Young lovers Hero and Claudio, soon to wed, conspire to get verbal sparring partners and confirmed singles Benedick and Beatrice to wed as well.
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Writers: William Shakespeare (play), Kenneth Branagh (adaptation)
Stars: Kenneth Branagh (Benedick), Emma Thompson (Beatrice), Keanu Reeves (Don John), Kate Beckinsale (Hero), Denzel Washington (Don Pedro), Robert Sean Leonard (Claudio), Michael Keaton (Dogberry).
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107616/
borrowed disc
Notes: KB & ET married: 8'89-10'95; RSL was the star of Swing Kids ('93).
I like not the plot, despite its similarity to Othello, probably because it makes light of the evil-intended deceptions. I didn't like the priest compounding the deception to redeem Beatrice; Claudio may have been unstable enough to sacrifice himself ala R&J.
This version is far better than the BBC's, because the acting is livelier, the performance is shorter, and the "evidence" of Hero's betrayal was shown to us, which I did not see in the BBC version.
In the Wikipedia article which offers a chronology of the plays, this is attributed to 1598-9, and is 18th of the 37. Taming of the Shrew (1590-1) is 2nd (Beatrice reminds me of Kate), Romeo & Juliet (1595) is 11th, and Othello (1603-4) is 26th.
Rated 7.4 (41,368)
distr. Goldwyn, dir. Branagh; 7
Benedick and Beatrice fight their merry war of words. But when Beatrice's friend, Hero, is humiliatingly jilted by Benedick's best friend, Claudio, Benedick has to choose which side he's on.
Director: Stuart Burge
Writer: William Shakespeare (play)
Stars: Cherie Lunghi (Beatrice), Katharine Levy (Hero), Jon Finch (Don Pedro), Robert Lindsay (Benedick), Robert Reynolds (Claudio), Vernon Dobtcheff (Don John), Michael Elphick (Dogberry).
The women wear lovely gowns, but they and the performances are rather stiff. Of course, I watched the Branagh version first (and again after), and this suffers by comparison. It does not help that I only recognize the actress playing Beatrice, so learning who is who was more of a chore that I'm not sure I mastered. (I also fell asleep a lot, and backtracked each time.)
This version leads me to appreciate Branagh's writing all the more. One line I caught here and doubt is in the '93 version seemed to be anti Semitic. Plus all the physical action (and the gorgeous outdoor setting) of the '93 add immensely to the understanding as well as the enjoyment of the play. I did not find anything in this version that supplemented/enhanced anything over the shorter version.
Rated 8.0 (186)
BBC, dir. Burge; 6
