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Shakespeare
Online
The Hollywood
Bard
Much Ado
About Nothing
The Internet
Movie Database lists a total of nine versions of this play:
three theatrical releases (which, beyond the 1993 Branagh version,
have very little information listed), and a half-dozen made-for-TV
versions.
 The only version of I've seen is the
1993 Branagh version,
and it's the only version available from Amazon.com. I really
like this movie, though (I liked it even before I read the play),
and if there could only be one version available, I'm glad it's
this one. It does suffer from some of the same "stunt casting"
(as Leonard Maltin calls it) as Branagh's Hamlet: Keanu Reaves
basically grunts and walks around with an open shirt (or no shirt),
and Michael Keaton's Dogberry is just a tad bit
over-the-top (think Beetlejuice meets Shakespeare). The VHS version
is pretty reasonably priced, at $14, (there's also a DVD
version at $20) but this movie still occasionally shows up
on Mobil Masterpiece Theater, so you might be able to tape it
yourself.
Some of the other interesting
versions listed by IMDB include a 1974
TV version with Sam Waterston as Benedick and Barnard Hughes
as Dogberry, a 1978
British TV production with Michael York as Benedick, and,
of course, the 1984
BBC-TV production. If you've seen any of these versions,
or if you know where they're available, please e-mail me. |
