A scholarly king and his three companions swear off the society of women for three years, only to have a diplomatic visit from a French princess and her three ladies-in-waiting thwart their intentions.
Director: Elijah Moshinsky
Writer: William Shakespeare (play)
Stars: Jonathan Kent, Christopher Blake, Geoffrey Burridge, Mike Gwilym, David Warner, Paddy Navin, Maureen Lipman, Jenny Agutter.
Watched twice, between 2 viewings of the '00 film.
Note: this is one of the 9 of the BBC collection that Wikipedia notes many changes from the Oxford edition. Per the Wikipedia chronology article this is the 9th of WS's 37 plays.
We have here 5 couples: king of Navarre/princess of France, 3 of his study partners with 3 of her ladies, and a 5th Spaniard study buddy with a servant. The men have taken vows of deprivation (no women on the premises nor in their lives, fast 1 day a week and eat only once a day, sleep only 3 hours/day) to maximize their studying.
But we see little of this study, because the king must still execute his royal duties, which immediately requires he receive the princess of France, which he does 1 mile from his home, with his study partners. They each are attracted to a different woman, and 1 later sends her a missive. But it is confused by the messenger with the note the Spaniard wrote to the servant, and the French delegation reads only the missive to the servant. The servant reads the message to the princess, and takes it to the king (how is she allowed in his home?)
We get a scene where the men (in disguise as Muscovites) visit the women (also with identity concealed, and each wearing the token sent by another's suitor), so they out-trick the men. (This scene is omitted from the '00 film, but included as a dvd extra.)
By the end of the play, all the characters are gathered in the king's library for entertainment, so the Vows are defunct.
I did not warm to this production because it is a firehose of words, much of which seem only written for the display of wit (mostly of the author, supposedly for the character).
Rated 7.1 (84)
BBC & more, dir. Moshinsky; 6
An update of the classic Shakespeare story, director Kenneth Branagh shot this movie like a classic 30s musical. The film tells the story of four best friends who swear off love.
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Writers: William Shakespeare (play), Kenneth Branagh (screenplay)
Stars: Alessandro Nivola, Alicia Silverstone, Natascha McElhone, Kenneth Branagh, Stefania Rocca, Timothy Spall, Nathan Lane.
Stuart Hopps ... choreographer
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0182295/
disc arrived recently
10 songs in the Soundtracks, each a production number. All are classics, mostly from the Astaire/Rogers songbook; see below.
The time/place is the verge of WWII in Europe, with newsreel footage & narration not from Shakespeare.
The musical numbers provide a welcome respite from the firehose of Shakespeare's words. I'm very amused by these actors who sing also dancing. KB personally lets loose, giving full physical expression to his body movements, hands, head and spine, not just feet. One of the men gets more dance moves than the others, but still doesn't look very slick. (I have high standards for dance.)
NL is a terrific choice for the "clown" Costard, both comedically (including his Señor Wences impression) and for the singing/dancing he contributes.
I interpret the inclusion of these songs in a Shakespeare play as giving the songwriters parity with Shakespeare, especially given the high quality of these songs.
KB must have cut quite a bit of Shakespeare text to have this run 30min faster than the play, AND include 10 production numbers and 4 newsreels.
Songs performed (17 chapters, useless menu for song titles):
- ch1. I'd Rather Charleston by George Gershwin and Desmond Carter, Performed by Kenneth Branagh, Alessandro Nivola, Matthew Lillard and Adrian Lester
- ch2. I Won't Dance, Music by Jerome Kern with original lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and revised lyrics by Dorothy Fields, Otto A. Harbach and Jimmy McHugh, Performed by Kenneth Branagh, Alessandro Nivola, Matthew Lillard, Adrian Lester, Alicia Silverstone, Carmen Ejogo, Natascha McElhone and Emily Mortimer
- ch4. I Get A Kick Out Of You by Cole Porter, Performed by Timothy Spall
- ch5. No Strings (I'm Fancy Free) by Irving Berlin, Performed by Alicia Silverstone, Natascha McElhone, Emily Mortimer and Carmen Ejogo, including synchronized swimming
- ch6. The Way You Look Tonight by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields, Performed by Geraldine McEwan and Richard Briers
- ch7. I've Got A Crush On You, Music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin, Performed by Alessandro Nivola, Matthew Lillard and Adrian Lester
- ch8. Cheek To Cheek by Irving Berlin, Performed by Kenneth Branagh, Alessandro Nivola, Matthew Lillard and Adrian Lester
- ch10. Let's Face The Music And Dance by Irving Berlin, Performed by Kenneth Branagh, Alessandro Nivola, Matthew Lillard, Adrian Lester, Alicia Silverstone, Carmen Ejogo, Natascha McElhone and Emily Mortimer
- ch12. There's No Business Like Show Business by Irving Berlin, Performed by Nathan Lane, cast and chorus
- ch14. They Can't Take That Away From Me, Music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin, Performed by Kenneth Branagh, Alessandro Nivola, Matthew Lillard, Adrian Lester, Carmen Ejogo, Alicia Silverstone, Emily Mortimer and Natascha McElhone
Fred & Ginger roots (each is the first film use, except as noted; "first" as determined by IMDb listing):
- I Won't Dance, from Roberta ('35); first film use: The Three Sisters ('30)
- Cheek To Cheek, also from Top Hat ('35)
- No Strings (I'm Fancy Free), from Top Hat ('35)
- The Way You Look Tonight, from Swing Time ('36)
- Let's Face The Music And Dance, from Follow the Fleet ('36)
- They Can't Take That Away From Me, from Shall We Dance ('37)
Non Astaire/Rogers (first film musical use each):
- I Get A Kick Out Of You, Anything Goes ('36)
- There's No Business Like Show Business, from Annie Get Your Gun ('50)
- I've Got A Crush On You, An American in Paris ('51)
- I'd Rather Charleston, this film
Rated 6.1 (4,149)
Miramax & more, dir. Branagh; 7+
