Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22987 in DVD
• Released on: 1998-01-20
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 111 minutes

Amazon.com
Kenneth Branagh's 1993 production of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing is a vigorous and imaginative work, cheerful and accessible for everyone. Largely the story of Benedick (Branagh) and Beatrice (Emma Thompson)--adversaries who come to believe each is trying to woo the other--the film veers from arched wit to ironic romps, and the two leads don't mind looking a little silly at times. But the plot is also layered with darker matters that concern the ease with which men and women fall into mutual distrust. Branagh has rounded up a mixed cast of stage vets and Hollywood stars, among the latter Denzel Washington and Michael Keaton, the latter playing a rather seedy, Beetlejuice-like version of Dogberry, king of malapropisms. The DVD release has optional full-screen and widescreen presentations, Dolby sound, optional Spanish and French soundtracks or subtitles.--Tom Keogh

From The New Yorker
On the sunny side of the Bard. Kenneth Branagh leads us through the tiffs and deceptions of Shakespeare's comedy, all shot in and around a Tuscan villa. As the opening credits roll, a team of hunks rides back from the wars, and a bevy of maidens heads for the showers in anticipation; both are seen in slow motion, which suggests that Branagh will not be paying much heed to the virtues of restraint. This is confirmed by most of the performances-Branagh and Emma Thompson as Benedick and Beatrice, splashing out with grand comic gestures, and a mangy Dogberry from an unintelligible Michael Keaton. The movie revels in masked balls, creamy costumes, and caramel tans, but all this jollity feels forced-it's more of a guided tour than a relaxed show of wit, and the camera stares into people's faces, waiting for a reaction, when it should be hanging back. What potency there is comes from the characters who refuse to be gripped by good cheer-Don John, played by Keanu Reeves as a pinup with malice, and Don Pedro, played by Denzel Washington, whose cool gravity shames the rest of the movie. You sense that Branagh had more fun making the film than we could ever have watching it. Lucky him. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Great!
Wonderful movie! Now to find the Flying Karamazov Brothers' rendition of the Merchant of Venice.

Much Ado about...Nothing
It's as the title implies..nothing this film did nothing for me. None of the actors really seemed to sparkle or stand out (maybe that guy from House but barely). This movie also features Keanu Reeves in one of his worst acting roles since Bram Stoker's Dracula. It seems to me I get Shakespeare's dramas better than I get his comedies.The lines are supposedly witty and funny, funny to who an audience from ol' Willie's century? Maybe, or maybe the performance was too dumbed down to make it either but I digress.
There are some scenes I find totally pointless and dumb. The opening shot of the menfolk returning homes from a battle or something riding thier horses over the hill to some extremely corny triumph music "RIDING HORESES YAH! WOO look how cool we look riding slow-mo on our horses while making constipated faces. And another shot of the men and women getting ready to go greet each other by getting cleaned up, they show [...] shots of both sexes (though I think they linger disturbingly longer on the women) just for the sake of having [...] shots. And be warned the lighting for the mens shot has you seeing a little more than you want to.
Tell me when there's a good Shakespeare adaptation I can rave about Ciao!

A pretty good attempt at one of Shakespeare's B-list plays
Nobody could say the storyline in Much Ado About Nothing is particularly clever. In fact, despite some very witty lyricism you would have to say this is one of Shakespeare's weakest plays. Having said that, this interpretation by Kenneth Branagh makes the most of the material. The comic characters are completely over-the-top (including Michael Keaton of Batman fame, and Ben Elton, creator of the Young Ones) and the more serious ones are given a slightly modern interpretation. The main plot which deals with the importance of virginity in a new bride, has a gently mocking modern treatment. The whole play is, as its name suggests, a storm in a teacup and Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thomson make the most of the sarcastic interplay available to them. Even the charming Denzel Washington manages not to stumble over his lines.