Pericles Prince of Tyre - BBC Shakespeare Collection [DVD]

Watching this beautiful 1984 BBC production of Shakespeare's touching and water-logged late romance, I am reminded once again how much I love the play.There isn't the fiery edge of irrational jealousy of The Winter's Tale, the convoluted language and plot of the weird and wonderful Cymbeline, or the valedictory bitter-sweet conciseness of The Tempest, but Pericles ~ the man and the play ~ wanders far and wide, and can be as satisfying as any of the other late plays.David Jones directs a flawless cast, headed by onetime leading actor {now retired; our loss} Mike Gwilym as the titular wanderer, a gauche Juliet Stevenson as wife Thaisa, and a young, sweetly radiant Amanda Redman as the loveliest of daughters, Marina, a note-perfect performance.John Woodvine and Edita Brychta are the incestuous king and daughter who set the picaresque plot in motion, with Norman Rodway and Annette Crosbie as false friends, Patrick Godfrey as loyal Helicanus, a leonine Patrick Allen big and brawny as Thaisa's father, Clive Swift as benign healer Cerimon, blue-eyed blond suitor Patrick Ryecart, and the marvellous duo of Lila Kaye and Trevor Peacock as a brothel madam and her pimp Boult. The scenes in this establishment, where they try in vain to persuade the virtuous Marina to forsake her virginity, are both funny and moving, and nicely judged by director and actors.Last but not least is berobed, long-haired, meticulously perfume-voiced Edward Petherbridge as our Chorus-guide Gower, who is regularly appearing from behind a rock or bound against the mast of a storm-tossed ship, to narrate the parts of the tale we don't see and lead us forward to the next scene, whether in Tarsus or Tyre, or elsewhere.With this entry in the BBC Shakeseare marathon, they struck gold, finding the magic and the heartbreak, and finally the healing balm of this most unpredictably enjoyable of plays.

One of the BBC productions. It didn't really work for me - it had no panache or outstanding qualities.

For once I am one step ahead of my fellow Shakespeare Club members havng enjoyed the wonderful production of the lesser known Pericles. I bought it on the strength of previous reviews, and I was enthralled. I was not familiar with the text, and had never seen any other production, so I cannot compare it with other versions. I was going to watch just some of it, in preparation for our monthly reading, but was hooked until the final scene, with almost three hours of wonderful drama. Many familiar faces were in the cast before they became famous. I am not sure if Amanda Redman was actually singing, but her voice was sublime. The make up, costumes and settings were very impressive, and the whole story unfolded much more clearly than by just reading it. Which, on reflection, is what the Bard intended.

A ridiculous work until Shakespeare finally gets involved with the writing of it, at which point one becomes deeply involved with the problems of the characters, no matter how far-fetched their situations may be. One decides to go along with being a child with a fairytale, and thus accepts it all with heartfelt enthusiasm and belief. Mr. Shakespeare's language does the trick.

Having seen this when it originally aired on T.V., I was delighted to be able to get it on DVD. Along with 'Much Ado' these were my favourites then & they don't disappoint all these years later. Mike Gwilym is superb and is well supported by an excellent cast notably Amanda Redman & Juliet Stevenson,I was held to the end, Curiously some of the most memorable performances in the whole series seem to have come from actors who we see little or nothing of these days.

This was, so far, the best I have seen of any Shakespeare plays. The setting was simple but good. The play the thing and this production focuses on it.

Having just finished a class where "Pericles" was being discussed I was eager to see the whole play. I was very pleased with my purchase. The price was very reasonable and it arrived in just a few days. It's nice to know I can get these Shakespeare videos even though they were produced some time ago.

I really did enjoy this performance - we all know it's "a play of two halves" but Mike Gwilym really does carry the humanity of his character all the way through. I'll be watching it again, and getting even more from it.