Olivier's Shakespeare - Criterion Collection (Hamlet / Henry V / Richard III)
by Laurence Olivier
List Price:
Our Price: $71.99
You Save: $7.96 (10%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $40.00 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Felix Aylmer, Jean Simmons, Laurence Olivier, Leslie Banks, Robert NewtonDirector: Laurence Olivier
Brand: Image Entertainment
Writer: Laurence Olivier
Producer: Alexander Korda
Writer: Alan Dent
Writer: Colley Cibber
Writer: Dallas Bower
Writer: David Garrick
Writer: William Shakespeare
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; Spanish (Original Language); English (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 448 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-08-01
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion
DVD Reviews of Olivier's Shakespeare - Criterion Collection (Hamlet / Henry V / Richard III)
DVD Review: Making Shakespeare understandable
Summary: 5 Stars
Finally, versions of Shakespeare that are understandable, thanks to the superb artistry of Olivier. He was the epitome of an actor for this genre. These are the versions to watch for enjoyment of the master playwright.DVD Review: There were giants in those days.
Summary: 5 Stars
Anyone loving or teaching Shakespeare and wishing to see a magnificent actor at the height of his powers (who can speak the verse) should buy this collection. The bonus of the interview with Olivier and the excellent commentaries by Bruce Eder only adds to its value.DVD Review: The best of Olivier
Summary: 5 Stars
This wonderful set has Laurence Olivier's best Shakespeare movies-- Henry V, Hamlet, and Richard III. I enjoyed all three of them, although Richard III was perhaps the best with a gentle man like Olivier playing a villain! Such a great actor in versatile roles. Henry V was fine interpretation of an historical play with Olivier as both actor and director. I thought he was also very good as Hamlet in creating the melancholic personality of the character. By all means get this set if you love Shakespeare and Olivier's acting. It is much less expensive than the BBC sets of Shakespeare, and the acting is just as good if not better. Olivier's King Lear and Othello are available on separate DVD's if you wish to watch more great acting. DVD Review: Classic, Criterion, Olivier, brilliance.
Summary: 5 Stars
1. Criterion; enough said.
2. Five stars for shelling these three classics together.
3. Laurence Olivier is one of the most captivating and most talented actors to ever grace the craft. His honing and mastering of timing, process and realism is bar none compared to the actors of this day and age as a whole. He was masterfully involved in every facet of a production.
4. Clearly 'Henry V' is his shining tour de force, although the majority will say it was 'Hamlet'. A Classics teacher I had once freshman year, a true inspiration of a hero, said "Olivier is the crowning jewel of a lost empty space." Olivier's Henry V unchains Shakespeare from most Elizabethan limits. He commands the performance with mobility and tenderness, yet brings Shakespeares poetry into a new light. He masterfully illuminates the complete package.
I remember seeing Olivier play Master Nikodemus in Zeff's potrayal of the life of Christ in 'Jesus of Nazereth', (I am forever the agnostic, but Zeff's film was mesmorizing) and even there, even there in that simple tiny, forgotten role, we see that illumination at first hand. A gentle hovering spirit that soared to the very upper echelon of his profession.
Thank you Criterion for understanding majestic raw talent, pinnacle acting and directing from a superstar, in which the likes of will surely not be matched for some time, if ever.
Thanks
KenDVD Review: Olivier Ruined Hamlet
Summary: 2 Stars
While the acting is excellent, the interpretation Olivier gives Hamlet is nauseating. As a Shakespeare scholar, I have always cringed when I hear students of the bard describe Hamlet as a "man who could not make up his mind." Oliver tells us at the beginning of this film the very essence he sees in Hamlet. I have *no* problem with him interpreting in a way I do not agree with, but to say this is the "definitive work, period" is unfair to some other wonderful adaptations. For my money, Branagh's Hamlet is a more honest portrayal and the excellent dress rehearsal Dvd with Richard Burton is mind-blowing.
I do not dislike Olivier, but Hamlet is hardly his best Shakespearean work. Richard III is much better and Henry V is perhaps better than Branagh's version.
Description of Olivier's Shakespeare - Criterion Collection (Hamlet / Henry V / Richard III)
Dubbed the greatest actor of the twentieth century, Sir Laurence Olivier, the classically trained and majestically handsome English theater veteran, first transplanted his passion for Shakespeare to the big screen in the 1940s, and in so doing, allowed Elizabethan verse to break free of its stage-bound origins. Olivier directed only five films in his sixty-year career, yet his three Shakespeare adaptations (Henry V, Hamlet, Richard III), presented here together on DVD for the first time, are still widely considered the definitive film adaptations. Faithful to the playwright's words yet open to the unique possibilities of the cinema, these works transcend both screen and stage with timeless passion. Criterion is proud to present this unprecedented filmmaking legacy.General DVDs
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Bestsellers in General DVDs
Frost/ NixonUniversal; Release date: 2009-04-21; DVD
Best price: $11.39
Price in other shops:
Lost in AustenImage Entertainment; Release date: 2009-04-14; DVD
Best price: $14.98
Price in other shops:
AustraliaTwentieth Century Fox; Release date: 2009-03-03; DVD
Best price: $12.99
Price in other shops:
DoubtRelease date: 2009-04-07; DVD
Best price: $14.43
Price in other shops:
True Blood: The Complete First Season (HBO Series)Release date: 2009-05-19; DVD
Best price: $38.99
Price in other shops:
FireproofSony; Release date: 2009-01-27; DVD
Best price: $8.50
Price in other shops:
The ReaderGenius; Release date: 2009-04-14; DVD
Best price: $12.30
Price in other shops:
The WrestlerTwentieth Century Fox; Release date: 2009-04-21; DVD
Best price: $11.49
Price in other shops:
Marley and Me (Single-Disc Edition)Twentieth Century Fox; Release date: 2009-03-31; DVD
Best price: $10.55
Price in other shops:
Slumdog MillionaireTwentieth Century Fox; Release date: 2009-03-31; DVD
Best price: $10.40
Price in other shops:
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
The Taming of the ShrewSony; Release date: 1999-10-26; DVD
Best price: $6.44
Price in other shops:
William Shakespeare's The Merchant of VeniceSony; Release date: 2005-05-10; DVD
Best price: $5.47
Price in other shops:
Julius CaesarWarner Brothers; Release date: 2006-11-07; DVD
Best price: $5.41
Price in other shops:
Richard Burton's HamletImage Entertainment; Release date: 1999-08-17; DVD
Best price: $21.02
Price in other shops:
Richard IIIRelease date: 2000-03-28; DVD
Best price: $7.63
Price in other shops:
Henry VTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2000-07-18; DVD
Best price: $6.70
Price in other shops:
Macbeth / McKellen, Dench (Thames Shakespeare Collection)A&E; Release date: 2004-11-16; DVD
Best price: $12.35
Price in other shops:
William Shakespeare's Hamlet (Two-Disc Special Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2007-08-14; DVD
Best price: $14.52
Price in other shops:
OthelloWarner Brothers; Release date: 2007-08-14; DVD
Best price: $12.82
Price in other shops:
King LearRelease date: 2000-06-13; DVD
Best price: $16.35
Price in other shops: