Hamlet

Kenneth Branagh, 1996, 4 hrs. (8.6*)
We finally have not only a modern widescreen Hamlet, but the complete four-hour play as well for the first time in cinema history. Branagh has done a terrific and ambitious job here making the play much fresher and more palatable (not exactly a fun romp like Much Ado About Nothing or Merry Wives of Windsor) than previous screen incarnations.

Add to his 70-mm widescreen perspective (a few glorious scenes use this well) about 20 famous actors in cameo parts, and we finally have an entertaining Hamlet indeed. Co-stars Kate Winslet as Ophelia, and Julie Christie as his mother, Derek Jacobi as the king. Look for Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Jack Lemmon, Charlton Heston, Gerard Depardieu, and others.

Quote: To thine own self be true
Quote2: Neither a borrower nor a lender be
Quote3: Doubt the the stars are fire; doubt that the moon's above; doubt that the truth's a liar; but never doubt my love (Hamlet to Ophelia)

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Much Ado About Nothing

Dir: Kenneth Branagh, 1993 (9.1*)

This is my favorite Shakespearean play transcribed to film, Kenneth Branagh did a terrific job on this one. Basically a romance, the story involves some soldiers who return home from a war, in a thrilling opening sequence where all the women on the estate are running for the baths, trying to beat the soldiers arriving on horseback; when they all come together, the romance begins. There are several courting couples, led by Branah and offscreen wife Emma Thompson, as two embittered and battling “never to be” lovers, who trade insults and barbs like sword thrusts (elements of Taming of the Shrew here). Another couple, played by Kate Beckinsale and Robert Sean Leonard, is engaged to be wed, while some schemers plot to break up that marriage with deceit and subterfuge, hence the play’s title. There’s a lot of good-natured comedy and romantic play here, with sparkling dialogue, played by a large ensemble cast led by Denzel Washington, an eclectic group (that includes Keanu Reeves and Micheal Keaton!) that somehow works well together. This is about as enjoyable as the bard gets, now if they'd only film The Merry Wives of Windsor, who stayed merry by swapping husbands.

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