IMDb user comments for
Twelfth Night, or What You Will (1998) (TV)

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
A delightful and perfectly cast stage production, 19 October 1998

Author: Lainey from Virginia

Nicholas Hytner's production of "Twelfth Night" was performed in the summer of '98 at Lincoln Center in New York. I was lucky enough to see the play (from the front row), and it was spellbinding. The TV version (broadcast on PBS' "Live From Lincoln Center") was just as magical. It's a very funny play, and the incredible lighting, sets and music (especially Feste's songs) make it an experience I'll always remember.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Video/DVD release?, 25 July 2004

Author: humilitas from Seattle, WA

I have enjoyed Helen Hunt in numerous productions and liked Paul Rudd in "Clueless", but was quite unprepared for their transformation in this lovely rendition. The staging, music, and direction all conspired to make this one of the most enjoyable productions I have seen.

When it was broadcast on PBS I taped it more as a matter of course than anything else, having no idea what a mesmerising and alluring production it would be of one of my favourite plays. Since then I have been jealously guarding my increasingly decrepit tape from the predations of my friends, and hoping against hope that it might be released on DVD or at least videotape so I could have a more enduring copy (and so could my friends). Any chance that will happen?

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Absolutely wonderful!, 15 February 1999
Author: Leigh (specialagentdks@yahoo.com) from New York, New York

I was delighted to see "Twelfth Night" broadcast on PBS, since I got the opportunity to see this play performed live over the summer. I thought it was an excellent production! While this was not my first introduction to Shakespeare, in my opinion the actors and everyone involved worked very hard to bring the audience into the play and make sure they didn't get lost. Their hard work really payed off. I must admit that I am a huge fan of Helen Hunt's, not to mention Kyra Sedgewick and Paul Rudd, so this made the play even more exciting to watch. I enjoyed the season premiere of "Mad About You", thrilled to see some of the actors from "Twelfth Night" making cameos. All in all, I thought that this was an exceptionally well-done production, and although it's no longer running, is a must-see!

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Wonderful, 13 October 1998

Author: Kelly (casualtees@prodigy.net) from Cape Cod, Massachusetts

I was very excited to see that Twelfth Night was being broadcast on our local PBS station, especially since I had the pleasure of seeing it live in New York City over the summer. I was truly impressed by ALL the performances and was excited to see some "lost" actors from other favorites of mine (i.e. Warriors).

I am a true follower of Helen Hunt and was quite surprised to watch the Season Premiere of Mad About You and recognize some of the actors from the play.

Twelfth Night was a nice introduction of Shakespeare and has aroused my curiosity for other plays. Thanks for the space!

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Awesome talent performing a hard play, 4 September 2005

Author: bobthedramadork from United States

I thought this was a wonderful performance. The set was rather lacking but some how that added to it and let your imagination run.

I enjoyed the acting. When I first saw this I had never read the script and yet I understood everything the actors were saying (because let's face it...Shakespeare is hard to understand and perform).

Helen Hunt's performance as Viola amazed me. She was very well into character and even added humor to her part without over doing it or not doing it enough. Kudo's to her. My same comment to all the other actors in the cast. They did a great job with their performance (and even though it was Shakespeare I went "wow") but Helen Hunt seemed to stand out.

I give the entire performance 9.5/10 but I thought this was one of the best Shakespeare performances I ever have seen.

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Helen Hunt fails to be humorous., 8 September 2000

Author: jmott from Lawrence, Kansas

Creatively relocated to the orient, this Illyria stage comes across fairly well on screen. However, one of Shakespeare's meatiest female roles, Viola, is flaccidly and awkwardly occupied by Helen Hunt. Ms. Hunt, although very good in films such as "As Good As it Gets," simply stumbles on the language, allowing it to completely overwhelm any humor or drama that might eke out of her performance. This is a very mature comedy, the holiday of Twelfth Night itself a metaphor for the humor in the play that eventually sates and then sickens the audience. I recommend the recent film version starring Ben Kingsley and Helena Bonham Carter for a first-time viewing of Twelfth Night. After all, there is only one first time.

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0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Couldn't forget Helen Hunt..., 11 December 1999

Author: qleaper from Los Angeles, CA

I was very happy to go see the play in person at Lincoln Center, and was extremely disappointed in Helen Hunt, who had just received the Academy Award for As Good As It Gets. The simple fact was, I couldn't forget that I was seeing Helen Hunt, the actress, instead of Viola, the shipwreck survivor who, while cross-dressing and passing for her twin brother, falls in love with Count Orsino, who is in turn in love with Lady Olivia. Despite good performances by Kyra Sedgwick, Paul Rudd and the always interesting Philip Bosco, I'd rather watch the 1996 movie "Twelfth Night: or What you Will", starring the wonderful Imogen Stubbs in the role of Viola, and Helena Bonham Carter as Olivia (plus the bonus performance of Ben Kingsley as Feste!).

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3 out of 21 people found the following comment useful :-
Helen, stick to fluffy stuff, 14 December 2002
Author: MoonsofJupiter from Western Hemisphere

We won't go into the screenplay here...we're talking Shakespeare, after all. Now, the sets were very sparse, but then, this was live theater. So what can you criticise? The casting!!!

Paul Rudd is wonderful, just masculine and sexy and totally at ease with his dialogue and his role. I couldn't take my eyes off him when he was present, and missed him tremendously when he wasn't on stage.

But Helen Hunt? Whose idea was it to cast this brittle, TV-groomed actress in such a demanding role? The poor woman doesn't pull it off. She seemed to stamp around the stage like she was lost, that terrible wondering frown on her face making it look like she was trying to keep her lines straight. The magnificent Mr. Rudd looking twice at the asexual Miss Hunt? I don't think so. Their mismatching ruined what would have been a great presentation of this classic.

I'd still watch it again, though, for Paul Rudd.

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