DVD and BluRay: The Hollow Crown (12)

"Take honour from me and my life is done".

Honour and betrayal are beautifully scrutinised in these four BBC outstanding adaptations of Shakespeare's history plays: Richard II, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 and Henry V. The key is the casting, which is perfect across the b(o)ard: Ben Whishaw's fey Richard II, Simon Russell Beale's bloated, vain Falstaff, Patrick Stewart's crushed John of Gaunt and, best of all, Tom Hiddleston's sympathetic Henry V. Breathtaking television.