Signs of War
- Synopsis
- Seventh episode in a fifteen-part televised series comprising Shakespeare’s history plays from Richard II to Richard III (the two tetralogies), effectively presenting a chronological history of British royalty from 1377 to 1485. This episode covers Henry V, Acts I-III.
- Series
- Age of Kings, An
- Language
- English
- Country
- Great Britain
- Medium
- Television
- Transmission details
- 21 Jul 1960 at 21:00 (Channel: BBC)
- Duration
- 60 mins
Credits
- Director
- Michael Hayes
- Producer
- Peter Dews
- Writer
- William Shakespeare
- Music
- Christopher Whelen
- Art Direction
- Stanley Morris
- Contributor
- Arthur Bliss; Eric Crozier; Lionel Salter
- Cast
Additional Details
- Production type
- Television and Radio Drama
- Historical period
- Medieval
- Plays
- Henry V
- Subjects
- Drama
- Keywords
- Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
- Related items
- Eternity of Kings, An
Notes
- Notes
- According to Rothwell/Melzer, this was one of the more expensive episodes with production expenses of £3.993 and a cast of 46. For more production details see entry 178, pp. 96 -97 in Shakespeare on Screen: An International Filmography and Videography (London: Mansell, 1990).
Commercially available on DVD as part of a 5-disc box set from BBC Warner (released March 2009). A written transcript of the series is being held at the Birmingham Central Library as part of their Shakespeare Collection. - General
- As Michael Brooke notes, this production was "the most conceptually ambitious Shakespeare project ever attempted for either film or television." Each episode involved expenses of £4.000 and a cast total of 600. The rehearsal period took thirty weeks.
`During HENRY V we had to cut 35 minutes actually on the air during a live transmission, because we’d forgotten that it was the Queen Mother’s sixtieth birthday and so we couldn’t have our usual over-run’. ‘Interview: Robert Hardy - The Classical Style’ The Times (26 April 1982 p.11) - History
- The first US transmission was on PBS’s WNEW-TV channel 21 February 1961.
- Awards
- Directors Guild of Great Britain Award for Excellence in Directing (Peter Dews)
1962 The George Foster Peabody Award - Textual information
- Script editor Michael Cozier cut the texts into 60 -75 minute episodes which, for the most part, comprised half a complete play.
- Reviews
- Michael Brooke, "Age of Kings, An (1960)", http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/527213/index.html
Online Availability
Production Company
- Name
BBC
- Notes
- The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Archive
- Name
BFI National Archive
- Web
- http://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collections/searching-access-collections/research-viewing-services External site opens in new window
- Phone
- 020 7255 1444
- Fax
- 020 7436 0165
- Address
- 21 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1LN
How to cite this record
Shakespeare, "Signs of War". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av36793 (Accessed 25 Nov 2024)