The Hollow Crown Review

The Hollow Crown

Reviewed by David Savage

Starring: Patrick Stewart, Jeremy Irons, Julie Walters, John Hurt
Certificate: 12
Running Time: 520 minutes
Format: DVD

The Hollow Crown is a 4 DVD box set about three kings – Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V. BBC adaptations of plays written by William Shakespeare.

Disc 1 – Richard II: When Henry of Bolingbroke and Thomas de Mowbray (Duke of Norfolk) have a quarrel Richard II is asked to settle the dispute and declares they should do duel. Before the fight starts Richard II cancels it and banishes them both. Bolingbroke plots revenge and vows to overthrow the King.

Disc 2 – Henry IV Part One:  After overthrowing Richard II and succeeding the thrown Henry of Bolingbroke is now King Henry IV. Threatened by rebellion the King goes to war in the Battle of Shrewsbury.

Disc 3 – Henry IV Part Two: After the Battle of Shrewsbury Henry is dying and Prince Hal runs off with the crown to become King after convincing his dying father that is not all he is interested in.

Disc 4 – Henry V: Prince Hal has now become King Henry V and worried about losing the Battle of Agincourt.

Overall, these adaptations of Shakespeare’s work by the BBC have been very well portrayed with great actors including Patrick Stewart who was once a part of the Royal Shakespeare Company before Star Trek and X-Men. Each disc is about 2 hours or more and are quite fast paced so you have to pay attention to keep up with the stories.

Great stories of murder, corruption and revenge with some of Shakespeare’s greatest poetry.

There is a lot of attention to detail and are a must for any Shakespeare fan.

Rating: 4/5

Available to buy from Amazon here.