Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

fshepinc This is my favorite filmed version of Twelfth Night -On DVD at last! Branagh's production captures both the humor and the melancholy of the play, with excellent performances all around and a stand-out performance by the late, great, Richard Briers as Malvolio. Patrick Doyle (along with an assist from Paul McCartney) provides an atmospheric score to accompany the shifting moods, with several songs sung by Feste the Fool (Anton Lesser in one of his best performances). The Dickensian setting compliments the story well, while purists will rejoice that the text of the play is complete. The DVD also features an informative, behind-the-scenes interview with Kenneth Branagh talking about the stage production and the play itself. Buy a copy for yourself, and a few more as gifts for friends -This is a real treat!

Bill Goode I was disappointed with this production. I do prefer traditional settings with Shakespeare; but aside from that, the performances were just not strong enough. Malvolio's cross-gartering & yellow stockings simply do not lend themselves to 19th century dress as depicted in this version. Shakespeare wrote the play around 1600 and at that time yellow stockings could be much more easily displayed. But in the rest of this play, as well as the later half of the 19th century when this versions is set, men including Malvolio were wearing full-length pants. It makes the cross-gartering & yellow stockings much more of a contrivance than it would in a traditional Shakespearean setting.Part of what made this film disappointing was the weather that was displayed. It was dreary most of the time, if not snowing. This is a comedy and the setting should be light & cheery in comedies. I see that the setting was at Christmas, which is fine I guess, but the overall effect of the weather is to make the play seem more dreary than it should be.The part of Olivia was done fairly well, but there were no really standout performances here. Viola simply gave an average performance. Aguecheek here should be much more effeminate. Sir Toby Belch should appear more drunk & slovenly most of the time. He appeared to me a little too dignified. Malvolio, being the object of much of the clownery, should be more indignant than he appears here. On his release, he stands motionless in silence for some minutes. Fabian seems almost sorry for him, instead of snickering as he might be.All in all I found the performances to be fairly average. I have seen this play on stage several times and it was done significantly better every time than it was here. The acting was much more intense in the performances I have seen on stage than the acting in this version.

Geoffrey Maher 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.

bteigen My senior English class read the play and watched the film simultaneously and I have to say that (although at first I was put off by the harsh music, and the set and costumes that reminded me too much of Mary Martin's Peter Pan) I really got into it. I thought all the acting was great, especially Maria, Toby, Andrew, Viola and Malvolio, but Anton Lesser as the clown, Feste, stole the show. He was definitely the most memorable character. My only complaint, really, is that sometimes the actors spoke the lines a little too fast. I highly suggest this to anyone that likes theater or Shakespeare.****/*****