Year: 1996
Rating: 
(out of )
Rating: 8.8 (out of 10)
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Julie Christie, Richard Briers, Nicholas Farrell, Kate Winslet, Michael Maloney, Billy Crystal, Jack Lemmon, Charlton Heston, Gerard Depardieu, Robin Williams
Play by: William Shakespeare
Screenplay by: Kenneth Branagh
Duration: 238 / 121 minutes
I hope I can do the film justice by merely watching the 2-hour version. I did not have access to the uncut version. The rating that I have awarded is higher than the one that the abridged deserves. The two-hour film was of course rushed and naturally seemed incomplete. With my own imagination and knowledge of the story, and the standard of the existing two hours, I have mapped out the missing two hours and above is the rating that I have assigned.
The ever-circling cameras were a little excessive. However, the timing was meticulous so that when an important speech was about to be uttered the camera would be concentrated on the actor's non-verbal expressions. There were quite a number of sequences that lasted three or four minutes without a cut. That may seem short, but not when there are four characters constantly conversing almost simultaneously.
The cast is brilliant. Although I don't particularly like some of the actors, they played with tremendous vigour. Like any [great] Shakespeare play, many characters have their individual moments, and Branagh has transcribed, and the actors acted, these scenes with exquisite flair. Branagh, sometimes described as an over-actor, is excellent in his self-written title role, where overacting is required because of lunacy.
The sword fight is certainly not one of the best ever choreographed.
: Classic
: Highly recommended; Excellent
: Recommended
: Okay; Passable
: Time-Killer
: Ill-advised cure for boredom
: Keep an alarm clock beside you, also usually suitable to end a relationship
: Try to restrain yourself from inflicting pain to anything nearby, including yourself and the screen, on realisation of how much time and money you have wasted
Zero: This is a film?
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