Cheap BBC Shakespeare Tragedies DVD Giftbox (DVD) (Alvin Rakoff, Rodney Bennett, Jack Gold) Price

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Customer Reviews of BBC Shakespeare Tragedies DVD Giftbox

not religion but getting close,real close(maybe?)(might be?)
these are the best Shakespeare plays made and word for word in entirety.No digests or snippets where the Producer decides what is an important scene from an unimportant(because every scene is important).No forty year old Romeos or thirtyish"spinster" Juliets here.Juliet is 14(or 13?) and looks the part in these Shakespeare plays.The innocence of youth,the music it's all kept in mind to enhance your Shakespearian experience.After I saw the Romeo and Juliet in this set I was hooked and spoiled,other portrayals leave me flat!I get the feeling i'm actually in the theatre and it's 1600 or something.The characters get their full due and are not just there to support the main players.Mercutio,a duelist and Tybalt,another duelist are headed for a clash and you can just feel the tension boiling in this version.Get some peanuts and popcorn,because this fight is going to be better than Ali-Frazier and these 2 guys are playing for keeps.Tybalt comes to Mercutio,"Mercutio thou consortist with Romeo" he says.Mercutio has just been slighted to the point of a murderous rage although Tybalt intended to disrespect Romeo by these words.Now Tybalt has double the problem with both Romeo and Mercutio.Suddenly Romeo is the least of Tybalt's problems.Both of these characters are vital to this play and in this BBC version are given their due. This version is the standard to measure all the other "imitations".

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Not as good as Zeferrelli
BUT it was more complete than the 1968 version. And I will say, Alan Rickman's Tybalt was better than Michael York's. York is another one of those actors who makes a habit of chewing scenery, I much prefer Alan's more understated way of playing him. Not to mention, young Alan+tight costume=happy me!!!!

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Derek Jacobi's Hamlet is a marvel to behold...
...and is the reason why I bought the boxed set. In my opinion the other adaptations are tepid, though I must admit I haven't watched Hopkins as Othello yet. <
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>Jacobi is the definitive Hamlet for me (and the definitive Claudius in Branagh's 1996 version). <
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>I suppose I will have to save my pennies and buy the Histories boxed set to own his Richard II. I recall seeing it as a youth on PBS and being duly impressed. <
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>Too bad the DVDs are not sold individually.