The Hollow Crown
Jan. 15th, 2013 09:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
birdienl
This summer, the BBC adapted four of Shakespeare's historical plays concerning the Medieval kings Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V for television under the name The Hollow Crown. I became interested in these adaptations, simply because they are BBC period dramas and I watch practically all of those. Not because I'm a big Shakespeare fan, in fact, I hardly know anything about Shakespeare.... What, don't look at me that way! Being Dutch, we don't learn about Shakespeare in school and I haven't caught the virus (like the Jane Austen or Charles Dickens virus) from other sources. So what did I think about this 'introduction' to Shakespeare and did it lead to me catching the virus?
The Hollow Crown chronicles the lives of the late Medieval English kings Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V in four feature-length tv-movies. It deals with their relationships with family, friends and subjects, with the wars they fight and the often difficult choices they are forced to make. In Richard II, the king is asked to act as a judge in the quarrel between noblemen Henry Bollinbroke and Thomas Mowbray, but the decision he makes may cost him more then he bargained for. In the two parts of Henry IV, we get to know the elderly king Henry, who worries about the low life his son and heir Hal leads in London and the unrest his cousin Harry Hotspur causes in the North of the kingdom. In Henry V it is Hal who is now king himself and who embarks on a journey to conquer parts of France.
The Hollow Crown is filled to the brim with well-known English actors, from acclaimed names such as Jeremy Irons, Alun Armstrong and Julie Waters, to talented newcomers as Tom Hiddleston and Melanie Thierry. For this alone, The Hollow Crown is an absolute joy to watch. It is clear the actors all gave their very best to this production. I was aware of the quickly rising star of Tom Hiddleston and the enthusiastic fandom surrounding him before The Hollow Crown, but this production has convinced me he is really a wonderful actor who will go very far (and a very handsome man *sigh*)!
I was at first somewhat confused by the use of 'Shakespearian' language and I'm sure there are nuances in the text I did not pick up on, but it quickly grew on me and after watching the first half hour of Richard II, I could listen and watch it relatively easy. The scenery, though relatively simple, is very beautiful and effective. Especially the outdoor scenes and the battles are of a wonderful quality for tv. Though the battle scenes are not filmed at grand scale, they show very well the hand-to-hand combat of Medieval warfare.
I did not very much like the storyline of Richard II, I couldn't sympathize with him, however sad his plight was or with any of the other main characters. The long soliloquys of the characters even bored me a bit (and I'm not easily bored!). The three next parts of The Hollow Crown captivated me much more. The most interesting was following the development of Hal from the spoiled, easily entrained prince to a confident young king. But I also really liked the father-son dynamics between Henry IV and prince Hal, most of the light-hearted humorous parts taking place in London and the exciting battles. These are three movies I would definitely rewatch as I think I will grasp more of its depth upon a second viewing.
The Hollow Crown was a really nice introduction into Shakespeare for a history loving, but ignorant Dutch-woman. I'll definitely seek out more of Shakespeare's adaptations and it has led me to read up on this (for me) unknown piece of history. I'm not saying I've caught the Shakespeare bug yet, but who knows, it's a start!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2013-01-17 01:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-17 08:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-17 05:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-17 10:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-18 09:21 am (UTC)