The Hollow Crown (2012– )

New adaptations of Shakespeare's tetralogy of history plays comprising the 'Henriad' for the BBC's 2012 Cultural Olympiad: King Richard II; King Henry IV, Part 1; King Henry IV, Part 2; ... See full summary »

Stars:

Simon Russell Beale, Tom Hiddleston, Tom Georgeson

3 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Simon Russell Beale	...	Falstaff (3 episodes, 2012)
Tom Hiddleston	...	Prince Hal (3 episodes, 2012)
Tom Georgeson	...	Bardolph (3 episodes, 2012)
James Laurenson	...	Westmoreland (3 episodes, 2012)
Julie Walters	...	Mistress Quickly (3 episodes, 2012)
Alun Armstrong	...	Northumberland (2 episodes, 2012)
Will Attenborough	...	Gloucester (2 episodes, 2012)
Conrad Asquith	...	Bracy (2 episodes, 2012)
Ian Conningham	...	Peto (2 episodes, 2012)
David Dawson	...	Poins (2 episodes, 2012)
Drew Dillon	...	Drawer (2 episodes, 2012)
Michelle Dockery	...	Kate Percy (2 episodes, 2012)
Henry Faber	...	Lancaster (2 episodes, 2012)
John Heffernan	...	Francis (2 episodes, 2012)
Jeremy Irons	...	Henry IV (2 episodes, 2012)
Paul Ritter	...	Pistol (2 episodes, 2012)
Maxine Peake	...	Doll Tearsheet (2 episodes, 2012)
Dominic Rowan	...	Coleville (2 episodes, 2012)
Matthew Tennyson	...	Clarence (2 episodes, 2012)
Julian Seager	...	Hercules the Blacksmith (2 episodes, 2012)

Storyline

New adaptations of Shakespeare's tetralogy of history plays comprising the 'Henriad' for the BBC's 2012 Cultural Olympiad: King Richard II; King Henry IV, Part 1; King Henry IV, Part 2; King Henry V. The plays chronicle a continuous period in British history from the end of the 14th century to the aftermath of the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Together, the plays comprise a story with recurring themes of power struggles, redemption, family conflict and betrayal.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to william shakespeare | tv mini series

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Details

Official Sites:

BBC [uk]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 June 2012 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Neal Street Productions, NBC Universal Television, WNET Thirteen

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

User Reviews

A visual spectacle, but no poetic grandeur

As I watched these Hollow Crown episodes, there was something about the delivery of the dialogue that seemed off to me. It was strangely flat and naturalistic, spoken like ordinary dialogue in historical fiction. Then it hit me: the verse is spoken in prose. This is a huge problem. We have amazing production values; sumptuous settings; virtuoso directing; good actors and visual splendor enough to knock anyone's socks off - and we also have Shakespeare's story and words. Tragically, however, without the verse delivery of the lines, we have none of the grandeur of the language; no poetry in the performance. The artfulness of Shakespeare's work has been excised.

There is little to criticize about these versions besides this, but this point of criticism is an all-important one. Reducing Shakespeare's poetry to straight-forward prose is a terrible idea which takes away the audience's joy of the beauty of the words, and also deprives the actors of doing the kind of Shakespeare they want to be doing. I assume it was done to make Shakespeare's language more modern and understandable to an audience that is not weaned on Shakespeare, but to drag Shakespeare down to this level is artistic sabotage. I am deeply against it, and I hope they won't do it in the other upcoming BBC Shakespeare installments by producer Sam Mendes. Sadly, they probably will. Sigh. :-(