FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: Love's Labour's Lost [DVD] [2000]

Love's Labour's Lost [DVD] [2000]
enlarge	Director: Kenneth Branagh Actors: Alessandro Nivola, Alicia Silverstone, Natascha McElhone, Kenneth Branagh, Carmen Ejogo Studio: Pathe Distribution Category: DVD List Price: ~~£12.99~~ Buy New: £2.63 as of 22/11/2009 02:13 GMT details You Save: £10.36 (80%) New (12) Used (9) Collectible (1) from £1.98 Seller: pkeylock Rating: 10 reviews Sales Rank: 12100 Format: PAL, Widescreen Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired), English (Subtitled) Rating: Universal, suitable for all Region: 2 Discs: 1 Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 90 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5060002830451 ASIN: B00004W4GV Theatrical Release Date: 1999 Release Date: September 11, 2000 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review Having taken Shakespeare at his word on IHamlet/I (i.e., not cutting a single syllable out of a very long play), Kenneth Branagh selects a more radical approach with ILove's Labour's Lost/I. Here the prolific director-star weeds out much of the play's dialogue, and adds songs and dances of a decidedly modern bent. The King of Navarre (Alessandro Nivola, Nicolas Cage's wacko brother in IFace/Off/I) and his three comrades (Branagh, Matthew Lillard, Adrian Lester) take a vow: no womanly distractions while they pursue their studies. Ah, but at that very moment, floating down a magical studio-built river, is the queen of France (Alicia Silverstone), accompanied by three ladies-in-waiting. You do the maths. Branagh has set the tale on the eve of the Second World War, which allows for the inclusion of vintage pop songs, including "Cheek to Cheek", "The Way You Look Tonight" and a rousing chorus of "There's No Business Like Show Business", led by--who else?--Nathan Lane. The fact that most of the cast members are not accomplished song-and-dance folk is clearly meant to charm, but the results are spotty at best. Perhaps the most dynamic performer is Natascha McElhone (memorable from IRonin/I), whose aristocratic bearing and bottomless eyes lend a gravity to the material that is otherwise absent from Branagh's twinkly staging. The play contains some of Shakespeare's loveliest paeans to the language of love, yet Branagh seems to be in a hurry to juice everything up lest the audience lose interest. The labour shows. --IRobert Horton/I

Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 10 1 2 Next » Unexpectedly wonderful August 10, 2001 44 out of 46 found this review helpful I groaned when I found out that LLL was being done as a musical. Has he gone mad at last? No, he certainly hasn't. He's turned a rather inaccessible play (the full text contains heavy parody of the affected language of Elizabethan courtiers and academics) into a scintillating romp. The music and dancing is perfectly apt, and the production is gob-smacking - the colour, the music... everything is a delight. This is a DVD which gives you a little more every time you see it. Life affirming and life enhancing, and the bittersweet ending is perfectly done. Oustanding Production of a brilliantly funny play. January 19, 2001 tonyhenderson456@aol.com (London) 21 out of 22 found this review helpful A brilliant adaptation of what is(for me anyway) a lesser known play. Branagh brings the play up to the 1930s and makes a West End Musical out of a South Bank Comedy. The songs and dance never look out of place with the Bard's words ...Remarkably easy to watch and enjoy - you do not need to be a Shakespeare buff to have a wonderful time watching this! The only excuse you need to buy a DVD player! December 18, 2000 richard.harris@kbank.no (Oslo, Norway) 29 out of 33 found this review helpful As always, the DVD edition is much superior. Not only is it letterboxed (and Branagh shot his delightful throwback musical in the grand full 2.35:1 widescreen format), but it also has deleted scenes and a making-of featurette. If you're still living in the VHS-past, perhaps this Holiday season is the time to treat yourself to the ever-widening world of DVD. pThe transfer is crisp and it sounds terrific (though I don't have a high-end system, so take that for what it's worth). As for the extras: pOuttakes - 7:00 minutes of laugh-filled screw ups. I always imagined while watching the film that it must have been a joy to make. These giggling outtakes prove that conclusively. Branagh himself seems the one most susceptible to breaking out into uncontrollable laughter. It's nice to see as a footnote to this terrific movie. pDeleted Scenes - four excised scenes, totaling about 18:00 minutes! The most time is devoted to the pagent put on near the end of the story. Good stuff, but I see how the running time as is probably works best. It's nice to have them as a supplement anyway! pMaking-Of Featurette - only 8:00 minutes long, but they cram some good stuff in there about how much intense (yet fun-filled) practice these mostly non-singing non-dancing non-Shakespearian actors had to go through before going in front of the cameras. Branagh talks about their comaraderie as being bonded in a slightly-marked terror at what someone else refers to as musical-comedy boot camp. Brief, but good. pSo, like I said, if you are still living in a DVD-less world, you are really missing out on some great stuff. pI do LOVE this movie so much. :) Just Great September 27, 2000 drexl@hotmail.com (Holland) 2 out of 3 found this review helpful This disc is perfect. It made me love the movie even more. The commentary by Branagh is great although he keeps it one the surface. The deleted scenes are the best. Especially the fourth which is the best of slapstick comedy. The featurette is cool only just some what short. It's cool to see them record the songs and practicing the dance routines. To top it all of there is a outtakes reel where we can see the cast screw up the routines and their lines. All together this is a very worth while disc and I'm glad they made the effort to put all those great extras on the disc. GREAT! October 9, 2000 maribelortiz@yahoo.com (Valencia, Spain) 2 out of 3 found this review helpful Being a fan of he work by Kenneth Branagh, I only can say that his last film as a director is superb! Happy to know that there's such a great edition in DVD, the making of stuff is fantastic and the commentary really insightfull, as others Branagh has recorded. This cannot be out of any good film/DVD collection! Showing reviews 1-5 of 10 1 2 Next »

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