The Trojan Women (1971) Review

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(More customer reviews)Ancient Greek plays with all their dramatic devices and often an emphasis on static speeches by the actors and the chorus often do not translate well to the screen. Euripides' "The Trojan Women," however, is an exception to the rule. What makes this production work is the fine acting by most of the performers as well as the beautiful language, though in translation, of Euripides.
The plot is simple and straight forward. Queen Hecuba (Katharine Hepburn), her now crazed daughter Cassandra (Genevieve Bujold), her daughter-in-law Andromache (Vanessa Redgrave) and a host of other Trojan women are now at the mercy of the Greek victors. The play builds as one catastrophe after another befalls these women. Cassanda will be the wife of Agammemnon, Andromache will go with the son of Achilles, and Hecuba will become the slave of Odysseus-- or as Hecuba so aptly puts it, "Anguish heaped upon anguish."
The Greek chorus-- or in this instance I suppose we must call them the "Trojan Chorus" works well. Irene Papas plays a different sort of Helen than we see through other writers' eyes. Here she is unbowed, even as she awaits her fate from the hands of her wronged husband Menelaus. In a quite wonderful scene, after Helen has made her pitch to him to spare her life, Hecuba delivers the great lines: "Kill her, Menelaus." Ms. Hepburn has a lot of such passages. I remember from having seen the movie when it was released in 1971 her lines: "Kindness unwanted is unkindness."
The theme is obvious. Wars always hurt the women and children most-- Andromache's son almost steals the movie, by the way-- and while the weaponry and locales may change, war in 2005 is not that much different than it ever was, a sad, sobering thought.

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The Six Wives of Henry VIII - Complete Set (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)This review refers to DVD Complete Set(BBC/BFS Video) of "The Six Wives of Henry VIII"(3 discs).....
This classic BBC television series from 1970 is an outstanding production of 6 plays, all by different authors, depiciting the relationship Henry VIII had with each of his 6 wives.It's an entertaining and enlighting look at the monarch, played exquisitely from his youth to his sickly old age by Keith Michell.The six very different women, most of whom meet with a tragic ending are also portrayed brillantly by the actresses and will draw you into their joys and fears at being the Queen of England.
Catherine of Aragon(Annette Crosbie), Ann Boleyn(Dorothy Tutin), Jane Seymour(Anne Stallybrass), Anne of Cleves(Elvi Hale),Catherine Howard(Anglea Pleasence) and Catherine Parr(Rosalie Crutchley),were all picked to serve a purpose for the Royal Court. Some served useful in forming political alliances, and some in gaining favors for social climbers in the court. But to Henry....They were there to provide him with sons..heirs to the throne..and God help them if they didn't.
The production is wonderful. The costumes, make up, each play beautifully written, and the majestic performances will have you enthralled with each story and hanging on every word.The authentic look at this Royal soap opera is one any student of European history, or anyone who loves stories about Kings and Queens would be thrilled with.It is a five star performance.
The DVD did not get the kingly treatment it deserved.Although there is nothing about it that will interfere with your enjoyment of this treasure, it is very dated. The costumes and magnificent jewelry need to be brightned up, the outdoor scenes are a bit grainy, and the sound(although clear and distinguishable) is a very low recording.The price is a little high considering what this could look and sound like on DVD with a restoration.So 4 stars for the package.
It is absolutly worth the view and worth owning though.Unless a new edition comes along(this edition was released July, 2000), I would suggest to check with the sellers here, the prices seem much more reasonable.(I got a great deal at about half the price).
You may lose your head over this one.....enjoy...Laurie
also recommended:
Edward the Seventh(PAL edition)
or
Edward the King(region 1)

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Few television series have attracted as much critical and public acclaim as these six triumphant plays, now preserved on video. Written by six different authors, each play is a lavish and authentic dramatisation, produced with style and quality. Binding them together with his magnetic and dignified performance as the mighty monarch is Keith Michell--the definitive Henry VIII.

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Man for All Seasons (1988) Review

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(More customer reviews)I love this story, as a fragment of history (such as we know of it), as a dramatic work by a fine playwright and in both extant film productions. The 1966 film directed by Zinnemann is a wonderful filmic reworking of the play with some noble acting and art direction. It retains the essence of the story whilst changing 'operatically' the angle, rather like Milos Forman has done with Peter Schaffer's "Amadeus". Heston's TV film, on the other hand, sticks rather more closely to the play, in both script and format and succeeds equally well. This isn't a 'remake'; rather, it is a new approach in its own right. Both films are valid additions to the canon. Heston was, indeed, a great actor who was more than equal to this task; all too often he has been the target of 'casting snobs'. Finally, the late Roy Kinnear's contribution as the 'Common Man' (a part not featured as such in the 1966 film, Colin Blakely as More's servant, Matthew being the closest comparable) is a little gem!

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