Richard II 

The incompetent Richard II is deposed by Henry Bolingbroke and undergoes a crisis of identity once he is no longer king.

Director:

Rupert Goold

Writers:

Rupert Goold (screenplay), Ben Power (screenplay)

Stars:

David Bradley, Richard Bremmer, Daniel Boyd

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
David Bradley	...	Gardener
Richard Bremmer	...	Abbot of Westminster
Daniel Boyd	...	Groom
Peter De Jersey	...	Lord Ross
Lindsay Duncan	...	Duchess of York
Tom Goodman-Hill	...	Sir Stephen Scroop
Harry Hadden-Paton	...	Sir Henry Green
Tom Hughes	...	Duke of Aumerle
Ferdinand Kingsley	...	Sir John Bushy
Rory Kinnear	...	Bolingbroke
Isabella Laughland	...	The Queen's Serving Lady
Finbar Lynch	...	Lord Marshall
Rhodri Miles	...	Welsh Captain
David Morrissey	...	Earl of Northumberland
Lucian Msamati	...	Bishop of Carlisle

Storyline

Fey, vain and foolish, young Richard initiates his downfall by banishing Henry Bolingbroke and the Earl of Mowbray as a resolution to their feud and then confiscating the lands of his uncle, Bolingbroke's father John of Gaunt,on John's death, to pay for a war in Ireland which he loses. This angers many courtiers including the Duke of York, who welcomes Bolingbroke back to England, where he executes Richard's flatterers. The king himself is soon taken prisoner and murdered in his cell. Bolingbroke, now proclaiming himself Henry IV, vows a pilgrimage to atone for his part in the regicide.

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Plot Keywords:

shakespeare's richard ii | based on play | character name in title | 

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 September 2013 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Packwood House, Lapworth, Warwickshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

NBC Universal Television, Neal Street Productions, Thirteen / WNET

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

James Purefoy, who plays Thomas Mowbray, was in A Knight's Tale as the Black Prince of Wales, Richard II's father.

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Goofs

Characters 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.

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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 ...

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Connections

Followed by The Hollow Crown: Henry V (2012)

User Reviews

well.....

I would have found this an excellent film except for the fact that I could not get behind Whishaw portrayal of Richard II as effeminate(if not gay, with all the men he eyes and surrounds himself with)shallow king who seems to view himself as a contemporary Christlike figure. I cringe as I watched the veteran actors strong characterizations against what I found a weak and disappointing interpretation of Shakespeare by Whishaw who is a good actor. I confess I didn't like him in Bright Star either. Horrible take on Keats but that's for another review! I must also say I was let down by Patrick Stewart's "other eden" monologue. I felt very little emotion when he spoke the famous lines. A nod to Rory Kinnear who quietly gave a great performance. A very underrated actor that I hope to see in more Shakespeare brought to screen. I also enjoyed watching David Suchet, who did an excellent job. Still, it's worth seeing in my opinion, which is just that, my opinion!