In Search of Shakespeare

The PBS documentary, “In Search of Shakespeare,” is probably the most comprehensive documentary talking about Shakespeare’s life and work which one could buy outside of the UK. As with many PBS documentaries, it is divided into several parts---four, to be exact. As one would expect, Michael Wood begins our journey in Shakespeare’s birthplace, Stratford-upon-Avon. We learn about Shakespeare’s early life and his education, and we learn that the Shakespeare family, along with many people they knew, had to be constantly on guard because they were Catholics, and they lived during the Reformation era. Next, Michael Wood explores Shakespeare’s career as an actor, as well as various historical events which happened during Shakespeare’s lifetime. Part III of this documentary focuses on Shakespeare’s poetry. There are even excerpts of people performing the most famous scenes in many of Shakespeare’s greatest plays---among them, my favorite Shakespeare play of all time, “Othello”---the famous tragedy of a Moor (a term used to refer to an Arab who speaks the dialect of Arabic known as Hassaniya) called Othello, and his Italian lover and how, Othello’s jealousy leads to tragedy for both of them. While it does not discuss every play or poem that Shakespeare wrote or co-wrote, it does, however, cover probably 99.9% of his most famous works. It even talks about a couple of his lost plays such as “Cardenio,” which appears to be based on one particular story on the famous book, “Don Quixote De La Mancha by his contemporary, Miguel De Cervantes (died 1616)---who appears to have been his exact contemporary. Michael Wood, the historian who takes viewers on this incredible journey to Shakespeare's England, is probably one of my favorite contemporary historians and documentary filmmakers. He is always extremely knowledgeable about the subjects about which he speaks. All of the documentaries I have seen in which he is featured are always incredibly well done. Whether he is talking about Shakespeare, Alexander the Great, the history of India, the pre-Columbian history of the Americas, the history of China, or what have you, viewers are guaranteed to learn a lot of things that are often never taught in conventional, "official" historical accounts. I found it interesting when Michael Wood went into some detail about the fact that apparently, English was not a standardized language back in Shakespeare’s day and that some of the words he used in his poems and plays were unique to that dialect of English back then. I was also surprised to learn that while Shakespeare himself was a commoner, his mother’s family belonged to the aristocracy. I thought it was cool that Shakespeare’s friend and fellow actor, James Burbage, managed to perform in all of his plays. I also thought it was interesting that of all of Shakespeare’s plays performed during his lifetime, “Henry VI, Part 3” was apparently the most famous. I especially loved the detail and depth into which Michael Wood goes in his exploration of Shakespeare’s life, his work, and the time in which Shakespeare lived. Whether you are studying or teaching Shakespeare in school, whether you are a playwright, a drama major in college, an actor/actress, whether you are a historian like me, or whether you simply enjoy learning new things, I would highly recommend this documentary.

While this 4 part series from Brit Michael Wood is meticulously researched and ideally presented, it must remain inconclusive. Try as he might, Wood can only conjecture on many of the points that he discovers while searching for the most celebrated and most elusive of English writers. The important thing here is not to take everything Wood says as gospel. He doesn't. Once you do that, there is much to like and even enjoy as Wood takes us on an Elizabethan Mystery Tour. What he uncovers from what remains from Shakespeare's time is more a portrait of Elizabeth's England than it is of Shakespeare himself.The series is divided into 4 one hour programs...1) A Time of Revolution, 2) The Lost Years, 3) The Duty of Poets, 4) For All Time. Number One sets the stage admirably with its focus on Catholic -vs- Protestant (Shakespeare's family and friends were Catholic) giving us loads of background on the politics of early Elizabethan England. Number Three focuses on what sets Shakespeare's poems and plays apart from his contemporaries. Number Four focuses on Shakespeare's final years and on his lasting legacy as a writer. The title FOR ALL TIME is taken from a quote by Shakespeare's great contemporary, Ben Jonson.I have saved Part Two for last for the title THE LOST YEARS says it all. It covers from 1583 when Shakespeare was 19 and newly married to Anne Hathaway who was 7 years older (their first child was on the way) to 1593 when Shakespeare emerges as the number one playwright after the murder of Christopher Marlowe. It is in this episode where, despite his diligent and painstaking efforts, Wood can only surmise what must have happened during that time. Where did Shakespeare live? What did he do? Who was his mistress? All enticing questions that, for now, cannot be answered. There's too much "Could this have been?" and "I think so."Nevertheless IN SEARCH OF SHAKESPEARE is a remarkable and entertaining program that gives us a solid picture of what it was like to live in Elizabethan England. I was surprised and fascinated by the archives which contained a wealth of everyday detail concerning people under the watch of Elizabeth's spies. It was like a 16th century version of the present day electronic surveillance exposed by Edward Snowden. The visual splendor of the English countryside is breathtaking (this documentary is part travelogue) and the number of places associated with Shakespeare that still exist is remarkable. Overall a 5 star effort but not the final word on the subject.P.S.Scenes from Shakespeare's plays are enacted throughout by the Royal Shakespeare Company and in TWELFTH NIGHT you can see a young Eddie Redmayne at the start of his career. Other notables include Anthony Sher looking quite like Mark Strong and old pro Julian Glover (INDIANA JONES & THE LAST CRUSADE) as King Lear.

I've always been a fan of Michael Wood work this is another fine DVD in search of Shakespeare takes us all the way through Shakespeare's life and shows us a lot of things we didn't know about the man and shows us a lot of interesting twists about his story as well as his family's. Michael Travels With The Royal Shakespearean company is they perform some of Shakespeare's greatest works in some cases in the original places where he and his company performed them centuries ago. But it also looks at the time in which he lived which was actually a dangerous time for poets and writers Elizabethan England was a police state censorship what's normal and Wood shows us how Shakespeare tried to survive in a time when ideas we're dangerous and could even get you killed especially if you publicly pronounce them. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this documentary I love the way Michael presents it you can see he's really enjoying exploring the world of Shakespeare it is a marvelous presenter it's a two disc set and there's an extra feature on disc 1 that includes extra scenes that did not make it into the original broadcast I highly recommend this

I read the book and wanted to see the series and I have not been disappointed. Michael Wood is an excellent historian and broadcaster who brings the whole era to life. And to see him walking in the footsteps of Shakespeare and going to the same places makes it live even more, even if the dreaded developers have been there first.. First class. History as it should be. Nearest you can get to having a time machine. And it makes the plays all the more immediate and entertaining. I bought VHS because it is easier to start and stop and start again.

Michael Wood and his team have once again put together an excellent and engaging series. This tells the life from birth to death of arguably the greatest writer ever during one of the most turbulent times in English and European history. The two disc set reveals so much unknown information about Shakespeare, his work, his family and his loves. Accompanied by the Royal Shakespeare Company on parts of this journey of discovery I would recommend this DVD to anyone even remotely interested in William Shakespeare. Wonderfully filmed and of course Michael Wood's presentation is top of the tree as usual.

A single DVD containing a 4-part documentary on Shakespeare. I bought it after seeing the first part on DVD borrowed from the local library. The material is very thoroughly researched but presented as an entertaining, interesting story. It provides a lot of background on the times, giving insights that are rarely available outside an academic context. This is backed up by an interesting approach to the examination of existing documents and artifacts which make very clear to the viewer how strong / weak the evidence is and how much (even of widely accepted 'knowledge') is based on conjecture. It weaves in the stories and legends around the established facts, but makes the distinction clear leaves it up to the viewer to assess a lot of the evidence that is presented. In this the production actually gains credibility while retaining interest. The viewer has much to figure out and it never becomes a dry, academic presentation.An excellent production, which is worth keeping rather than just viewing.

Michael Wood is a favourite. Having seen this series many years ago. my wife and I thought to buy it for our grand-daughter, who loves Shakespeare. We decided we must watch part of the first one, to see how much we remembered, and ended up watching the entire series in one sitting. Now, both grand-daughter and daughter watched and loved it. Highly recommended.

Michael Wood, all hands-on excitment, follows the echoes of Shakespeare through England. Lots of gorgeous locations illustrate this highly speculative but still plausible attempt to fill in the numerous blanks in our knowledge of the big man. Its strengths are its firm foundation in modern England and then following the patterns back through time.