Aedonerre I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Allissa .Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

tonstant viewer "Twelfth Night" continues to reveal delights with every re-acquaintance. It is warm, sympathetic, funny, wise, theatrically canny and occasionally dangerous.This particular version of the play is chamber Shakespeare, based on a fairly intimate theatrical production. It is not particularly outstanding in any way, but it works. The old Shakespeare magic culminating in the final scene builds and releases as it should, and that is the ultimate test.The cast is good, just good, across the board. There is one standout performance, and that is Richard Briers as Malvolio, and he is considerably better than good.I found Anton Lesser's Feste a little strained and complicated, plumbing the part for depths not to be found. This is not Hamlet, nor was meant to be.Some production decisions can be questioned, with anachronistic Christmas elements injected, along with a wholly awkward Christmas carol. The whole winter motif and monochromatic production can be challenged as well, but it all works nonetheless. Unlike some of Mr. Branagh's inspirations, no Bards were harmed in the making of this DVD, and that's a relief.Many will tell you that Trevor Nunn's feature film of "Twelfth Night" with a potluck cast of stars is the best choice, but I find it a gross miscalculation in tone, scale and pace, and a complete misfire.There is an 1969 ITV production floating around with truly towering performances by Sir Alec Guinness and Sir Ralph Richardson, but they unbalance the rest of the cast and threaten to capsize the play.The best overall version with an ensemble cast that is beautifully balanced in every way is the 1980 BBC version from their complete traversal of the canon, with Felicity Kendal, Sinead Cusack and Alec McCowen. That is a delight from beginning to end.

Bill Goode I was disappointed with this production. I do prefer traditional settings with Shakespeare; but aside from that, the performances were just not strong enough. Malvolio's cross-gartering & yellow stockings simply do not lend themselves to 19th century dress as depicted in this version. Shakespeare wrote the play around 1600 and at that time yellow stockings could be much more easily displayed. But in the rest of this play, as well as the later half of the 19th century when this versions is set, men including Malvolio were wearing full-length pants. It makes the cross-gartering & yellow stockings much more of a contrivance than it would in a traditional Shakespearean setting.Part of what made this film disappointing was the weather that was displayed. It was dreary most of the time, if not snowing. This is a comedy and the setting should be light & cheery in comedies. I see that the setting was at Christmas, which is fine I guess, but the overall effect of the weather is to make the play seem more dreary than it should be.The part of Olivia was done fairly well, but there were no really standout performances here. Viola simply gave an average performance. Aguecheek here should be much more effeminate. Sir Toby Belch should appear more drunk & slovenly most of the time. He appeared to me a little too dignified. Malvolio, being the object of much of the clownery, should be more indignant than he appears here. On his release, he stands motionless in silence for some minutes. Fabian seems almost sorry for him, instead of snickering as he might be.All in all I found the performances to be fairly average. I have seen this play on stage several times and it was done significantly better every time than it was here. The acting was much more intense in the performances I have seen on stage than the acting in this version.

dev92 This has got to be the worst film that I have ever seen. It is so rubbish that I was prepared to kill myself. Luckily I didn't do that. Otherwise I wouldn't be here to write this. Some people may like it but the writers and crew have mucked up so much. They mixed up Shakespeare and Modern times. If they were clever they would have chosen one or the other. They also left electric lights on the Christmas tree. I'm ashamed. Ashamed. I recommend you do not watch it. I was forced to but don't watch it, unless being forced to. Though i did like Feste. He was acted very well. Unfortunately, it was the only thing good about this film.

EAK537 I've been a Shakespeare fan since I can remember, and this is one of the Bard's all time best. Anton Lesser is stunning as Feste (and he sings throughout, a wonderful tenor!) Well directed by Ken Branagh, though when I first put the tape in, I was expecting him to be onscreen, too. (Pout, pout...) Incredible performances by everyone involved, especially liked Caroline Langrishe (Olivia); perfectly cast, as well as Frances Barber (Viola). Great onscreen chemistry. So far I haven't found it for sale, only available to rent through the local library.