Shakespeare - The Winter's Tale / Royal Shakespeare Company, Barbican Theatre

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Starring: Sir Antony Sher
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Type: DVD
Studio: Kultur Video
Release Date: 2005-11-22
Running Time: 170 minutes
At the court of King Leontes of Sicilia, Polixenes, King of Bohemia, is nearing the end of a visit. He is persuaded by Hermione, Leontes's Queen, to prolong his stay. Leontes becomes convinced that the two of them are guilty of adultery and that the child Hermione is expecting is not his. He tries to have Polixenes poisoned but Camillo, entrusted with the murder, reveals the plot to Polixenes and the two of them flee to Bohemia. This fuels Leontes' rage. He has Hermione imprisoned, and when she gives birth to a daughter he orders the child to be cast out into the wilderness. At Hermione's trial, the sacred Oracle of Apollo at Delphi declares that she is innocent and that Leontes is a tyrant who will die without an heir if his lost child is not found. When news is brought of the death of their other child, the boy Mamillius, Hermione collapses with grief. When he hears that she, too, is dead, Leontes is overcome with remorse. Hermione's baby, abandoned in Bohemia, is found by shepherds, who call her Perdita and bring her up as their own. Time moves on by sixteen years, and Perdita has grown in a lovely young woman. Prince Florizel, Polixenes' son, has fallen in love with her and, believing her to be a humble shepherd's daughter, plans to marry her without his father's consent. However, Polixenes discovers the plan and the young couple are forced to elope, to Sicilia, accompanied by Camillo. They arrive at Leontes's court where the penitent King has spent the last sixteen years in atonement, and Perdita's true identity is discovered. To crown the celebrations, Paulina takes Leontes to see a statue, which has been made in memory of Hermione. With Antony Sher as Leontes, Alexandra Gilbreath as Hermione, and the Royal Shakespeare Company, performed at the Barbican Theatre, London. "Greg Doran’s TRIUMPHANT production of the Winter’s Tale" -Sunday Telegraph "A MASTERFUL version of one of the very greatest plays…not to be missed. Sher’s Leontes…a performance of overwhelming psychotic intensity…THRILLING." -Daily Mail "Powerfully affecting theatre…that sets the stage ablaze."-The Daily Telegraph "One of Sher’s most intense, most fully achieved performances…its greatest subtly lies in portraying the side of Leontes that Leontes doesn’t know.""MAGNIFICENT…Doran and Jones’ BRILLIANT imagination."-The Sunday Times "Alexandra Gilbreath’s STUNNING Hermione…the supreme insight of both actress and director is that Hermione feels sorrow rather than rancor for her diseased husband." -The Guardian

Wonderful Stage Production
This filmed stage recording is indeed magical. I believe a former critic's particular critique in this regard should be regarded in the light of two distinguishing characteristics of Shakespeare on film: whether the production is a film interpretation or a filmed stage production. This DVD is the latter: over-the-top FX, panoramic view and the like don't necessarily apply. Here one has the magic of being in the audience at a grand performance of the Royal Shakespeare Company, with the added pleasure of being granted close-ups! The acting is all-around sublime, especially Ian Hugh's Autolycus; I've yet to see a rogue interpreted better.

For a contrast of what can be accomplished with Shakespeare as film interpretation versus filmed stage production, compare Orson Welles' Othello with Richard Burton's Hamlet (both available through Amazon); both, I believe, are the ideal of each venue.

A tremendous, challenging production.
I'm afraid I couldn't disagree more with the previous reviewer. To say that the production is 'unappealing and unmagical' is to wholly miss the point. The Royal Shakespeare Company's production of The Winter's Tale is challenging and innovative precisely because it goes against the grain of the BBC's canonical production of the play. The darkness of this version does more to underscore the central enigma of the play: the motives behind Leontes' jealous rage. And in experimenting with the setting and costumes, this production further foregrounds Shakespeare's own heavy use of anachronisms in the play. I found this production refreshing and thought-provoking.

unappealing and unmagical
Sadly, this is not the kind of performance that is required for this late romance of Shakespeare. It is prosaic, with unattractive sets and in a wholly inappropriate vaguely 19th century setting and costuming. The acting is also a bit over-emphatic. Thus, the fantasy and suspension of belief required of oracles and lost princesses and restored queens clashes constantly with the more realistic setting. I hope someday someone can capture a beautiful stage production of this play as well as Cymbeline, Pericles, Tempest and Measure. To see a well done late Shakespeare quasi-comedy see Twelfth Night directed by Trevor Nunn with Bonham Carter, Stubbs etc.