BBC Shakespeare Tragedies DVD Giftbox
by Alvin Rakoff, Herbert Wise, Rodney Bennett, Jack Gold, Jonathan Miller
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anthony Hopkins, Derek Jacobi, Jan Lapotaire, Patrick Stewart, Sir John GielgudDirector: Alvin Rakoff, Herbert Wise, Jack Gold, Jonathan Miller, Rodney Bennett
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Original Language)
Format: Box set, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, Original recording remastered, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 906 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-07-22
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Ambrose Video
Movie Reviews of BBC Shakespeare Tragedies DVD Giftbox
Movie Review: Some plays much better than others....
Summary: 3 Stars
The BBC did something really ambitious here. to produce all of Shakespeare's plays with some of the leading British actors of the time was no easy undertaking. But...this portion of the collection did not come out as good as it might have. Still, there are good plays in it with many fine performances. Hamlet, Julius Ceasare, and Romeo and Juliet were more or less up the standards one would hold for these actors and the BBC in general. Derek Jacobi gives a wonderful performance as Hamlet. His range of emitions and the speed with which he can shift from one emotion to the other is quite remarkable. I found his Hamlet to be one thinking things through all the time. One who isnt sure at first to the answers to the questions he asks himself but comes to conclusions after much thought. He also pokes fun at the comic characters in the play (Polonius, Osric, ect)with a savage wit. Yet he can bring himself to towering passions as well. Clare Bloom is quite impressive as the regal but still sexy Queen, and Patrick Stewart shows he can do Shakespeare with ease, which made me wonder why he didnt pursue it longer and instead turned to Star Trek (hardly high art). Romeo and Juliet was also a delight, keep an eye out for a younger Alan Rickman as Tybalt. Keith Michell totally sheds his Henry VIII and gives a powerhouse Brando-like performance as Marc Antony. then there is Macbeth and Othello... I was shocked these plays were soooooo bad because the cast seemed so impressive. Nichol Williamson simply cannot do Shakespeare, he looked like a drooling imbecile for half the play...it appears that his only technique for doing Shakespeare was opening his eyes very wide and speaking into the camera. he looks totally miscast for the part, like a hairy village idiot who wandered onto the set. Lady Macbeth appears to be having an orgasm in half her lines and the supporting cast aint much better. Othello was a real shock, Hopkins was a frizzy haired fop hissing out his lines most of the time and Hoskins looked like some school yard punk playing dirty tricks on the teacher. Hoskins just isnt meant for this kind of role (if you want to see a film where his performance will blow you away stick to The Long Good Friday and Mona Lisa). So these two plays really bring the collection down. still, the other three are a delight.
Summary of BBC Shakespeare Tragedies DVD Giftbox
Shakespeare is rightly considered the world's greatest playwright for the soaring beauty of his language, for his profound insight into human nature, for the truths he dramatized and for the realism of the characters he created. He was, and remains, a superb entertainer.These BBC and Time-Life film productions feature some of Britain's most distinguished theatrical talent (Anthony Hopkins, Sir John Gielgud, Patrick Stewart, Derek Jacobi, Claire Bloom and more), these DVD's now are the number-one choice for continuing personal enjoyment.
This special Drama DVD Giftbox Set contains 5 of Shakespeare's most popular tragedies: *Romeo and Juliet
*Hamlet
*Macbeth
*Julius Caesar
*Othello.
The Plays contain sub-titles in English that can be turned on or off.
TV Guide Raves: "Shakespeare Would Be Amused.by the care, money, time and talent that are being lavished on the mammoth task of producing all 37 of his plays."
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