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In Reply to: What are your favourit WS films? posted by patrickU on June 3, 2005 at 08:32:07:
patrick,Movie versions of Shakespeare I like:
"Henry V"- 1945 Olivier- the shift between stage to location. Olivier's depth is wonderful. The scene where Henry wanders among the troops in the night before the battle is esp. memorable.
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" -1936 version with Merle Oberon and Mickey Rooney as Puck! Magic in black and white. I even love the opening credits of this movie: "Play by William Shakespeare/ Additional dialog by Sam Taylor". Now that's a credit!
"Othello": I do like the Orson Welles version- the way he presents the gradual deterioration into chaos of Othello through jealousy. Amazing photography of the low budget sets is wonderful.
"Romeo and Juliet": I do like the 1967 or so version by Zefferelli- amazingly delicate
"The Taming of the Shrew": There is nothing at all wrong with the Tayor/Burton/York version. This is really funny, physical, and you can understand every word. It's so difficult to get the meter running proerly and this is one of the most natural sounding versions of Shakespeare and of course Taylor and Burton are believable as a embattled but passionate couple.
"Richard III": I really, really liked the recent version with Ian McKellan as a proto-fascist usurper in the late 1930s. Every detail is just wondeerful. when McKellan's Jeep gets hung up, he calls in a ironic agony "My Kingdom for a horse" and it's chilling! Like so many English mvies, the casting for every part no matter how slight is fantastic. Even Downey did well as Rivers.
"The Tempest": This was one of the last three plays and is a really difficult one because of the complexity of the symbolism, alchemical content, and the proto-phycology. I think Geenaway's version, "Prospero's Books" is almost genius in presenting the magic island conjured by Prospero. The interruptions to show the magic books might have been better integrated, but the whole atmosphere of magic and the constant reminders of the play's symbolic elements: air, earth, fire and especially water is brilliant ans subtle. Gielgud is perfect as the intellectual going through an alchemical mid-life crisis. The nudity too was so naturally done as to make the body almost abstract and neutral. Fantastic.
Almost Shakespeare:
"Ran": The Kurosawa version of King Lear- marvelous n wevery way
"Throne of Blood": The Kurosawa version of "Macbeth" Beautiful, and the sinister Lady Macbeth was never more insidious.
Rubbish Shakespeare:
I just hate the Branaugh versions. Branaugh has no absolutely no feel for the meter or language and is wooden and confused throughout with two styles- quiet declamation and "angry" declamation. Disasters. I think his "Much Ado about nothing" is the worst Shakespeare ever filmed. His "Hamlet" is so dull, Branaugh is so stiff and remote and confused as to be unwatchable. I think of Branaugh as the English Kevin Costner.
Mel Gibson's vanity project of Hamlet. If Gibson had been the Prince of Denmark, it's was a good thing his Uncle took over the country. instead of deep existential angst and paralyzing ambivalence, Gibson shows us a confused idiot that spends his life reading lines badly from a book.
Cheers,
Follow Ups:
Hello Bambi B,First let me thank you for your long and detailed answer!
Let me give a few thoughts.Merle Oberon was a beautiful woman from India. But I am not very fond of her acting, in fact I am quite certain she could...not.
But her beauty shine...Richard III, well this film disturb me a little, it was fascinating in a way transposed in this post modern setting, but it was very loud ( I know WS IS ) and some parts well a little beyond my taste, for the rest I see it the way you do.
Branagh´s film "Much Ado about Nothing " is not that bad, no I do find it quite enjoyable, in fact.
As his portrait of " Shackelton" was also a good job.As for Gibson, I through with him. He is just too lousy.
Salut d´Allemagne!
Oy Patrick!Shakespeare on film seems to always bring out extreme opinions and I think it's more difficult for those for those of us with English as a second language as the meter and archaic vocabulary is another level. Even a native English speaker speaking Shakespeare without knowing what they're doing, it turns to incompregensible mud.
I know a few words of French, Russian, and German- but only enough to realize how much I'm missing in some of my favourite movies.
Branaugh: I really can't tolerate his Shakespeare, but I agree "Shackleton" was excellent and the best work by far I've seen with him.
Gibson: He should stay with Road Warrior stuff and leave the classics to professional actors.
Maintenant, nous avons pour attendre seulement pendant quelque temps et nous aurons la "Hamlet" de Arnie Schwarzenegger: "Oh, dat dis twoo twoo solwid fwesh vould bee melting."
Salut d'Etat Unis!
Bonne soirée Bam!In fact if I read WS, I mean the old English version of course, I see the very " facteur commun " between this language and the French as it was at this time too.
Many similitudes and common way.But still the " music " is some times hard to catch, I must conceid for a non-native.
Branagh: I would say that he could not destroy the spirit ( for me ) of WS in his " Much Ado..." I felt the joy shining through, and the perfect setting in Italy like a ray of sunshine.
On " Shackelton " there is nothing to argue, it is just excellent.
For God´s sake! Don´t defy the almighty, Arnie as Iago, that would be " La fin du monde "
Bonne journée,
PatrickPS: Maybe the only way to really see WS in on the " planches du theatre " and nowhere else, came just to my mind.
Just buying a ticket for the "old Vic " and turn the time back to anno 1920 / 1968...
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