Much Ado About Nothing (1993)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Kenneth Branagh

Writers:

William Shakespeare (play)
Kenneth Branagh (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 May 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | War

Plot:

Young lovers Hero and Claudio, soon to wed, conspire to get verbal sparring partners and confirmed singles Benedick and Beatrice to wed as well.

Plot Keywords:

Bachelor | Wedding | Male Nudity | Brother | Bumbler

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Richard Briers	...	Leonato
Kate Beckinsale	...	Hero
Imelda Staunton	...	Margaret
Jimmy Yuill	...	Friar Francis
Brian Blessed	...	Antonio
Andy Hockley	...	George Seacole
Chris Barnes	...	Francis Seacole
Conrad Nelson	...	Hugh Oatcake
Phyllida Law	...	Ursula
Emma Thompson	...	Beatrice
Alex Lowe	...	Messenger
Denzel Washington	...	Don Pedro
Keanu Reeves	...	Don John
Richard Clifford	...	Conrade
Gerard Horan	...	Borachio

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:L | Canada:PG (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-8 | France:U | Germany:6 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:PG | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Villa Vignamaggio, Greve in Chianti, Florence, Tuscany, Italy

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [Kenneth Branagh]Frequent Branagh composer Patrick Doyle is cast as Balthasar.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the final scene, one musician is shown playing a piano accordion, an instrument which was invented centuries later.

Quotes:

Don Pedro: Good Signior Leonato, you are come to meet your trouble: the fashion of the world is to avoid cost, and you encounter it.
Leonato: Never came trouble to my house in the likeness of your grace.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Filmography: Keanu Reeves" (2005)

Stunning and witty--Shakespeare at his best

Kenneth Branagh has done so much for Shakespeare...I've almost become a complete zealot of his work. This screen adaptation of one of Shakespeare's lesser-known comedies is absolutely divine. The lovers Claudio and Hero are completely and wonderfully upstaged by Benedick and Beatrice, the most perfectly mismatched pair in the history of love, exactly as they were meant to be. The chemistry between Ken and Emma is so believable (after all, this was filmed before their marriage ended), the lines are so cunningly delivered, and the plot is so beautifully twisted and resolved that this movie is at the very top of my list of favorites. The setting is absolutely gorgeous--Italy in all its Summer glory. You can fairly taste the sunshine. Each part is completely delightful (Michael Keaton is perfect in one of the most bizarrely comedic roles I've ever seen, and as far as Keanu Reeves' performance, all I can say is that the part was written to be played in that manner. Don John was a bad guy of necessity--every comedy must have a foil). I found the entire production to be beautifully done and quite up to the professional standards that I've come to expect under Branagh's excellent direction. The wit sparkles and cracks between Beatrice and Benedick; a direct counter to the more traditional and borderline sappy form of Elizabethan love exhibited between Hero and Claudio. *This* is how the wise woo, and no, it is never peaceably! A smart, funny and visually stunning gem of a film to add to Branagh's already distinguished repertoire. I'm waiting for his MacBeth.