Much ado about Shakespeare. (Kenneth Branagh's successful film adaptations)

Economist (US), The, October, 1993

Branagh's acclaimed 'Much Ado About Nothing' and 'Henry V' owe their success to their use of actors from a diverse array of nationalities and techniques. They lack the pretension and awkwardness which doomed many of the other 15 major Shakespeare adaptations in movie history.

HE MUST be doing something right, since his film of one of Shakespeare's less familiar plays,"Much Ado About Nothing" (see above), has already pulled in more than twice as much at the American box office as his acclaimed "Henry V". On the back of this success, Kenneth Branagh has been invited on to the board of the British Film Institute, a government-funded body that fancies itself as the voice of the British film industry. With Mr Branagh aboard and Jeremy Thomas, the producer of "The Last...

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