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An Age of Kings
Adaptations of the eight sequential history plays of William Shakespeare (Richard II, Henry IV: Part 1 & 2, Henry V, Henry VI: Parts 1, 2, & 3 and Richard III).
Release : | 1960 |
Rating : | 8.4 |
Studio : | BBC, |
Crew : | Director, Writer, |
Cast : | Sean Connery Julian Glover Judi Dench Jack May Eileen Atkins |
Genre : | Drama History |
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Reviews
Very Cool!!!
Just perfect...
I wanted to but couldn't!
Good story, Not enough for a whole film
In 1961, this series was shown on local TV here in southern California. I and many others have been petering BBC for tape or DVD ever since. Now all of a sudden, here it is on Amazon. I pre-ordered in January and now here on March 30 it arrived. It was a long wait (48 years). Was it worth it? So far I have just watched Richard II (I've only had the DVD since 2 o'clock) and I can truly say YEA!!! totally worth the wait. The acting, direction, and production are superb and even better than I remember. The production is in B & W but somehow it fits. The video is clear and very good, the sound is flawless. Further proof of how timeless Shakespeare truly is.I gave this 10 stars even though I have only seen 1 of the 8 plays. I am sure that when I have seen them all I will change my rating to at least a 12.It's currently in stock at Amazon (US region 1) at a reasonable price.I'd better stop now so I can get back to watching. Next up is Henry the IV, part 1 of which is my all time favorite Shakespeare play.
Possibly the finest moment of TV, at least in my memory, as millions could watch Shakespeare's gripping Kings cycle (Richard II - Richard III) play out on prime time TV (I believe it was on Friday nights). No word was left out, and the plays awoke in me (who was then in elementary school) a thirst for history and a hunger for Shakespeare and drama.Let's see these reissued on DVD. What a set this would be!
Saw this series when it was broadcast by the BBC in UK when I was a child. (All in glorious Black and White 405 line transmission). Very good introduction to the history plays of Shakespeare, and in retrospect I now realise that this was the 'cream' of classic acting of it's day and certainly not wooden or histrionic. Many of the performers went on to make splendid films/theatre/videos/radio. Viz among them Sean Connery(James Bond) would you believe.
I believe it has been over 40 years since I saw this series, yet memory of it hasn't faded a bit. This would be a natural for DVD re-issue, it seems to me. Many of the performers have gone on to greater fame (Robert Hardy, Sean Connery, to name a couple); though it was a smallish role, I still remember Judy Dench, then in her 20's, as Katherine of France (Henry V). She was very lovely then as now.There is a hint on this site that the series was filmed in color - is this so? Who of us would know - virtually no color TV in those days. Mores the pity, no VCR's; if so, some might have recorded it. As a way of teaching English history, this series made it come alive in ways few class room teachers can manage.What a fine re-issue this would be!