The Comedy of Errors (1978/I) (TV)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Philip Casson

Writers:

Trevor Nunn (conceived for television by)
Titus Maccius Plautus (play)

Release Date:

18 April 1978 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Plot:

The Royal Shakespeare Company act (and sing and dance!) Shakespeare's play about two sets of identical twins...

Plot Keywords:

Shakespeare's The Comedy Of Errors | Stage | Based On Play

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Brian Coburn	...	The Duke
Griffith Jones	...	Aegeon
Roger Rees	...	Antipholus of Syracuse
Mike Gwilym	...	Antipholus of Ephesus
Michael Williams	...	Dromio of Syracuse
Nickolas Grace	...	Dromio of Ephesus
Judi Dench	...	Adriana
Francesca Annis	...	Luciana
Paul Brooke	...	Angelo
Norman Tyrrell	...	Balthasar
Barbara Shelley	...	Courtesan
Robin Ellis	...	Dr. Pinch
Marie Kean	...	Aemelia
Richard Griffiths	...	Officer
Jacob Witkin	...	Porpentine Proprieter

Runtime:

USA:130 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Associated Television (ATV)

Movie Connections:

Version of The Comedy of Errors (1983) (TV)

Great stuff

This is an extremely entertaining adaptation of the play. The acting is top-notch, in particular Dame Judi and Michael Williams who made me laugh my head off. Roger Rees and Mike Gwilym do a fantastic job of giving the two Antipholi different personalities (Rees's is like Bertie Wooster, Gwilym's is like Sonny Corleone). The setting is updated to a modern Greek island, but not in such a way that it overwhelms the text. There is a lot of excellent physical comedy and slapstick.

The only annoying aspect of the production is that Nunn felt the urge to pad out the text with songs and turn the play into a musical. The songs are mostly terrible and their banal lyrics grate against Shakespeare's intricate wordplay. But that's what fast-forward buttons were invented for, and if you skip the singing, you're left with an extremely well-crafted and funny production. It's worth the effort.

This isn't a proper film as such, but rather a recording of a live performance. Its seems designed in part to act as a promo video for the RSC, and the performance is intercut with shots of old ladies sobbing at the beauty of it all, and young children rapt with wonder. This is mildly nauseating (I hate being told what to think). But I will forgive this too, because if I'd been there on the night, it would have blown me away too.