Twelfth Night is one of Shakespeare's most accessible and enjoyable comedies for modern audiences. The most popular film production of the play is the 1996 Trevor Nunn version, which is awash is summery color and broad humor.This modest 1988 film could not be more different from the Nunn film. Instead of emphasizing the comedy, the underlying melancholy stemming from the play's theme about the pain which comes from love dominates the entire story. Instead of vivid colors, we get a wintry setting and costumes dominated by blues, grays, and blacks. It gives the movie an almost desolate feel with little slapstick at all.It's an interesting approach to the material and the characters pull it off well. Even though this is merely a filmed stage production, it is engaging enough and the unique focus of the production makes it worth a single view.

This is my favorite filmed version of Twelfth Night -On DVD at last! Branagh's production captures both the humor and the melancholy of the play, with excellent performances all around and a stand-out performance by the late, great, Richard Briers as Malvolio. Patrick Doyle (along with an assist from Paul McCartney) provides an atmospheric score to accompany the shifting moods, with several songs sung by Feste the Fool (Anton Lesser in one of his best performances). The Dickensian setting compliments the story well, while purists will rejoice that the text of the play is complete. The DVD also features an informative, behind-the-scenes interview with Kenneth Branagh talking about the stage production and the play itself. Buy a copy for yourself, and a few more as gifts for friends -This is a real treat!

"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.

I had to read Twelfth Night in college, so I rented this from the university library and watched it while reading along with the actual play on my lap. It is dead on accurate (no cuts) and the play is very funny indeed. This is my favorite Shakespeare play, and I still remember this production of it 10 years later. Kenneth Branagh made Shakespeare look fun, and I actually laughed out loud at some points. I didn't really like Shakespeare before reading/seeing this production. (Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar are the wrong plays to subject to high school kids.) Since watching Twelfth Night, I have a new appreciation for the Bard and his other works. Kenneth Branagh did an excellent job with this one.