Love's Labour's Lost (2000).

The Scoop:
One of the joys of seeing Shakespeare on stage, even after 400 years' worth of productions, is the range of experimentation that is still possible with the material, even if the risks don't always pay off. On film, however, the risks have traditionally been kept to a minimum, with most productions being set either in a generic 19th century European countryside, or in Elizabethan dress.

So, on that level, it's a breath of fresh air to watch Kenneth Branagh's take on "Love's Labour's Lost," which he stages as a 1930s movie musical. For all of Branagh's Shakespearean bonafides, it's a bold move to have the Bard's words broken up by musical numbers set to the songs of George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter and others. However, this is one experiment that falls flat.

But first, for the uninitiated, here's the story in a nutshell. The King of Naverre (Alessandro Nivola) and his three buddies (Matthew Lillard, Adrian Lester and Branagh) agree to give up the company of women for three years to devote themselves to their studies. However, the French princess (Alicia Silverstone) shows up on a diplomatic mission with her attendants (Natasha McElhone, Carmen Ejogo and Emily Mortimer). As you might guess, various wackiness ensues before a bittersweet ending. The play is one of Shakespeare's early comedies that doesn't carry the weight or beauty of his later, more famous work.

The biggest problem with the film is that Branagh's concept requires such wildly different skill sets from his cast that none of them can do it all. So, despite the presence of a talented ensemble, nothing quite hangs together. The actors are either good at the poetry (Branagh, McElhone and the wonderful old pro Richard Briers) or the song and dance (Lester and Nathan Lane, who seems to be channeling all four Marx Brothers). And then there are the unfortunate few (namely, Silverstone and Lillard) who can handle neither. As a result, every scene seems strained as everyone on screen is trying too hard to reach out of their comfort zone to deliver something they may not have training in. And then there's the performance of Timothy Spall as Don Armado, who chews the scenery into tiny pieces.

But for all of that, it is still a lovely film to look at, thanks to the art direction of Mark Raggett, the costumes by Anna Buruma and Alex Thomson's excellent cinematography. There are even a few good directorial touches from Branagh. It's not quite enough to offset the problems with the acting, but it's still good to see a play from outside the usual cinematic Shakespearean canon on the big screen, even if most of the text has been cut.

Best Bit:
The best Shakespearean bit is Branagh's dynamite delivery of the "From women's eyes" soliloquy. The best musical bit is the Gene Kelly-ish sensuality and bravado of the "Let's Face the Music and Dance" number.

Side Note:
Shakespeare's ending to "Love's Labour's Lost" is notoriously inconclusive, which is something Branagh addresses with a montage showing what happened to the characters after the end of the story. However, many scholars now believe that this play is just the first part of the story, which was finished by Shakespeare in a play called "Love's Labour's Won" that is now lost to history.

Companion Viewing:
"Pennies From Heaven" (1981) and "Everybody Says I Love You" (1996).

Links:
IMDb.
The complete play.

Take a Look:
"I Won't Dance":


Branagh doing what he does best (by which I mean the soliloquizing, not the tap dancing):


Nathan Lane doing what he does best (by which I mean the Broadway-zing, not the soliloquizing):


"Let's Face the Music and Dance" (complete with Spanish subtitles):


Behind the scenes featurette:

William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999).

The Scoop:
Michael Hoffman's version of Shakespeare's classic romantic fantasy gives the material the lush, sexy treatment it deserves. Hoffman has transplanted the action to the late 19th century in the Italian countryside, and the beautiful landscape sets just the right tone. An gorgeous looking all-star cast (led by Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Calista Flockhart and Christian Bale) takes its crack at the Bard, and doesn't embarrass itself too badly, despite a few difficult performances.

(Difficult performances seem to be par for the course with filmed Shakespeare in the past couple decades, but Hoffman does a good job here of minimizing their impact.)

Still, the art direction is memorable and Hoffman shows more skin and sex than is typical, giving the material a much more modern feel, while still maintaining the spirit of the original text. Definitely a winner, and a film that should be accessible even to those who don't ordinarily "get" Shakespeare.

Best Bit:
"The course of true love never did run smooth."

Side Note:
As the Mechanicals are waiting to perform for the Duke, we see other groups rehearsing their own plays -- which include "Oedipus Rex" and "Othello."

Companion Viewing:
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1935).

Links:
IMDb.
The original text.
Greg Ferguson drops some essay-ic knowledge.

Take a Look:
The opening scenes:

Hamlet (1996).

The Scoop:
"Hamlet" is -- period, hands down -- the greatest piece of drama ever written. It's a stupendous achievement that was the keystone of Shakespeare's larger revolution in humanizing the dramatic arts. Unfortunately, its navigations of the psychological terrain are so vast that it has rarely been performed on stage (and never on film) in its entirety. All of Shakespeare's texts have been abridged and adapted over the years (and I'm a big advocate of uncut Shakespeare), but with "Hamlet" it has been as much a case of practical necessity as artistic interpretation. The play is just too long to expect an audience to get through in one sitting. Scholars say that even the very first performances by Shakespeare's company were edited down to a manageable size. However, even the best cuts have done a disservice to the work.

Kenneth Branagh has tried to remedy that history with this film, the only complete and unabridged film version of "Hamlet." The result, clocking in at more than four hours, is a treat. The cinematography is beautiful and extravagant, and the core group of actors (including Branagh, Julie Christie, Derek Jacobi and Kate Winslet) hit all the right notes. Most of the smaller parts feature familiar faces, and with the exception of Jack Lemmon's uncharacteristically wooden take on Marcellus, they do their duties well, too. Charleton Heston is a particularly delightful surprise, in a role (The Player King) that usually doesn't require much more than good diction. This adaptation is essential Shakespeare.

Best Line:
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

Side Note:
Nicholas Farrell, who plays Horatio here, was in Franco Zefferelli's "Hamlet" (1990) as Rosencrantz and in Branagh's "A Midwinter's Tale" (1995) as the actor playing Laertes in a stage production of "Hamlet."

Companion Viewing:
"A Midwinter's Tale" (1995).

Links:
IMDb.
Movie Links.
Read the play.

Take a Look:
The trailer:


Branagh asks the most famous question in literature in an odd aspect ratio:


I've always thought this was a better soliloquy than "To be or not to be":