Claire Bloom
2) Hamlet
Description
Presents a dramatization of William Shakespeare's play in which a Danish prince avenges the murder of his father, the king, by killing his uncle Claudius who murdered the king, usurped the throne, and married Hamlet's mother, Gertrude. Hamlet, considered the most complex of all Shakespeare's characters, examines the fundamental issues of justice, guilt and death.
4) Henry VIII
Description
Presents a dramatization of William Shakespeare's play about Henry VIII's scandalous resolution to divorce Katharine of Aragon in favor of Anne Boleyn.
Description
Sophocles often won the leading prize at the Dionysia, the principal dramatic festival of Athens; but Oedipus the King was a runner-up, winner of the second prize. Posterity, however, considers the play second to none. The play tells the beginning of the Oedipus saga, setting the stage and creating the characters who will continue the story to its conclusion in Antigone. With Michael Pennington, John Gielgud, and Claire Bloom.
8) Cymbeline
Description
King Cymbeline's evil second queen forces the king to banish his daughter Imogen's husband, Posthumus. While the queen tries to force Imogen to marry her own son, Posthumus flees to Rome. There he is tricked into believing Imogen has been unfaithful. Imogen disguises herself as a boy and flees the court.
Description
Nora is sheltered first by her father and then by her husband. All her life, she has been protected like a fragile possession ... like a doll in a doll's house. Years ago, Nora Helmer committed a forgery in order to save the life of her authoritarian husband Torvald. Now she is being blackmailed and lives in fear of her husband's finding out and of the shame such a revelation would bring. But when the truth comes out, Torvald reveals himself for who...
Description
"The King's Speech" presents a sideways glance at a crucial period in 20th-century history--as the monumentally awkward Prince Albert, or Bertie, becomes King George VI unexpectedly in 1936 when his older brother Edward VIII abdicates to marry American divorcée Wallis Simpson. In imperial Britain between the wars, that was problem enough, but Bertie suffered from a chronic stammer that made his public appearances painful for everyone. In an age of...
11) Richard III
Description
Begins by recapitulating the final scene of Henry IV, Part III with Edward IV being crowned king. In the background of the celebration, Richard jealously views the proceedings. Soon afterwards, Edward IV is murdered, drowned in a vat of wine. Richard becomes king and, after proceeding with a succession of intrigues and duplicities, he finds his kingdom in dire peril, set upon by Henry Tudor and mustering a final defense for his realm at the Battle...