The Hollow Crown | |
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Genre | Historical drama |
Based on | |
Developed by | |
Directed by | |
Starring | |
Music by |
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Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producer | Sam Mendes |
Producer | Rupert Ryle-Hodges |
Running time | varies |
Production companies | |
Original release | |
Network | |
Release | 30 June 2012 – 21 May 2016 |
The Hollow Crown is a series of British television film adaptations of William Shakespeare's history plays.
The first series is an adaptation of Shakespeare's second historical tetralogy, the Henriad: Richard II , Henry IV, Part 1 , Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V , [1] starring Ben Whishaw, Jeremy Irons and Tom Hiddleston. Olivier Award winners Rupert Goold, Richard Eyre and Thea Sharrock directed the telefilms, [2] which were produced by Rupert Ryle-Hodges for BBC Two and executive produced by Sam Mendes and Pippa Harris under Neal Street Productions in association with NBCUniversal. The first series, which aired in the United Kingdom in 2012, received positive reviews from critics. Ben Whishaw and Simon Russell Beale won British Academy Television Awards for Leading actor and Supporting actor for their performances as Richard II and Falstaff, and Jeremy Irons was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor for his role as Henry IV. The first episode, Richard II , was nominated for the Best Single Drama at the BAFTA TV Awards. [3]
The BBC aired the concluding series in 2016 as The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses, a reference to the series of English civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses, [4] starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Hugh Bonneville, Judi Dench, Sophie Okonedo and Tom Sturridge. The plays were produced in 2015 by the same team that made the first series of films but were directed by the former artistic director of Royal Court Theatre and Olivier Award winner, Dominic Cooke. [5] They are based on Shakespeare's first tetralogy: Henry VI, Part 1 , Henry VI, Part 2 , Henry VI, Part 3 and Richard III . [6] The adaptation presents Henry VI in two parts, incorporating all three Henry VI plays. Benedict Cumberbatch was nominated for the BAFTA Television Award for Best Leading Actor and The Wars of the Roses was nominated for Best Mini-Series. [7]
The title of the series is taken from a line in Richard II:
For within the hollow crown
That rounds the mortal temples of a king
Keeps Death his court...— Richard II, act 3, scene 2
List indicators:
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "Richard II" | Rupert Goold | Rupert Goold & Ben Power | 30 June 2012 |
2 | 2 | "Henry IV, Part 1" | Richard Eyre | Richard Eyre | 7 July 2012 |
3 | 3 | "Henry IV, Part 2" | Richard Eyre | Richard Eyre | 14 July 2012 |
4 | 4 | "Henry V" | Thea Sharrock | Ben Power & Thea Sharrock | 21 July 2012 |
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 | 1 | "Henry VI, Part 1" | Dominic Cooke | Dominic Cooke & Ben Power | 7 May 2016 |
6 | 2 | "Henry VI, Part 2" | Dominic Cooke | Dominic Cooke & Ben Power | 14 May 2016 |
7 | 3 | "Richard III" | Dominic Cooke | Dominic Cooke & Ben Power | 21 May 2016 |
The BBC scheduled the screening of Shakespeare's history plays as part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, a celebration of British culture coinciding with the 2012 Summer Olympics. [8] Sam Mendes signed up as executive producer to adapt all four plays in September 2010. [9] He was joined as executive producer by Pippa Harris (both representing Neal Street Productions), Rupert Ryle-Hodges as producer, Gareth Neame (NBCUniversal), and Ben Stephenson (BBC). [10]
Parts of the series were filmed in Kent at Squerryes Court and Penshurst Place. [11]
The concluding series of plays were produced in 2015 by the same team that made the first series and were directed by Dominic Cooke. Richard III was played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Executive producer Pippa Harris stated, "The critical and audience reaction to The Hollow Crown series set the bar high for Shakespeare on screen, and Neal Street (Productions) is delighted to be making the concluding part of this great history cycle. By filming the 'Henry VI' plays as well as 'Richard III,' we will allow viewers to fully appreciate how such a monstrous tyrant could find his way to power, bringing even more weight and depth to this iconic character." [12] The production returned to Kent for The Wars of the Roses, filming at Dover Castle, Leeds Castle and Penshurst Place. [13]
The first series is largely faithful to the plays, although the text is abridged and lines are occasionally cut. The second series notably compresses the three-part Henry VI into two episodes. Significant scenes involving Talbot and Joan of Arc are cut and Jack Cade's Rebellion is not included. Many elements from the Suffolk part are incorporated into the character of Somerset. While the text does not directly specify which Duke of Exeter is depicted in Henry VI, Part 3, it is widely assumed to be Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter given the play's setting between 1445 and 1471. The portrayal by Anton Lesser implies that it is the same person as Lesser's Thomas Beaufort from Henry V and Henry VI, Part 1, who had died in 1426.[ citation needed ]
The first four plays aired on consecutive Saturday evenings on BBC Two between 30 June and 21 July 2012. The start time of Henry IV, Part 1 on 7 July was delayed by an hour because of coverage of the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, and the play was shown a second time the following evening on BBC Four. [14] The plays were shown in the United States from 20 September to 11 October 2013 as part of the PBS Great Performances series. [15]
All four plays were shown again on consecutive evenings on BBC Four in April 2016 as part of the BBC Shakespeare Festival commemorating the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death. The second series of plays aired on consecutive Saturday evenings on BBC Two commencing Saturday 7 May 2016. [16] [17]
The overseas and DVD rights for The Hollow Crown series are owned by NBC Universal. [18] A Region 2 DVD set of the four films was released on 1 October 2012. [19] A Region 1 DVD set was released on 17 September 2013. [20] A 2-disc DVD set of The Wars of the Roses was released on 20 June 2016.
The original music soundtrack from The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses composed by Dan Jones was released on the Wave Theory Records label in June 2016 and performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. [21] [22]
Mike Hughes of The Salinas Californian wrote, "Amazing TV – perfectly filmed." [23]
Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
---|---|---|---|
Music & Sound Awards 2013 | Nominated | Sound Design (TV Programme) | The Hollow Crown |
South Bank Sky Arts Awards 2013 | Nominated | Best TV Drama | |
Won | Times Breakthrough | Tom Hiddleston | |
Broadcasting Press Guild 2013 | Won | Best Single Drama | The Hollow Crown |
Nominated | Best Actor | Ben Whishaw | |
BAFTA Television Awards 2013 | Won | Best Leading Actor (Richard II) | |
Won | Best Supporting Actor | Simon Russell Beale (Henry IV Part 2) | |
Nominated | Best Single Drama | Richard II | |
RTS Programme Awards 2013 | Won | Single Drama | |
BAFTA Craft Awards 2013 | Won | Best Original Television Music | Stephen Warbeck (Henry IV) |
Won | Best Sound (Fiction) | Tim Fraser, Adrian Rhodes, Keith Marriner (Richard II) | |
Nominated | Best Costume Design | Odile Dicks-Mireaux (Richard II) | |
British Society of Cinematographers | Nominated | Best Cinematography in a Television Drama | Ben Smithard |
4th Critics' Choice Television Awards | Nominated | Best Miniseries | The Hollow Crown |
Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
---|---|---|---|
BAFTA Television Awards 2017 | Nominated | Best Leading Actor | Benedict Cumberbatch |
Nominated | Best Mini-Series | The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses | |
BAFTA Television Craft Awards 2017 | Nominated | Best Costume Design | Nigel Egerton (Richard III) |
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne upon his father's death at the age of eight months; he succeeded to the French throne on the death of his maternal grandfather, Charles VI, shortly afterwards.
Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch is an English actor. Known for his work on screen and stage, he has received various accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurence Olivier Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards and four Golden Globes. In 2014, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world, and in 2015, he was appointed a CBE for services to performing arts and charity.
Richard III of England has been depicted in literature and popular culture many times. In the Tudor period he was invariably portrayed as a villain, most famously in Shakespeare's play Richard III, but also in other literature of the period. Richard's life was not much depicted again until the 20th century when the "Ricardian" movement sought to restore his reputation. Much of more recent creative literature has portrayed him in a positive light. However his reputation as a hunchbacked villain has remained a familiar historical cliché within popular culture.
Henry VII of England has been depicted a number of times in popular culture.
Richard II of England has been depicted in popular culture a number of times.
Edward IV of England has been depicted in popular culture a number of times.
Henry IV of England has been depicted in popular culture a number of times.
Henry V of England has been depicted in popular culture a number of times.
Dominic Cooke is an English director and writer.
Simon Paul Adams, known professionally as Paul Ritter, was an English actor. He had roles in films including Son of Rambow (2007), Quantum of Solace (2008), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), The Eagle (2011), and Operation Mincemeat (2021), as well as television programmes including Friday Night Dinner (2011–2020), Vera (2011–2013), The Hollow Crown (2012), The Last Kingdom (2015), Chernobyl (2019), Belgravia (2020) and Resistance.
Parade's End is a five-part BBC television serial adapted from the eponymous tetralogy of novels (1924–1928) by Ford Madox Ford. It premiered on BBC Two on 24 August 2012 and on HBO on 26 February 2013. The series was also screened at the 39th Ghent Film Festival on 11 October 2012. The miniseries was directed by Susanna White and written by Tom Stoppard. The cast was led by Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall as Christopher and Sylvia Tietjens, along with Adelaide Clemens, Rupert Everett, Miranda Richardson, Anne-Marie Duff, Roger Allam, Janet McTeer, Freddie Fox, Jack Huston, and Steven Robertson.
"Richard II" is first episode of the first series of the British television series The Hollow Crown, based on William Shakespeare's play of the same name. "Richard II" was directed by Rupert Goold, who adapted the screenplay with Ben Power. Ben Whishaw stars as the titular Richard II of England. It was first broadcast on 30 June 2012 on BBC Two.
Neal Street Productions is a British film, television and theatre production company founded by Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris and Caro Newling in 2003.
"Henry IV, Part I" and "Henry IV, Part II" are the second and third episodes of the first series of the British television series The Hollow Crown, based on the second set of plays in William Shakespeare's Henriad. The episodes were produced by Sam Mendes, directed and adapted by Richard Eyre and starred Jeremy Irons as King Henry IV, Simon Russell Beale as Falstaff and Tom Hiddleston as Prince Hal. Much of the cast and crew of both episodes overlap and the plot flows directly from the first to the second. The episodes were first broadcast on 7 July and 14 July 2012 on BBC Two.
"Henry V" is fourth episode of the first series of the British television series The Hollow Crown, based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare. The episode was produced by Rupert Ryle-Hodges, directed by Thea Sharrock and starred Tom Hiddleston as Henry V of England. It was first broadcast on 21 July 2012 on BBC Two.
Dame Philippa Jill Olivier Harris is a British film and television producer. She co-founded Neal Street Productions in 2003 with Sam Mendes and Caro Newling.
"Henry VI, Part 1" is first episode of the second series of the British television series The Hollow Crown, based on the plays Henry VI, Part 1 and Henry VI, Part 2 by William Shakespeare. The episode was produced by Rupert Ryle-Hodges and directed by Dominic Cooke, who also adapted the screenplay with Ben Power. It starred Tom Sturridge as Henry VI, Sophie Okonedo as Queen Margaret and Adrian Dunbar as Richard of York. The adaptation presents Henry VI in two parts, incorporating all three Henry VI plays. It was first broadcast on 7 May 2016 on BBC Two.
"Henry VI, Part 2" is second episode of the second series of the British television series The Hollow Crown, based on the plays Henry VI, Part 2 and Henry VI, Part 3 by William Shakespeare. It was directed by Dominic Cooke, who also adapted the screenplay with Ben Power. It starred Tom Sturridge as Henry VI, Sophie Okonedo as Queen Margaret and Benedict Cumberbatch as Richard. The adaptation presents Henry VI in two parts, incorporating all three Henry VI plays. It was first broadcast on 14 May 2016 on BBC Two.
"Richard III" is third episode of the second series of the British television series The Hollow Crown, based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare. It was directed by Dominic Cooke, who also adapted the screenplay with Ben Power. It starred Benedict Cumberbatch as Richard III, Sophie Okonedo as Queen Margaret and Judi Dench as Cecily. It was first broadcast on 21 May 2016 on BBC Two.