hmm. Branagh criticism

[burntcopper]

Much ado about nothing : dammit. I love this film. Really I do. The Benedick/Beatrice banter is a joy to behold, and Denzel... oh, Denzel. Not just *mrowr*, but ♥.

But argh, I'd forgotten how much I hate Claudio as a character. STABBY.

That and Keanu's acting. :winces:

Well, and the fact that Branagh can't handle any 'Fool' scenes. I've seen those done well. Michael Keaton and Ben Elton look like gurning idiots.

So I fast-forwarded through the bad stuff and rewinded the Benedick/Beatrice, then swooned over Denzel a bit more. It's the only thing you can do, really.

Comments

[juleskicks.livejournal.com]

Hee. Just rewatched last night myself. *high-fives* And oh, Denzel. I'm right there with you on the swooning, because, yay.

Claudio needs to be eaten by a bear. Which is of course not unknown to happen in Shakespeare.

Also, on the reread which prompted the rewatch, I found myself going 'and I haven't pictured Benedick/Pedro/Beatrice until now WHY, exactly?' because oh goodness. Benedick grabbing Pedro's hand with his free one during the dance at the end of the film didn't do anything to make this notion go away, either.

I suppose Hero can join them too, as her husband is going to be eaten by a bear.

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

Sadly, eaten by a bear is in A Winter's Tale, which is not one of his best. Dammit. But nice image. Only now I also have the image of House coming up, poking the bear witha cane and telling him he's not allowed to savage Wilson too much, his patients need him to look sympathetically at them.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_inbetween_/]

I know most of the surviving film musicals, but I wonder which lesser known (stage, perhaps) ones you'd recommend if I was getting into South Pacific and Sweet Charity. The latter, ie. Fosse or Porter, I am more familiar with than R/H (and I don't want to listen to the Sound of Music :)), and I couldn't get my hands on G/Sullivan either.

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

uh... um. honestly, I haven;t seen that many that aren't mainstream or porter. Sondheim's good. Wicked, Guys and Dolls, any Lloyd Webber. Like I said my non-mainstream knowledge is pitiful, unless you count Victor/Victoria.

[grondfic.livejournal.com]

I think that Bill Shakes ought to take the credit for Much Ado. It's really one of his wittiest; verbal clowning on a grand scale.

Personally Branagh's film isn't my favourite ever. I'd have to hand that to an RSC production starring Derek Jacobi and Sinead Cushack(sp?). The whole support cast were right there in the zone, using the language to create the laughs. As you say above, Branagh didn't pull that off with his clowning.

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

yeah. I've seen other productions of Much Ado where the audience nearly pissed themselves laughing at the fools' section. Branagh just can't direct the fools' scenes well in any of his that I've seen, unless you count Loves' Labour's Lost. Where injecting a bunch of musical numbers actually makes the play so much better. (yes, I have a contempt for LLL as a script. It's just... bleh. Unlike my dislike for Tempest, which is based on many viewings - I know it's technically good, I've seen great acting in it, I just hate the play.)

(btw - it's Cusack)