In the latest attempt to adapt Shakespeare for modern audiences, Australian director David Michôd (The Rover) directs Timothée Chalamet in The King, a sort-of rewriting of Shakespeare's Henry IV Part 1 & 2 and Henry V. The film is set in the original time period, but Shakespeare's language has been gutted, while his structure is preserved, in favour of modern English with the occasional "ye olde" touch. The script, written by Joel Edgerton (who stars as Falstaff) and Michôd, turns Falstaff into one of the stars of Henry V (instead of showing his death...) who goes to Agincourt with Hal. In this episode, we try to make sense of why Netflix's The King was made, who it's for, how it hews closely to some aspects of Shakespeare and veers wildly away from it, and why it made us so angry. For show notes, visit: https://seventh-row.com/2019/12/09/ep-22-the-king/

Host: Alex Heeney (@bwestcineaste) Guests: Mary Angela Rowe (@lapsedvictorian), Laura Anne Harris (@lauraanneharri1), and Caitlin Merriman (@CaitlinSnark) Editor: Edward von Aderkas Follow the 21st Folio on Twitter @21stFolio, or visit our website at 21stfolio.com

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.