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The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1983)
Ladies and Gentlemen
Despite how some may feel about the TGOV as a play, this adaption is for better or worse the perfect adaption. For comparison, I found a version on Youtube where every line was treated as a joke, where in this version one can hear, see, and feel the heartbreak of Julia. There are also a couple versions to be found that use terrible modern costumes from the early 20th century.
Timon of Athens (1981)
Timon and Pumbaa
A bit of a fever dream at times. For example, there is a dinner scene that shows people eating without dialogue as music plays in the background which goes on for about 3 minutes. Jonathan Pryce is awesome, of course, but there are some strange choices throughout made by Jon Miller. Another example is in a scene that read as serious in the play, Timon playfully splashes water at his guests as that joyfully exit while laughing like they had the time of their lives.
The First Part of Henry the Sixth (1983)
Shakespeare meets the Office
(Henry to Fastolf): "Henceforth we banish thee on pain of death." Fastolf then turns and looks directly into the camera with a comical look as he makes his exit. Such fourth-wall breaks occur throughout the play and undercut the serious nature of the tone. Such a joke would do well in Love's Labour's Lost, but not here. And I'm not sure how old Henry VI is supposed to be, but I don't think he's supposed to be 37/38 like Peter Benson was at the time.
Titus Andronicus (1985)
Lucius Andronicus
There is so much good to say that has already been said, so I will focus on the one negative -- the obsession with Paul Davies Prowles, whom I'm convinced was a producer's son. According to Wikipedia: (Jane Howell wanted to focus on him as if to ask the question "What are we doing to the children?), which does not come across at all. Paul Davies Prowles -- who appears to be between the ages of 14 and 19 and delivers his lines with the look of a deer in the headlights -- shows up wearing modern glasses in a play that is set sometime before 1000 AD. This is a character Titus praises for having young eyesight.
A reminder this play is titled Titus Andronicus. It would be like focusing on Mercutio in Romeo & Juliet.