- Director
- Writers
- Rupert Goold(screenplay)
- Ben Power(screenplay)
- William Shakespeare(play "Richard II")
- Stars
- Director
- Writers
- Rupert Goold(screenplay)
- Ben Power(screenplay)
- William Shakespeare(play "Richard II")
- Stars
- Director
- Writers
- Rupert Goold(screenplay)
- Ben Power(screenplay)
- William Shakespeare(play "Richard II")
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
- All cast & crew
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaPembroke castle, the castle with the large tower in the film, was inherited by Richard the second following the death, in a jousting accident, of its owner John Hastings in 1389. Pembroke castle was the birthplace of the real King Henry 7th in 1457.
- GoofsCharacters repeatedly mispronounce "Hereford" as "Hair-ford". The character is called "HERFORD" in the text. That is how Shakespeare wrote it and intended it to be said - the production is respecting that. Pronouncing it "Hereford" doesn't fit the poetic metre. Spellings and pronunciations were simply far more variable then.
- Quotes
King Richard: Let's talk of graves, of worms and epitaphs. Make dust our paper and with rainy eyes write sorrow on the bosom of the earth. Let's choose executors and talk of wills. And yet not so. For what can we bequeath , save our deposed bodies to the ground? Our lands, our lives and all are Bolingbroke's. And nothing can we call our own but death. And that small model of the barren earth wich serves as paste and cover to our bones. For god's sake, let us sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the death of kings. How some have been deposed; some slain in war; Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed; Some poisoned by their wives; some sleeping killed All murdered. For within the hollow crown that rounds the mortal temples of a king. Keeps death his court. And there the antic sits, scoffing his state and grinning at his pomp Allowing him a breath, a little scene, to monarchise Be deared and kill with looks Infusing with self and vain conceit, As if this flesh wich walls about out life, Were brass impregnable. And humoured thus, comes at the last And, with a little pin, bores through his castle wall and, Farewell, King!
- ConnectionsFollowed by The Hollow Crown: Henry IV, Part 1 (2012)
This time around, the BBC produced all of Shakespeare's histories (except Henry VIII) in lush, "BBC quality," productions. Richard II opens the series.
This play rises or falls on the skills of the actor who portrays Richard II. Here it's Ben Whishaw, who is, indeed a brilliant actor. The DVD contains a special feature, "The Making of Richard II." This special feature really is a piece of fluff for the production. We're told that Ben Whishaw is the Richard II of today, just as Sir Laurence Olivier and Sir John Gielgud were for their day.
Whishaw is a fine actor, but I think that it's premature to declare him the standard of excellence for Shakespeare actors in the 21st Century.
Director Goold has chosen to depict Richard as a Christ figure. It's not subtle in the movie, and it's stated in "The Making of Richard II." Yes, Richard considered himself to be God's anointed sovereign, but that doesn't make him a Christ figure. However, there he is, barefoot, wearing a loincloth, ready to be sacrificed. Give Richard's earlier behavior, it just didn't work for me.
I'll defend a director's right to interpret Shakespeare, but I don't have to agree with his decision.
For better or for worse, the BBC has "opened up" this production so that we can see the horses, the hills, the castles, the oyster women, the beheadings, etc. You'll have to decide whether you'd prefer to use your imagination, as Shakespeare suggested, or you'd rather watch a Branagh-style production.
This movie was made for TV, so it works well on the small screen. It has a very high IMDb rating of 8.3. I didn't think it was that good, and rated it 7.
- Red-125
- Sep 8, 2020
Details
- Runtime2 hours 21 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1
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