Classics Revisited Book Group (Posting 14)
Twelfth Night directed by Trevor Nunn
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Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
Trevor Nunn is a renowned name to many in Shakespeare adaptationland. His version of Macbeth from the 70’s (actually just a filmed version of the stage play with Ian McKellan and Judi Dench) is a bare-bones production favorite of mine. His cinematic version of Twelfth Night goes the opposite way with its elaborate costumes and settings and the casting of several stars including Helena Bonham Carter and Ben Kingsley.
I know a Shakespeare teacher who prefers the filmed stage adaptation of Twelfth Night with Helen Hunt, though that wasn’t available on video last time I checked. Of course, through the magic of YouTube, it probably is now.
Play or movie? Twelfth Night is one of Shakespeare’s most endearing comedies. Read the text and find a version you like. There are certainly a lot of them out there.
boring book but good movie
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely disagree that the original text is boring. After all, how could the movie be as good as it is if the text were so lacking. Anyways, this is my favorite film version of Twelfth Night, much more entertaining and alive than the 1988 TV version.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with Anonymous #2.
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