The Hollow Crown Trailer

The first episode of this series is 'Richard II' detailing the life of the King between 1398 and 1400; his greed, his severity in regards to his subjects and his eventual overthrow by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, who, after claiming the throne, had Richard imprisoned and later murdered. The second two episodes are based on Bolingbroke, now dubbing himself Henry IV, who's Kingship has brought with it a revolt with the Percy family. His son, the future Henry V, is determined to be King one day, but with a disapproving father who'd rather Henry Percy (aka Hotspur) become his heir, there is understandable bloodshed. The final episode tells the story of Henry V, who struggles with the complexity of war and his own moral standing as a ruler.

'The Hollow Crown' is the complete series of four screen adaptations of plays by Williams Shakespeare: 'Richard II', 'Henry IV, Part 1', 'Henry IV, Part 2' and 'Henry V'. It was produced by Sam Mendes ('Road to Perdition', 'Revolutionary Road') for BBC 2 and the episodes were directed by Rupert Goold, Richard Eyre ('Notes on a Scandal', 'The Other Man') and Rupert Goold respectively. The series is now available to own on DVD and digital download.