Edward II
by Richard Marquand, Toby Robertson
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DVD details
Actor: Diane Fletcher, Ian McKellen, James Laurenson, Paul Hardwick, Timothy WestDirector: Richard Marquand, Toby Robertson
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Stereo; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Stereo
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 125 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-05-26
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Worldwide
Product features:
- In Christopher Marlowe's historical play, King Edward summons back his lRunning Time: 125 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION Rating: NR Age: 883929069583 UPC: 883929069583 Manufacturer No: 1000095965
DVD Reviews of Edward II
DVD Review: A theatrical (and gay) landmark
Summary: 5 Stars
This is not a television adaptation, but a televised stage performance. This production of Marlowe's play premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival in 1969 and toured for a few months in repertory with Richard II. It was Ian McKellen's breakthrough performance and it featured the first kiss between two men on British television.
Edward was said to be tall and well built, like his father, and something of an athlete. McKellen is rather slight in stature and plays the early scenes in an effete manner. So the transition to a warrior king bravely defending his realm is a difficult one for the actor to execute and the audience to credit, but McKellen proves (just) actor enough to do it.
Historically, we cannot be sure whether Gaveston and Despenser ('Spencer' in the play) were actually Edward's lovers or simply close companions that he favored too much. Most dramatic depictions have retained that ambiguity, but Marlowe goes all out for an openly homosexual interpretation and this production emphasizes that aspect. Edward and his companions kiss each other full on the lips.
The play is something of a sprint through the 20 years of Edward's reign. Edward and some other characters age rapidly from one scene to the next, with little or no break between scenes. These sudden continuity shifts will, I suspect, make some details of the plot confusing, if you are not familiar with the history itself. But the central story - a king more interested in his male lovers than in pleasing his wife or running the country, thus making more enemies than he can handle - is clear and simple enough.
The crucial thing, with Elizabethan and Jacobean drama, is to remain true to the language, to let the dialogue carry the play. This production does that, magnificently. This was the performance that made McKellen a star, and rightly so.
Robert Eddison won an award for his performance of Lightborn. He appears briefly but memorably, toward the end.
There is a technical problem with the sound, in that the initial dialogue of characters entering from backstage is often lost. Nonetheless, this is an essential production.
[PeterReeve]
Description of Edward II
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