Cheap Much Ado About Nothing (1993) (Ws Dub Sub) (DVD) (Kate Beckinsale, Keanu Reeves, Emma Thompson) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Much Ado About Nothing (1993) (Ws Dub Sub)

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
Here's the deal. The best way to appreciate Shakespeare is on a DVD with subtitles. But it has to be performed by some folks with the proper appreciation of the Bard. Mayhap that comes naturally to actors, or at least it tries to, since he was one of them. I dunno. <
> <
>I know this. You can show this DVD to Chinese students who'd rather be thinking about computer games or Hello Kitty or puberty, where English is a second (really a third or mayhap fourth) language, hundreds of years and thousands of miles away from Shakespeare's intended audience, and they'll laugh so hard tears come out of their eyes. If you're me, you can show it 20 or so times and the tears of laughter still come out of YOUR eyes. Name ONE other author who can do that. <
> <
>Parallel structure, which I've mentioned before. The young couple is in love at first sight, the older couple may be a bit too proud to hook up without some manipulation but in their defense they actually speak instead of doing the goo-goo-eyed shuffle. Shakespeare really sends up our attitudes in this one, and in fact drifts into tragic territory that pisses off many students. As he would have wanted. I love its cross-genre nature. It's how some of us write e-books. Rules are for fools. <
> <
>Love at first sight. Seriously. What up with dat? Actually being confident enough to communicate with the one you love. Why's that so freaking shocking? And why is a damn so-called COMEDY making me ask these questions? Because I'm talking about Shakespeare, that's why. And probably screwing up this review in the process. <
> <
>Early on, verbal humor aplenty. You won't get it all. You don't care. You get the gist, the mood, and by my troth you can watch it again and again. <
> <
>Each scene builds upon what preceded it. Possibly, much Shakespeare does that. But I've been reviewing scripts ere now. This is my first review of an actual performance, and it's gonna be different because of that. <
> <
>It's quite easy for me to summarize plot and character, since I've seen it about 20 times, but I don't wanna. Watch the dang thing and you'll be able to do that yourself. Or read it at Gutenberg, if you're feeling so inclined. Or even in the Cliff's Notes I've mentioned elsewhere if you're a geeberhead. Nobody cares. <
> <
>After all these viewings, what works for me is the language. Stuff I missed the first 19 viewings. Stuff that convinces me that, if we were to manage the impossibility of producing another Shakespeare, we'd pump him full of Ritalin and try to turn him into a burger flipper. And then he'd defy our plans and write any damn way. Ha! <
> <
>I think the bottom line is that I need some more Shakespearean DVDs. I've also greatly enjoyed THE MERCHANT OF VENICE but probably reviewed it badly, and I have some others that mayhap weren't quite so faithful to the Bard. We'll see, won't we? I'll keep writing these reviews. Yes I will. <
>

---

Much Ado About The Loves Of Our Past
Some people do make much ado about nothing, but maybe that's something. Maybe that's one thing more than nothing. <
> <
>Beatrice is the smartest girl in the room - any room. Her trouble is that she loves a defiant, bull-headed, and notorious man from her past. And she is betwixt with herself, not liking that she has feelings and concern for her gender rival - Benedick. Beatrice is good humored, disarmingly wickedly tongued, and always torn between her loves and her independence. Benedick is self-involved, conceited, & constantly fighting. "They never meet, but there is a skirmish of wit between them." <
> <
>Beatrice: I wonder that you will still be talking, Senor Benedick. Nobody marks you. <
>Benedick: What? My dear Lady Disdain. Are you yet living? <
>Beatrice: Is it possible Disdain should die while she hath such meat food to feed as her Senor Benedick. Courtesy herself should convert to Disdain if YOU come in her presence. <
>Benedick: . . . But it is certain that I am loved of all ladies, only you excepted. And I would that I could find in my heart that I had a hard heart, for truly I love none. <
>Beatrice: A dear happiness to women. They would else have been troubled with a pernicious suitor. <
> <
>I have my favorite movie lines from this DVD recorded on a 16 minute compilation on my iPod. I do this because I'm not smart enough to "get" Shakespeare the first time I hear it. I listen to them repeatedly, not only to try to understand the words, but also to understand the intelligence behind how they were so well acted by Branagh and Thompson. This Shakespearean play succeeds or fails in the casting of Beatrice, and in this version, Emma Thompson plays Beatrice divinely. <
> <
>At a turning point in the movie, Don Pedro, played capably by Denzel Washingion, visits with a pensive Beatrice. Beatrice is discussing with Don Pedro her past trials with Benedick: <
> <
>Don Pedro: You have put him down lady. You have put him down. <
>Beatrice: So I would not he should do me, my lord. Lest I should prove the mother of fools. <
>Don Pedro: Will you have me lady? <
>Beatrice: (Carefully) No my lord. Unless I might have another for working days. Your grace is too costly to wear everyday. But I beseech your grace, pardon me. I was born to speak all mirth and no matter. <
>Don Pedro: Your silence most offends me. And to merry best becomes you, for out of question you were born in a merry hour. <
>Beatrice: No! Sure my lord. My mother cried. But then there was a star danced. And under that was I born. <
> <
>Benedick later sililoquys that he will not marry, until he finds all positive attributes he seeks in only one woman. <
> <
>Smart women tend to be able to recognize gifted men and women who cross their path. Fortunately, most Beatrices encounter a few Benedicks & Beatrices in their travels, and vice versa. <
> <
>In a final scene, Benedick asks Beatrice, "Then you do not love me?" Beatrice replies, "No! Truly! But in friendly recompense." <
> <
>There are more good reasons than I can understand why Shakespeare's ideas withstand the tests of time. This film version is so very, very good. As with most Shakespearean comedies and tragedies, the plots hinge on several key misunderstandings. In his romantic tragedies, the misunderstandings (such as Romeo & Juliet) are not discovered until too late. In the comedies, the misunderstandings are discovered in time.

---

Excellence
I ran this movie when I was in High School back in 1993 and worked in our town's small movie theater! (The Mahaiwe Theater, Great Barrington, MA.) and loved it then. I saw it the other day on Sundance and realized I still thoroughly enjoy this movie! <
>