As You Like It (2006)

A daughter of the powerful Duke must show her courage and inventiveness to be with the man she loves.

Director:

Kenneth Branagh

Writers:

Kenneth Branagh (adaptation), William Shakespeare (play)

Stars:

Takuya Shimada, Brian Blessed, Richard Clifford

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Takuya Shimada	...	Geisha
Brian Blessed	...	Duke Senior / Duke Frederick
Richard Clifford	...	Le Beau
Bryce Dallas Howard	...	Rosalind
Patrick Doyle	...	Amiens
Romola Garai	...	Celia
Adrian Lester	...	Oliver De Boys
Alfred Molina	...	Touchstone
Kevin Kline	...	Jaques
Janet McTeer	...	Audrey
Gerard Horan	...	Denis
David Oyelowo	...	Orlando De Boys
Richard Briers	...	Adam
Nobuyuki Takano	...	Charles
Paul Chan	...	William

Storyline

Rosalind, the daughter of Duke Senior (the banished Duke), is raised at the court of Duke Frederick (who is younger brother to Duke Senior and took over his Dukedom), with her cousin Celia (daughter to Duke Frederick). She falls in love with a young man named Orlando, but before she can even think twice about it, she is banished by Duke Frederick, who threatens death if she comes near the court again. Celia, being Rosalind's best friend, goes with Rosalind (who is disguised as a boy, Ganymede) and Touchstone, the court's fool, to the forest of Arden. Upon their arrival in the forest, they happen upon Orlando and his manservant, who are fleeing the wrath of Orlando's eldest brother. What follows is an elaborate scheme devised by the cross-dressing Rosalind to find out the verity of Orlando's supposed passion for her, and to further capture his heart, through the witty and mischievous façade of Ganymede.

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Plot Keywords:

forest | cross dressing | lion | shakespeare play | reference to william shakespeare | 

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Taglines:

Romance...or something like it.

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Genres:

Drama | Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for violence and some sexual material

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the ninth and final film directed by Kenneth Branagh in which Richard Briers stars. The others are Henry V (1989), Peter's Friends (1992), Swan Song (1992), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), A Midwinter's Tale (1995), Hamlet (1996) and Love's Labour's Lost (2000).

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Quotes

Celia: It is young Orlando that tripped up the wrestler's heels and your heart both in an instant.
Rosalind: Orlando?
Celia: Orlando.
Rosalind: What did he when thou saw'st him? What said he? How looked he? Wherein went he? What makes he here? Did he ask for me? Where remains he? How parted he with thee? And when shalt thou see him again? Answer me in one word.
Celia: I found him under a tree like a dropped acorn.
Rosalind: It may be well called Jove's tree when it drops forth such fruit.
Celia: Give me good audience, madam.
Rosalind: Proceed.
Celia: There he lay, stretched ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The character "Sir Oliver Martext" (he is the "vicar" who is supposed to marry Audrey and Touchstone) appears in this film, but is not listed as Oliver Martext in the credits. The reason for this is that in this film, the vicar is actually the shepherd Corin (who is listed in the credits) in disguise.

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Alternate Versions

An Italian print of the film features the dialogue in English, with none of the actors dubbed, and no English-language subtitles; however, the credits for this version are printed in Italian as if they were the original credits to the film.

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Connections

Version of 'As You Like It' at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (2010)

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Soundtracks

A Lover & His Lass
Composed by Patrick Doyle
Lyrics by William Shakespeare
Performed by Patrick Doyle and London Symphony Orchestra

User Reviews

Response to a review

On the whole, I agree with the many reviewers before me who praise Kenneth Branagh in general and "As You Like It" in specific. So, I don't have to reiterate their comments here. I am writing to rebut the review by teacher_tom516 who completely misunderstands the movie, the play and the term "suspension of disbelief." Starting with the last, Samuel Taylor Coleridge called it "the willful suspension of disbelief," the tacit agreement made by the audience to leave reality at the door of the theater and accept the production's conceit as a temporary new reality. All theater, with the exception of the mercifully brief 19th century flirtation with "Realism/Naturalism", recognizes that it is an illusion to try to present "reality" on stage. Shakespeare certainly knew that and even tells his audience this in several of his plays (Henry V, Hamlet, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, etc etc). His comedies are allegorical -- more subtly, so are his tragedies and even histories. His audiences accepted the premise without caviling over clocks striking in "Julius Caesar" and wild animals from different continents nonchalantly coexist. Shakespeare's Forest of Arden wasn't named for the Belgian Ardennes but taken from Lodge's romance "Rosalynde," from which Shakespeare cribbed his plot and characters. It is a magical place not found on maps -- it is the "Bitter Wood" of Medieval legend, the place where humans must face themselves, with or without Yoda. Arden was also Shakespeare's mother's family name. The writer plays the name game with the characters, seemingly unaware that Shakespeare's names are often chosen for their metaphoric associations. Falstaff is a "false staff" to Prince Hal. Why Orlando? Not because it's an Italian courtier's name, but because it's the Italian translation of Roland, the name of one of two legendary brothers-in-arms in the reign of Charlemagne, immortalized in "The Song of Roland." The other brother-knight's name was... Oliver! Also, It's Jaques, not Jacques, and may have been pronounced "Jakes", Brit slang for bathroom, which might be taken as ironic since he is such a pessimist, unlike his opposite, Touchstone, whose name might be taken as the iconic test of Truth. Do the hodge-podge of names in Hamlet disturb teacher_tom516? Claudius? Polonius? Laertes? Rosencrantz and Guildenstern!?

His biggest complaint is about the Japanese setting. Obviously, he didn't read the opening on-screen explanation Mr. Branagh thoughtfully provided for the edification of anyone interested in it. Is the Meiji Japan of the imagination be any less exotic than the locale of "A Winter's Tale" -- "the coast of Bohemia."? Bohemia doesn't have a coast -- it's completely landlocked. Oh yes, how absurd a scrawny kid could throw a Sumo wrestler? That's the whole point. Ever hear of Jack the Giant-killer? Beware people who confuse the truths of fairy tales with the factoids of spreadsheets. Yes, Shakespeare plays fast and loose with facts - so do creative directors interpreting his plays. As Miguel de Cervantes said, "One should never let facts get in the way of Truth." He also said, "Facts are the enemy of Truth."

Details

Official Sites:

HBO [United States]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 September 2007 (UK)

Also Known As:

Comme il vous plaira

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$563,162

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Films, HBO Films, Shakespeare Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1