Richard II at midnight

Just finished re-watching the Hollow Crown’s version of Richard II. (The first time I saw it was when it had just recently come out, and I didn’t know the play nearly as well as I do now.)

 

I have to say, I’m not very impressed. It’s not bad, but I just recently saw the RSC version, and there is just no comparison. 

 

There are too many dramatic close ups with music swelling (dramatically) in the background and Richard or Henry moving (dramatically) in slow motion. There are a lot of cut lines, including many essential lines. I don’t even mean essential for plot reasons, who cares about plot. I mean that the way the text is cut up, the language feels choppy and uneven. 

 

And then there are the other changes, like eliminating Pomfret and substituting the Tower, which also breaks the damn meter. Seriously, what was that about? Was it a “we can’t afford to film in too many different locations” thing? And somewhere in there, “Lancaster” was substituted for the name of a castle or something, and it also broke the meter. ARG.

 

Also, the Christ and crucifixion imagery was so heavy-handed, good heavens. It feels like being hit with a heavy crucifix on the head.

 

… ok, but here’s the thing. Richard II works if, and only if, you start out being outraged at Richard and rooting for Henry, and end the other way around. And, yeah, that happens. 


 

(#now kiss)



Responding to shredsandpatches's response:



 They did cut the entirety of that plotline, didn’t they. Arg. What are Mowbray and Bolingbroke fighting about in the first place, then?  

 

(crosspost)

(Responding to this post about the Gregorian calendar) 

OK, but Russia only adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1918. Less than a hundred years ago! And, of course, many people disapproved, which is why Russians still celebrate the Old New Year on January 14 (which is, of course, January 1 Old Style). These days, of course, it’s more of an excuse to drink and party than any actual attachment to the Julian calendar.

 

The change also had the delightful result of placing the anniversary of the October Revolution on November 7 (and the anniversary of the February Revolution in March, but that anniversary wasn’t a national holiday). 

 

The Russian Orthodox church, I should add, still uses the Julian calendar, so Orthodox Christmas is on January 7. 

 

There is a delightful myth that states that the reason Napoleon won the battle of Austerlitz was because the Austrians and the Russians were using different calendars, and were so inept as to not realize it. Alas, this seems to be untrue. 

(crosspost)

I’m pruning my AO3 subscriptions. I just can’t keep up with all the fic that gets dumped in my inbox, and I’m not as fond of the MCU as I used to be. Time for virtual decluttering.

 

On a related note, I really wish AO3 had an option to subscribe, but only get an email when the story is complete. Or a way to automatically add subscriptions to the “Save for Later” list.