Richard II
- Episode aired Sep 20, 2013
- Not Rated
- 2h 21m
The incompetent Richard II is deposed by Henry Bolingbroke and undergoes a crisis of identity once he is no longer king.The incompetent Richard II is deposed by Henry Bolingbroke and undergoes a crisis of identity once he is no longer king.The incompetent Richard II is deposed by Henry Bolingbroke and undergoes a crisis of identity once he is no longer king.
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaPembroke Castle, the castle with the large tower in the film, was inherited by Richard II following the death, in a jousting accident, of its owner John Hastings in 1389. Pembroke Castle was the birthplace of King Henry VII 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 adaptation by Rupert Goold for the BBC's Hollow Crown series is not staged bound as it has been opened out with location scenes and even some grisly scenes of be headings.
The opening is the key although in order to get a gist of the story I did take a look at Wikipedia before I watched this in case the Shakespearean text confused me.
Richard II hears accusations of treason from Henry, Duke of Purford against Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. Richard II orders them to make peace which they refuse to do. A joust is arranged but Richard II stops them at the last moment and then exiles both men from England.
Henry for ten years and Thomas Mowbray for life. Irrationally Henry's sentence is reduced to four years maybe because not to upset John of Gaunt, Henry's uncle who is also the King's relative.
The way the king has dealt with the matter in a scenario where he has been under suspicion himself from John of Gaunt at least for the way he wrested the crown himself shows up his deficiencies.
Richard waited until the last moment to stop the joust. His differing terms of banishment for both men looks odd especially as he reduced Henry's term even further. He appears high handed, conceited, weak and indecisive.
Ben Whishaw's King Richard II is younger here and rather fey but he also is petulant, vain and duplicitous but also fond of sad soliloquies such as telling sad tales of kings. It is like he realises he too may be violently deposed one day.
Rory Kinner's Henry is strong, loyal and straightforward but his treatment at the beginning by Richard II sets him on a course to take the crown of him.
The setting here includes castles, churches and the coast with costumes that seem to have a North African influence.
The film has enjoyable action and verve as Goold knew he had to make it less stage bound as possible although it does look like a lesser budget television movie than a feature film.
Of course the text is not easy to follow, the words are over 500 years old so you looking to get the gist of the story followed by the action, mood as well as the language delivered by the actors in a style that looks it comes across as natural to them. It helps that there are veterans such as Patrick Stewart, David Suchet, David Bradley and Lindsay Duncan mixing it with the younger actors.
- Prismark10
- Apr 29, 2016
Details
- Runtime2 hours 21 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1