Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #856 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-11-14
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 38

Synopsis
Thirty seven features from the BBC television Shakespeare series from 1978 to 1985. 'Romeo and Juliet', is Shakespeare's tale of a doomed and tragic love between two young lovers from warring families, the 'Capulets' and the 'Montagues'. Also includes: 'Richard II', 'As You Like It', 'Julius Caesar','Measure For Measure', 'Henry VIII', 'Henry IV: Parts I & II', 'Henry V: Parts I & II', 'Twelfth Night', 'Tempest', 'The Taming Of The Shrew', 'The Merchant Of Venice', 'All's Well That Ends Well', 'Winter's Tale', 'Timon Of Athens', 'Antony And Cleopatra', 'Othello', 'Troilus And Cressada', 'The Merry Widow', 'Henry VI: Parts I, II & III', 'The Tragedy Of Richard III', 'Cymbeline', 'The Comedy Of Errors', 'Two Gentlemen Of Verona', 'Coriolanus', 'The Life And Death Of King John', 'Pericles: Prince Of Tyre', 'Much Ado About Nothing', 'Love's Labour's Lost', 'Titus Andronicus', 'Hamlet', 'King Lear', 'Macbeth' and 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'.

Customer Reviews

Uneven, but one of those must-have's.
The quality of the BBC production varies from play to play, and many plays are disappointing, or to put it bluntly, long and boring.

While I prefer conservative interpretations, the BBC renditions tend to be too conservative, too bland. There are some notable exceptions. Leonard Rossiter saves King John, Derek Jacobi makes an dandy Richard II, Roger Daltrey (from the Who) stumbles comically through "The Comedy of Errors", and John Cleese tames the shrew into an ex-shrew.

I'm sure it's no accident that the best plays are by the biggest stars. Having more stature, they have the authority to get their own way, and they're doing this for fun.

Also on the whole the Richard II, Henry IV parts 1 & 2, and Henry V series is pretty good. I haven't made it through all the plays yet, but I find the others I have seen (Pericles, Coriolanus, Titus Andronicus, Love's Labour Lost) lack "oomph". The lines are too often recited without wit. I expect even the tragedies should have more laughs or action-drama in them than these productions show us. But I suppose the actors are afraid of being accused of hamming it up. Too bad. Colourful interpretations should be "de rigueur".

My two favourite performances are Derek Jacobi's Richard II and Leonard Rossiter's King John. Jacobi gives us a dandy and a fop too full of himself and too careless of the consequences of his acts. Rossiter's King John is wonderful because he spices up his performance with innuendoes and sly looks that match his kittish tones.

Even though it falls far short of perfection, the breadth of the BBC project makes this a must have collection for any family's DVD shelf and will prove a good benchmark against which future renditions can be judged.

Vincent Poirier, Dublin

Shakespeare DVD
The special virtue of this collection is in allowing viewers to see plays which are rarely if ever prduced such as Henry VI, 1,2, and 3, and Pericles. There are some outstanding performances. Helen Mirren as Titania and Rosalind, Michael Horden as Lear and Prospero, Warren Mitchell as Shylock, and Roger Daltry as the Dromios, are a few of a large number. There are disappointments. Ron Cook as Richard III is an outstanding example of bad casting. Ron plays Simple in the Merry Wives of Windsor and that should be the height of his ambition, or anyone else's ambition for him. Further, I would say play Shakespeare on a bare stage or play him on a realistic location, but don't play him in a junk yard as was done for Henry VI.

A Magnificent Collection
This Collection comes in a beautiful box, that now is covered in plastic to prevent in being damaged, as had happened with earlier reviewers. It has English subtitles which is vital as one is reading the test as well as seeing the play in action.

Each play is it's own little plastic case, and are alphabetically placed in the larger box.

I had no idea there was a little booklet that is hidden in the case along with the collection. There was no mention of it except by another reviewer. This was the icing on the cake, as it lists the players and their parts, plus a lot of details about the plays. It might have been a good idea to list the settings of all of the scenes in the cases, as if it were a theatre programme.

I shall be enjoying the plays, together with the Complete Works, when that arrives later this month.