After watching this Twelfth Night, I vaguely remembered having seen it when it originally aired back when I was a teenager. I know it made an impression: I've had a tune in my head close to the one Michael Steele uses for Feste's closing song ever since (I recently sang it with that tune to a student, in fact, saying I had no idea where I'd gotten the melody from). My husband and I enjoyed the film VERY much. I think almost everyone involved acted wonderfully--and, of the films of TN I've seen, most fully in the spirit of the play. Most of the characters in Shakespeare's Illyria--ironically, minus the fool--are primarily GOOFY. The name of the town--a kind of portmanteau word crossing illusory with delirium--tells us what these characters are like--and how could that not be so with its kooky plot of crossed loves and crossed garters. Play it too seriously and the thing sags under its own weight. Viola and Sebastian are counterpoints to this when they first arrive in this mad world, but first she and then he enter into the spirit. Richardson (Sir Toby Belch), Moffat (Sir Anthony Aguecheek), and Alec Guinness (Malvolio) played the goofiness like veterans--trying to look anything but goofy and totally nutty as a result. Orsino and Olivia were not as polished, but not at odds with the play. Joan Plowright was tough to look at--and listen to--as Sebastian--but Viola and Sebastian were written to have been played by men (the former in drag), so it's no wonder the ladies can't quite pull it off. The greatest surprise was Tommy Steele--who was properly sly and clever through most of the play, and perfectly wistful in that final, haunting song (I grant that his transition to that wistfulness was a bit abrupt, but so is Shakespeare's). All in all I thought it a thorough romp, well worth the time it takes to watch and watch again.

Sometimes you'll see an actor who makes such a huge impression that he overwhelms the dimensions of the play. That's what happens here, only there's two of them. Sir Ralph Richardson and Sir Alec Guinness are each so powerful that they burst the confines of the performance like an exploding hot dog casing, and their combined presences unbalance the whole proportion of Shakespeare's play.Richardson's Sir Toby Belch is a magnificent drunk act, never straining to be funny, but always effortlessly conveying the character's humor. Guinness's Malvolio is also gigantic, a self-deceiving fool who is strong enough to be a physical threat to the other characters who make fun of him. His capering in yellow stockings goes beyond silly past eccentric all the way to menacing. Guinness's delivery of Malvolio's longest speech is a lesson in how to perform Shakespeare.However the play is about Viola and her travails and the unsuccessful courtship of Olivia by the Duke, and these mere mortals don't have a chance. Joan Plowright was not an experienced Shakespearian, and appears to have been spoonfed her performance by her husband, whom you may have heard of. Time and again, she rolls her eyes or finishes a couplet in a way to make you see the ghost of Lord Olivier hovering over her. It's not a bad performance, but she's too busy coping to find the humanity in the part, and overall is not terribly effective.The rest of the cast is simply obliterated. Most are fine but they don't have a chance. The glaring exception is Tommy Steele. Unknown in the U.S., he was Britain's first manufactured rock star, famous at home mostly for doing cover versions of American hits for the U.K. market. As Feste, he's merely obnoxious, seeming to think the play's about him, and that he's doing Shakespeare a favor rather than the other way round. Thanks but no thanks.There is an overrated "potluck Shakespeare" film from 1996 with a whole bunch of stars, but Trevor Nunn's direction is lethargic and diffused and sabotages almost the entire cast. The movie gets wonderful reviews from people who don't know any better, and should be avoided.For a well-balanced, almost ideal video performance of this play, the 1980 BBC version features Felicity Kendal, Sinead Cusack, Alec McCowen and an ensemble cast that just about vibrates together. It's a family, and you can actually imagine them all living in the same village together. That would remain my first choice for "Twelfth Night." But if you want to see evidence that giants once walked the earth, this Richardson/Guinness video would be a good place to start.

I could not disagree more with the one and only comment so far to appear here. A wonderful version of the play, and Lady Joan Plowright is absolutely outstanding. I love the beginning, when she is shipwrecked--she has this amazing feminine way of expressing both hope and fear--a utopian moment. I am frantically looking through my VHS collection because I know I taped this sucker and can't find it now, and there is neither a VHS nor DVD version now available. And this cad's comments don't help getting this show DVDized--GRRRRRRRRR! Pearls before swine! And why then did this show garner 7+ votes! And it was made during the golden era, of 1969! And Tommy Steele is great, singing, accompanying himself on the lute--how many pop stars from the 1960s could do that? And so is everybody else. I really liked this film (how many more lines do I need?--LOL!) Make this available on DVD, NOW!

Stellar cast is excellent in the bard's whimsical confection...don't expect to see it better done anytime soon. As one would expect, the principle actors are wonderful. However,I must note the equally enchanting presences of two of the supporting players: Gary Raymond as the handsome, somewhat loftily arrogant prince, and Tommy Steele as a his minstrel who performs a lovely medieval ballad accompanying himself on a lute. They both added a great deal of character and romance to this delightful work. This is a prime example of what television is capable of presenting if only there were more producers interested in elevating the tone. I haven't seen anything this enjoyable or star studded since Hallmark Hall of Fame's presentation of another Shakespeare favorite "The Tempest", which boasted Richard Burton, Lee Remick, and Tom Poston in its cast.