ITEMS Video Descriptions


Henry V
SHA VT0711B

Kenneth Branagh portrays Henry V, King of England. Thrust onto throne at a young age, Henry struggles to become a decisive leader & win loyalty of his subjects. After being insulted by an emissary from French King he gathers his army & embarks on a course that will lead to one of England's greatest battlefield triumphs & forever change face of Europe. 138 min


Speaking Shakespearean Verse
SHA VT0668

Members of Royal Shakespearean Company give a workshop on styles of speaking verse, discuss approaches to problem of speaking verse in drama & end with a demonstration of how RSC works on a text in rehearsal. 50 min


Henry V (Branagh)
SHA VT0711A

Kenneth Branagh portrays Henry V, King of England. Thrust onto throne at a young age, Henry struggles to become a decisive leader & win loyalty of his subjects. After being insulted by an emissary from French King he gathers his army & embarks on a course that will lead to one of England's greatest battlefield triumphs & forever change face of Europe. 138 min


Henry V (Olivier)
SHA VT0712

Shakespear's drama of military triumph against overwhelming odds. About young King of England who insulted by French court, declares war on France. When English troops suffer devastating casualties, King Harry realizes there is more to leadership than royal pride. Calling his men to arms with stirring St. Crispin's Day speech, Harry leads his soldiers into battle. Outnumbered 5 to 1 they turn England's near defeat into its greatest glory. 138 min


Shakespeare Collection
SHA VT0793A

"King Richard II" Saga of King Richard & his self-defeat. King not only has enemies in Ireland but also makes an enemy of his own cousin by seizing his property. The cousin along with an army of discontented English noblemen rebel & triumph. 2 hr 52 min


Shakespeare Collection
SHA VT0793B

"The Tempest" A tempest of wind & rain, raised by the magician Prospero shipwrecks Alonso, King of Naples, & his companions including Duke Antonio of Milan. They are marooned on an island where each believes they are only survivors. Prospero brings King Alonso, Duke Antonio & court attendants safely ashore. Unknown to rest of castaways, Ferdinand, King's son, arrives separately & meets Miranda, Propero's daughter & they fall in love. Ferdinand is assumed drowned. Alonso repents of his past. Prospero reveals himself as genuine Duke of Milan. Group celebrates with wedding of Ferdinand & Miranda. 2 hr 7 min


Shakespeare Collection
SHA VT0793C

"The Merry Wives of Windsor" Sir John Falstaff plots to entice unfaithful wives & then live off them. He writes identical letters to Mistress Page & Ford. Falstaff's intentions are discovered & wives plot to teach him lesson while Mistress Ford's husband uses opportunity to test wife's fidelity. 2 hr 30 min


Othello Part 1
SHA VT0821A

Trevor Nunn's Othello was hit of season when first performed.


Othello Part 2
SHA VT0821B

Trevor Nunn's Othello was hit of season when first performed.


Hamlet (Branagh) Pt 1
SHA VT0983A

Julie Crystal, Charlton Heston, Derek Jacobi, Robin Williams & Kate Winslet join Kenneth Branagh in lavishly produced experience filled with passion & power. 242 min


Hamlet (Branagh) Pt 2
SHA VT0983B

Julie Crystal, Charlton Heston, Derek Jacobi, Robin Williams & Kate Winslet join Kenneth Branagh in lavishly produced experience filled with passion & power. 242 min


Much Ado About Nothing
SHA VT1032

Tale of love & enchantment set against a backdrop of mistaken identities & bawdy good fun. Kenneth Branagh tells story as never before. With his wedding a week away Claudio can't wait to marry beautiful young Hero. To distract him his best friend devises delightful mischief - a romantic trap for sharp-tongued Beatrice & man she most loves to hate Benedick. Their amusement is almost spoiled by jealous scheming of Don John but love & laughter prevail when local law exposes plot & trouble proves to be Much Ado About Nothing. 111 min


Romeo & Juliet (Zeffirelle)
SHA VT1033

Italian director Franco Zeffirelli stunned screen world when he cast 2 young unknowns to portray star-crossed lovers in Romeo & Juliet, but it was a gamble that resulted in one of most popular motion pictures of all time. 1968 color 138 min


Romeo & Juliet (Shearer & Howard Version)
SHA VT1037

George Cukor directed relying on dialogue that is entirely Shakespeare's. Cast includes Oscar nominee Basil Rathbone, Edna May Oliver, C. Aubrey Smith, Andy Devine & John Barrymore in his only complete Sound Era film performance of the bard's work. 2 hr. 6 min


Complete Dramatic Works of Wm. Shakespeare: As You Like It
SHA VT0656A

This project of unprecedented scope, has been produced by the BBC and Time-Life Films. IT is the first time in the 400 years since they were written that performed versions of all 37 plays have been preserved on film. 150 min


Complete Dramatic Works of Wm. Shakespeare: Henry IV
SHA VT0656B

See Video 656A: The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare: "As You Like It" for a description.150 min


Complete Dramatic Works of Wm. Shakespeare: Cymbeline
SHA VT0656C

See Video 656A: The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare: "As You Like It" for a description. 150 min


Complete Dramatice Works of William Shakespeare
SHA VT0656L

See Video 656A: The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare: "As You Like It" for a description.150 min


Complete Dramatic Works of Wm. Shakespeare: The Winters Tale
SHA VT0656E

See Video 656A: The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare: "As You Like It" for a description.150 min


Complete Dramatic Works of Wm. Shakespeare: The Tempest
SHA VT0656G

See Video 656A: The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare: "As You Like It" for a description.150 min


Complete Dramatic Works of Wm. Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet
SHA VT0656K

See Video 656A: The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare: "As You Like It" for a description.150 min


Complete Dramatic Works of Wm. Shakespeare: Richard II
SHA VT0656J

See Video 656A: The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare: "As You Like It" for a description.150 min


Complete Dramatic Works of Wm. Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing
SHA VT0656I

See Video 656A: The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare: "As You Like It" for a description.150 min


Complete Dramatic Works of Wm. Shakespeare: Measure for Measure
SHA VT0656D

See Video 656A: The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare: "As You Like It" for a description.150 min


Midsummer Nights Dream
SHA VT1045

Michelle Pfeiffer & Kevin Kline bring Shakespeare's comedy to life. When 2 pairs of star-crossed lovers, a feuding pair of supernatural sprites & a love potion gone awry all come together in an enchanted moonlit forest, result is a delightful mix of merriment & magic. 120 min


Complete Dramatic Works of Wm. Shakespeare: Loves Labours Lost
SHA VT0656H

See Video 656A: The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare: "As You Like It" for a description.150 min


Complete Dramatic Works of Wm. Shakespeare: Hamlet Part 1 & 2
SHA VT0656F

See Video 656A: The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare: "As You Like It" for a description.150 min


William Shakespeares Tragedy: King Richard II
SHA VT0793F

"King Richard II" Saga of King Richard & his self-defeat. King not only has enemies in Ireland but also makes an enemy of his own cousin by seizing his property. The cousin along with an army of discontented English noblemen rebel & triumph. 2 hr 52 min


Shakespeare Collection
SHA VT0793E

"The Merry Wives of Windsor" Sir John Falstaff plots to entice unfaithful wives & then live off them. He writes identical letters to Mistress Page & Ford. Falstaff's intentions are discovered & wives plot to teach him lesson while Mistress Ford's husband uses opportunity to test wife's fidelity. 2 hr 30 min


Hamlet (Gibson)
SHA VT1094A

Treachery. Madness. Murder. The story of Hamlet has been told for 400 years but it's never been told like this! Mel Gibson & Glenn Close star. Zeffirelli directs it is story of prince of medieval-era Denmark who senses treachery behind his royal father's death. 1990. 135 min


Hamlet
SHA VT0983C

Julie Crystal, Charlton Heston, Derek Jacobi, Robin Williams & Kate Winslet join Kenneth Branagh in lavishly produced experience filled with passion & power. 242 min


Hamlet
SHA VT0983D

Julie Crystal, Charlton Heston, Derek Jacobi, Robin Williams & Kate Winslet join Kenneth Branagh in lavishly produced experience filled with passion & power. 242 min


Romeo and Juliet and Darkness
SHA VT1042

Pavel is a student who hides Hana, a young Jewish girl, in the attic of his apartment building. He is her only link to the outside world, and their gorwing trust develops into love, until the two are discovered by Pavel's mother. The mother forces the residents of the apartment building to decide whether Hana can remain. Weiss's double tragedy of young love and the moral question of responsiblity to the Jews during the Nazi occupation is treated with poetic restraint yet teh film is a powerful condemnation of indifference toward force and terrorism. 1996. B&W. 96 min


Othello
SHA VT1095

Promote someone else to rank of lieutenant? Over Lago's dead body! And over the dead bodies of nearly everyone ensnared in Lago's plot of green-eyed revenge. Jealousy, passion, misplaced trust; themes of Shakespeare's towering tragedy permeate this adaptation that moves like a swiftly plunged dagger & features actors filled with fire of their craft. Kenneth Branagh (Lago), Irene Jacob (Desdemona) & Laurence Fishburne in title role of warrior who could rule armies but not his own heart play principals in this tale set in Renaissance Venice. In film we see how Bard's plays can be reshaped & reinvented for screen without diminishing their power. 124 min


Hamlet - Mel Gibson
SHA VT1094B

Treachery. Madness. Murder. The story of Hamlet has been told for 400 years but it's never been told like this! Mel Gibson & Glenn Close star. Zeffirelli directs it is story of prince of medieval-era Denmark who senses treachery behind his royal father's death. 1990. 135 min


Romeo & Juliet
SHA VT1096

Leonardo DiCaprio & Claire Danes portray Romeo & Juliet, youthful star-crossed lovers of past. This brilliant & contemporary retelling of world's most tragic love affair makes this wildly inventive Romeo & Juliet unforgettable. 120 min


Macbeth
SHA VT1130

Roman Polanski presents nightmarish vision of Shakespeare's classic tragedy about lust for power - & its bloody consequences. Jon Finch is Macbeth, Scottish war hero whose ambition unleashes a cycle of violence. Prompted by supernatural prophecy of 3 witches, Macbeth is goaded by his Lady into slaying King Duncan & assuming his throne. He assumes his throne. Plunges further into murder & moral decay to keep the unsteady crown on his head. While his wife crumbles away in guilt & madness, Macbeth fights to prevent another dark forecast, which may doom him. Filmed in North Wales, Macbeth is a tale told by a master, full of sound, fury & genius! 139 min


William Shakespeare - A Life Of Drama
SHA VT1133

He is the world's most influential & admired writer, a man whose genius still moves us, nearly four centuries after his death. William Shakespeare's life produced unmatched legacy of drama & poetry. But Bard's own story remains for most part a mystery. Video pieces together clues of Shakespeare's identity from his youth in Stratford-on-Avon & his marriage to an older woman at 18 to the night of carousing that led to his death at age 52. Film excerpts dramatic readings & location footage provide a glimpse into his little known life & his astonishing twenty-year career as a playwright & actor. 50 min


Romeo and Juliet
SHA VT1323

For generations, their families have been at war, locked in a blood feud that's nourished daily by fear, suspicion & self-righteous anger. But within this dark, oppressive atmosphere so rife with bitter hatred, Romeo Montague & Juliet Capulet are about to find perfect joy in one another...& discover a love that will last for eternity. For this masterpiece, the director broke with tradidion & cast two fresh, young players - Laurence harvey & Susan Shentaill as Shakespear's most famous lovers. 1954 2 hrs 21 min


Midsummer Nights Dream
SHA VT1340

Love is blind, fickle and true. And under the sway of capricious fairies, it becomes blinder (a queen romances a donkey). more fickle (best friends swoon over each other's beau) and truest of all (lovers repledge the devotion). "Lord, what fools these mortals be!" in Shakespeare's bewitched comedy. And what top talent play these mortals and immortals-James Cagney, screen-debuting Olivia De Havilland. Dick Powell, Joe E. Brown and Mickey Rooney among them-in this double Academy Award. 143 minutes/B&W


Critical Approaches to Shakespeare
SHA VT1358

Why does Shakespeare remain a cultural icon and hero? Certainly one reason is the incredibly manifold relevance of his works. Filmed in part at the 1996 World Shakespeare Congress, this program presents a range of critical approaches to the Bard, including postcolonialism, feminism, new historicism, and cultural materialism. These perspectives are discussed by Terence Hawkes, Catherine Belsey, Russ McDonald, Stephen Greenblatt, Ania Loomba, John Drakakis, Reg Foakes, Kiernan Ryan, and Penny Gay. 57 min.


In Search of Shakespeare-Part 1
SHA VT1434A

He is the most famous of Englishmen, and yet our biographical knowledge of William Shakespeare has always been scant. Now Michael Wood, with the help of the Royal Shakespeare Company and many other insightful experts unravels the mysteries, to tell the story of the great bard. His times, his politics, his youth, his loves, his lost years, his career, his plays. PBS home video/color/2 parts/240 minutes total


In Search Of Shakespeare-Part 2
SHA VT1434B

See Part 1 description


Romeo and Juliet
SHA VT1558

Baz Luhrmann's dazzling and unconvetnial adaptation of William Shakespeare's classic love story is spellbinding. Leonard DiCaprio and Claire Danes portray Romeo and Juliet, the youthful star-crossed lovers of the past. But the setting has been moved from its Elizabethan origins to the futuristic urban backdrop of Verona Beach. Video/Rated PG13/Color/120 minutes