Edward II

The sad thing about this film is that there is so little of Marlowe's play; about 30% in my estimation and some of that is reordered. There is a great deal of padding, most of which adds nothing to the storyline. There is some good casting but the use of snippits of scene's from Marlowe's original make for disjointed plot. There is more to Edward II and his downfall than Gaveston but this is lost in this film.

The BBC's Shakespeare productions have been first class, loyal to the original text. It is a pity that Marlowe has not been shown the same respect.

Edward II. Born 25/04/1284 and died 21/09/1327. He reigned as King for almost twenty years. Yes, he was probably gay and lived a very unhappy forced married life.

In the film, which starts quite provocatively, it displays an over zealous want to promote his homosexual feelings. I do not believe in the biased story that was recorded but, I thought that the film was very well put together and extremely well acted. The feelings of emotions are displayed through facial grimaces and contortions that are worthy of any good actor.

The presentation is very much Shakespeare on a bad night and includes 20th century bits and pieces which all add to the films allure, so don't get me wrong. It's worth a view.

I remember seeing this film when it was first shown on TV - at the time, I hadn't any knowledge of the reign of Edward II, but have always fondly recalled the performance of 'Every time we say goodbye' which is magnificent. The usual Jarman blurring of period and style which is enjoyable for the most part, and only goes wrong in the scene where dislike of Edward is seen as an attack on his homosexuality - which is plain nonsense. He was neither the first nor the last King to prefer male company - the objections were to his insistence on treating people with no merit (and, admittedly, no 'family') as people of talent and distinction - their only talent (especially Despenser) being for accumulation of wealth and power for themselves at the expense of the country. We get the usual skilled portrayal of relationships, and the use of strong visuals helps overcome any difficulty there might be with the language in a play not always easy to follow in the original. The casting overall seems a little weak, though with a nicely worked performance by the young Edward III.

OK so it's not the complete original Marlowe, but it's pretty much intact. Great acting against evocative, minimalist sets. Watch it. Then watch it some more.