BBC Shakespeare Histories (Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, Henry V, Richard II, Richard III) DVD Giftbox

BBC Shakespeare Histories (Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, Henry V, Richard II, Richard III) DVD Giftbox

starring: Derek Jacobi, John Gielgud, Jon Finch, Wendy Hiller, Charles Gray directed by: David Giles (III) See Larger Image List Price: $149.99 You Pay Only: $134.99 You Save: $15.00 (10%) Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Audience Rating: Unrated Binding: DVD EAN: 0739815002762 Format: Box set, NTSC Label: Ambrose Video Manufacturer: Ambrose Video Publisher: Ambrose Video Region Code: 1 Release Date: August 03, 2004 Running Time: 846 minutes Sales Rank: 22691 Studio: Ambrose Video Related Items: BBC Shakespeare Comedies DVD Giftbox BBC Shakespeare Tragedies DVD Giftbox BBC Shakespeare Tragedies II DVD Giftbox William Shakespeare's Hamlet (Two-Disc Special Edition) Twelfth Night see more Editorial Review: Description: Shakespeare is rightly considered the world's greatest playwright for the soaring beauty of his language, for his profound insight into human nature, for truths he dramatized and for the realism of the characters he created. He was, and remains, a superb entertainer. Featuring some of Btitain's most distinguished theatrical talent: Derek Jacobi, Sir John Gielgud, Charles Gray, Jon Finch, Martin Shaw, David Gwillim and Anthony Quayle, and many more. DVD brings out the rich beauty in the acting and sound. The English language subtitles allow viewers to correctly understand the rapid fire of the beautiful langage of William Shakespeare. Contains 5 plays on 5 DVD's: Henry V, Richard II, Richard III, Henry IV, Part I and Henry IV, Part II Customer Reviews Average Rating: Rating: - High caliber This set of plays is well worth the price. Top notch actors make Shakespeare accessible and ever more fascinating in this set. Particularly nice is the continuity of characters/actors in the second tetralogy (Richard II, Henry IV part one, Henry IV part two, and Henry V). The actor playing Falstaff is fantastic! He alone is worth buying the set. I will say, however, that the BBC shied away from producing Henry V in its entirety, and therefore -- as usual with the production of this play -- made the play more patriotic than Shakespeare's in-tact play. If that were not the norm, it might be worth taking away half a star from the overall review. Overall, well worth watching! And also a gem to show students! Rating: - Shakespeare no-show I know the quality of this set is very good. However, it was ordered before Xmas and STILL hasn't arrived (today is 1/14/08). I still want it--it was supposed to be my son's big gift. Rating: - Great gift This turned out to be a great gift for the Shakespeare Histories lover in the family. I like the comedies and, after her rave reviews of the histories, am thinking about purchasing the Shakespeare Comedies set for myself. The plastic was a little ripped when it arrived, but otherwise it looked great and arrived in plenty of time for the holidays. Rating: - Jacobi as King -- Long Live the Queen! I bought this set to see Richard II for the first time in almost 30 years. I am a great fan of Derek Jacobi from "I, Claudius" to "Cadfael" and beyond, and his Hamlet is the best I have ever seen. The history plays, for this 21st century American, simply aren't as compelling as the major tragedies. Anthony Quayle makes a fine Falstaff in Henrys 1 & 2, and I haven't watched Richard III yet, suspecting that Olivier's film cannot be surpassed. Jacobi is at his bardic best as Richard II, but he is not a likable character. He is actually quite annoying -- a prissy poppinjay and fey fop. When he died, I cried, "The King is dead, long live the Queen!" Not that there's anything wrong with being a queenly king, of course. Rating: - An uneven effort, but largely a worthy one First of all, probably the rating I would give the set as a whole is closer to three and a half stars, but as the Amazon system doesn't allow for it, four it is. Now, then. The word that springs to mind most readily in trying to describe this set is "inconsistent." There are some parts of it that are thoroughly brilliant, and others that had me cringing in embarrassment for all involved (mostly in Henry V), although I will admit that some of the parts I thought weaker might be more palatable to someone less madly in love with the second tetralogy than I am! To break it down a bit, and hopefully not too wordily: Richard II is the strongest of the set by far, thanks to a bravura performance from Derek Jacobi in the title role; he's equally convincing both as callous upper-class twit in the first acts of the play and as self-styled, even self-concious, royal martyr (but no less poignant for the self-styling) being painfully awakened to his own humanity. The supporting cast is pretty consistently strong, too: John Gielgud's performance as Gaunt has become definitive for me (his delivery of "This England" is positively spine-tingling), Jon Finch is an impressively calculating Bolingbroke, and Charles Gray does good work as the conflicted Duke of York (as does Wendy Hiller, in a rare Shakespearean appearance, as his extremely proactive duchess). The two Henry IV plays are rather more uneven, with part two, perhaps surprisingly, being stronger than part ... 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