William Shakespeare's Richard the Second

Starring:Matte Osian, Kadina de Elejalde, Barry Smith (VII), Ellen Zachos, Robert F. McCafferty, Daniel Maher, Craig Alan Edwards, Frank O'Donnell, Tom Turbiville, David W. Frank, Neil Tadkin, Gary Brenner, Deb Snyder, Dai Kornberg, Lisa Beth Kovetz, Beth Goldman, Doug Kerzner, William Martin (XI)
Director: John Farrell (VII)
Studio: Sub Rosa Studios
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Utter muck
glad I bought it despite the mixed reviews
View it in context
sound as if the cast is speaking in a barrel
Indie Film Maker brings Richard to Life

William Shakespeare's Richard the Second
Starring: Matte Osian , Kadina de Elejalde , Barry Smith (VII) , Ellen Zachos , and Robert F. McCafferty
Director: John Farrell (VII)
Manufacturer: Sub Rosa Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( W ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Shakespeare - The Winter's Tale / Royal Shakespeare Company, Barbican Theatre
King Lear
Twelfth Night
Antony and Cleopatra
William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

ASIN: B00026L862
Release Date: 2004-07-27

Customer Reviews:

Utter muck.......2006-06-22

I know this play well, and I'd guess half the plays. I have several versions of the major plays on video and DVD, and of course various copies of the text, some just for the particular editor's introduction. This is one of the silliest and poorly acted Shakespeare productions I've ever seen (and I've seen plenty). It's been months but I still regret wasting time (see the scene in Pomfret castle for reference) watching it. I don't want to waste more time saying why this production is [...], but the mercilessly bad acting should be enough to make anyone get bored within minutes.

glad I bought it despite the mixed reviews.......2006-01-14

For some odd reason I only saw the "brilliant" review this week when I decided to add this to my collection this week. Collecting Shakespeare on DVD can be a bit of a gamble, and this one truly is a mixed bag, and the extra feature "Behind the Scenes" helps explain why. It's hard to believe that this producer and director opted for 1" video and a transfer to 35mm in 2001--the director says he wanted to avoid the look of a soap opera. Well, granted, but had it not been for some ability to use varied shots for interest, this could have become Blair Witch Project meets Shakespeare. It's not as bad as all that, but certainly very uneven, or, charitably, marked by a surreal quality due to the interesting setting of a fort in Quincy Bay near Boston. The strengths of this film: Matte Osian turns in a creditable performance as Richard, especially from the point he surrenders his crown to the end of the movie--he captures the ironic majesty that Richard displays once he is no longer king; Robert McCafferty as Northumberland is very good in most of his scenes; and Frank O'Donnell captures old John of Gaunt in a way that I imagined when I read the play in college almost 30 years ago. The downsides of this film will be those that displease Shakespeare purists most: (1) The sound at times is muddy due to the choice of setting, especially for the interior scenes. This is worse due to some strange audio mixing choices that have been added to somehow emphasize certain lines, thereby diminishing them. (2) Shakespeare's text here is appreciated but not given center stage. The producer, according to the extra features, had access to an ammunition specialist, some AK-47s and other weapons, and the director made far too much use of them. This play is not supposed to have gratuitous violence like Julie Taymor's version of Titus Andronicus, but it's use of guns and bombs comes close to it--violence for its own sake. (3) This is worsened by the pacing of the lines and the scenes, which is not helped by the horrible editing job! There are so many apparently "meaningful" scenes without words, but I fail to see what depth has been added. (4) Instead, some of the best sets of lines Shakespeare wrote in his early years are lost--John of Gaunt's "this sceptred isle, this England" speech among them. (5) Finally, how Richard and his Queen respond to the tragedy is changed completely as the film moves to its conclusion. Some day I hope to own the very expensive Shakespeare Plays from the BBC/PBS, but until I can see that very young Derek Jacobi playing Richard II in my own living room, this DVD will have to do. It has enough merit to be interesting; it raises several questions for discussion with friends of the Bard.

View it in context.......2005-07-18

I've read several of the reviews on Amazon, and I think the film was entirely watchable, and a good attempt at doing something different with Shakespeare. Granted, this is not a $50 million adaptation, and the sound and picture quality reflect the modest budget, but this doesn;t detract from the fact that its an interesting independant film, and should be viewed as such.

I hope more people will keep an open mind - I enjoyed it.

sound as if the cast is speaking in a barrel.......2005-06-25

Poor sound, I actually looked for sub-titles as I only understood one word in four. Poor acting and the focus of the film is soft and grayed in color. DON"T BUY! I gave it one star as that is the lowest rating possible, but it should be a minus rating.

Indie Film Maker brings Richard to Life.......2005-06-15

Director John Farrell uses all of the resources at his disposal to bring to life Shakespeare's "Richard II"... In this film, we enter a world where old meets new - the timesless lyrical world of the bard and digital media...
Farrell shows great promise as a director, shooting on location at Fort Strong on Boston Harbor's Long Island. He takes advantage of all the natural ambience and archictecture that an old fort can provide.
"Richard II" is filled with great filmic moments and stunning location shots...

It worth your time to take a look at this marvelous indie picture.

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