The Hollow Crown
Just watched the long BBC Shakespearian series "The Hollow Crown," which covers the buildup to the War of the Roses period in British history:
--the weak-willed King Richard II (played by Ben Whishaw)
--the military usurper King Henry IV (played by Rory Kinnear, then Jeremy Irons)
--his playboy son, King Henry V (played by Tom Hiddleston)
--his morally righteous son, King Henry VI, who married Queen Margaret (brilliantly played by Sophie Okonedo) who became a crazy military powerhouse
--the person who took the crown back from him, King Edward IV
--and his brother King Richard III (wonderfully played by Benedict Cumberbatch), who had a hunchback and killed lots of people to become king, including his two young nephews in the Tower of London
--ending with the rising of King Henry VII (who is the father of the famous Henry VIII)
Those who supported the original line of Richard II were the house of York (white rose), and those who supported the usurper line were the house of Lancaster (red rose).
The whole series was excellent, each one building on the last. The last two were particularly great episodes, and Benedict of course stole the show with his evil campaign to become king. The Richard III episode was tonally different from the rest and much more exciting. In the Shakespearian play, Richard III is so evil, and here he's played so well with lots of winks and soliloquies directed to the camera that you start actually rooting for him and wanting to see what horrible thing he will do next. It's brilliant and highly recommended!
P.S. Andrew Scott is also (briefly) in the series!
--the weak-willed King Richard II (played by Ben Whishaw)
--the military usurper King Henry IV (played by Rory Kinnear, then Jeremy Irons)
--his playboy son, King Henry V (played by Tom Hiddleston)
--his morally righteous son, King Henry VI, who married Queen Margaret (brilliantly played by Sophie Okonedo) who became a crazy military powerhouse
--the person who took the crown back from him, King Edward IV
--and his brother King Richard III (wonderfully played by Benedict Cumberbatch), who had a hunchback and killed lots of people to become king, including his two young nephews in the Tower of London
--ending with the rising of King Henry VII (who is the father of the famous Henry VIII)
Those who supported the original line of Richard II were the house of York (white rose), and those who supported the usurper line were the house of Lancaster (red rose).
The whole series was excellent, each one building on the last. The last two were particularly great episodes, and Benedict of course stole the show with his evil campaign to become king. The Richard III episode was tonally different from the rest and much more exciting. In the Shakespearian play, Richard III is so evil, and here he's played so well with lots of winks and soliloquies directed to the camera that you start actually rooting for him and wanting to see what horrible thing he will do next. It's brilliant and highly recommended!
P.S. Andrew Scott is also (briefly) in the series!