and other people's knowledge. I am watching a DVD of Rupert Gould’s Macbeth, this hasn’t got subtitles. A great thing with subtitles is that it helps to work out easier who is who. Obviously the lead characters are not too hard, but the smaller ones can be tricky. |
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