Film Analyses - Kenneth Branagh's "Much Adoabout Nothing".

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Much Ado about Nothing

Introduction to Shakespeare's comedies

Prof. Dr. Norbert Greiner

WS 2001/2

Film Analyses

Kenneth Branagh's "Much Ado about Nothing"

HOW TO FILM THIS PLAY

Ilkhan Akyürek

Fibigerstr. 163/307

22419, HH

Tel. 0179-3206737

CONTENTS

PREFACE

INTRODUCTON

. Synopsis of Kenneth Branagh's "Much Ado about Nothing"

2. Adapting Shakespeare

3. Shakespeare into film

4. Setting the scene

KENNETH BRANAGH'S ADAPTATION

. Openings

2. Identifying the characters

3. Director's role in shaping character

I. Claudio

II. Hero and Claudio

III. Margaret

IV. Don John

V. The Watch

THE LOOK

. Using Settings

2. Dealing with the audience

3. The use of camera

4. The Sound

CONCLUSION with credits on Kenneth Branagh

Terminology

References

PREFACE

"Much Ado About Nothing" has to be one of my favorite films. Director/star Kenneth Branagh really accomplished what he set out to do, bringing the true joys of Shakespeare to a wider public. This particular play, and movie, has a universal appeal, interweaving romance, comedy and intrigue. The storyline is still relevant today, so much so that it is easy to forget that you are watching Shakespeare.

The characters, and most of the performances, are the keystone to the movie's success but there is so much more to it than that. There is a special atmosphere to this movie. Quite simply, "Much Ado about Nothing" is one of the most visually stunning films I have ever seen. Therefore, I would like to illustrate how to film a Shakespeare play by following Kenneth Branagh's point of view.

Synopsis of Kenneth Branagh's "Much Ado about Nothing"

The hot Italian sun beats down on a beautiful villa set in the idyllic Tuscan countryside. Leonato, Governor of Messina (RICHARD BRIERS) and the women of his household sprawl on the hillside relishing the summer heat.

Suddenly, Don Pedro, Prince of Arragon (DENZEL WASHINGTON) and his victorious army are seen approaching in the distance, returning from the wars. As the horses gallop towards the country estate, the women rush back to the house, and pandemonium reigns as they excitedly get themselves ready to meet the returning heroes. The men are warmly welcomed as they emerge through the archways of the villa, and seductive glances are exchanged. The wars are over. All can now devote themselves to a period of rest, revelry and matchmaking.

Don Pedro's close companions are the two lords Claudio (ROBERT SEAN LEONARD) and Benedick (KENNETH BRANAGH). Both men find themselves drawn into romance during their stay in Leonato's household. Benedick is a proud and confirmed bachelor, famously engaged in a constant -war of wits with Leonato's niece, the strong-willed

Beatrice (EMMA THOMPSON). However, their spirited parrying of words and vigorous skirmishes of wit hide a deeper attraction. Leonato's daughter, the lovely and innocent Hero (KATE BECKINSALE) is wooed by the young lord Claudio, only to experience despair when Claudio is deceived into thinking she has betrayed him on the very eve of their wedding.

At the heart of the mayhem is the evil Don John (KEANU REEVES), Don Pedro's bastard brother, who creates the intrigue because of his jealousy of Don Pedro. The villainous plot is eventually uncovered by a chance meeting between one of Don John's drunken conspirators and the local watch; a comic collection of miscreants led by the inept and exceptionally inarticulate constable Dogberry (MICHAEL KEATON).

Meanwhile we watch the amusing progress of the unlikely romance between Beatrice and Benedick, created by the affectionate manipulation of their friends.

Adapting Shakespeare

When dealing with adaptations from a Shakespeare text, as in the case of "Much Ado about Nothing", we are faced with a specific problem. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, theatre directors have usually adopted an approach to staging the plays, which did not exist in Shakespeare's time. They will have sets, often quite lavish, which show the change of scene, period costumes for the actors, special lighting effects. The idea of having sets and backdrops means that between each scene there is a pause whilst the scenery is changed.

In Shakespeare's time, the flow of the play was far more like the flow of a film - as one set of actors left the stage another would appear without pauses between scenes. So the theatre audience of Shakespeare's time would not have expected any pauses in the action, like the film audience of present time.

Anyone who adapts a literary text into a film obviously faces problems. These problems can arise not simply from the text itself but also from the attitudes of the audience and the critics.

Let us start with the text itself. One thing that we need to bear in mind is that the plays were originally intended as scripts for actors and not as texts for readers. You are probably studying the text in a lot of detail. Unlike a poem, which is normally written for close reading, a play text is not written for the same purpose. It always assumes that part of the impact will come from what happens on the stage itself.

Shakespeare into film

Common problems of making a film of a Shakespearean text are:

- Problems with the language, including difficult words and expressions, people's names etc.

- Problems with the setting and context of the play - How do we make it relevant to contemporary society? How do we cope with very different conventions of courtship and love? How do we "translate" the humor of the play?

- How do we market and sell such a film when the wider audience will not know the original text. After all "Much Ado about Nothing" has nor been filmed before.
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Key decisions were made in preparing the text for filming hearing in mind the obvious truth about film:

- You can easily cut from location to location without having to establish it verbally.

Actions can speak louder than words:

- Cutting some characters' lines will obviously change the balance in favor of others.

Setting the scene

The opening, or exposition, of any film is important, not only because the story begins there, but also because it usually establishes the style of what is to follow.

As you watch the first five or ...

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