Twelfth Night, or What You Will (1988) (TV)

Director:

Paul Kafno

Writer:

William Shakespeare (play)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot Keywords:

Shakespeare | William Shakespeare | Based On Play

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Frances Barber	...	Viola / Cesario
Christopher Hollis	...	Sebastian / Curio
Julian Gartside	...	Valentine
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tim Barker	...	Antonio / Sea Captain
Richard Briers	...	Malvolio
Caroline Langrishe	...	Olivia
Anton Lesser	...	Feste
Abigail McKern	...	Maria
Shaun Prendergast	...	Fabian
Christopher Ravenscroft	...	Orsino
James Saxon	...	Sir Toby Belch
James Simmons	...	Sir Andrew Aguecheek

Runtime:

155 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:U | Australia:G

Company:

Renaissance Theatre Company

Trivia:

The Shakespearean ballad performed by Feste - "Come Away Death" - borrows an adapted melody from Paul McCartney's song "Once Upon A Long Ago". McCartney graciously donated the melody of his song for Kenneth Branagh's original stage production of Twelfth Night, performed by the Renaissance Theatre Company, and allowed the melody to be used in the film version.

Movie Connections:

Version of Was Ihr wollt (1973) (TV)

Very funny, and very accurate!

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.