(no subject)

So, Kenneth Branagh. I recently saw his Henry V. and tonight, since it's on the list for my Shakespeare course, I watched Othello, since that is one of plays I haven't read yet (I mistakenly thought it would be boring, since it's about jealousy and I'm usually not interested in jealousy). I enjoyed both movies a lot (far more than, for example, Polanski's Macbeth, or any version of Hamlet I've ever seen on screen - though admittedly those were the one with Mel Gibson and the one with Ethan Hawke in a modern setting, which are both I think not very good. Actually, the only Shakespeare adaptations on film that I remember liking are Merchant of Venice - the one with Al Pacino as Shylock - and Baz Luhr's Romeo and Juliet) but I think at some point I must have read somewhere that Kenneth Branagh is somehow... not good. I realize that youtube commenters are possibly the last authority to consult on matters of taste (or anything else, as few places contain stupidity in a more concentrated form than youtube comments) but there were actually some fairly well-worded ones on Othello saying that Branagh was not a good Iago. But I found him excellent! Both he and Laurence Fishburn rocked. I liked Branagh as Prince Hal, too, which is perhaps the greater achievement, as I was bound to love Iago and probably would've been bored by Henry if the performance had been less compelling, but nevertheless Branagh's Iago was good. And had chemistry with everyone and everything. And I thought the movie was well directed, too (the second to last scene, with Othello, Desdemona, Emilia and Iago all dead on the bed reminded me very much of the ending of The Idiot).

The one possible quibble I have with Branagh is his way of breaking the fourth wall by looking directly at the camera and even, on occasion, touching it, but then again, this is Shakespeare! People do soliloquies, and Shakespeare breaks the illusion enough to make Brecht proud.

Any thoughts on that? Is liking Kenneth Branagh a proof of bad taste? I am deeply concerned about this.

(no subject)

So, Kenneth Branagh. I recently saw his Henry V. and tonight, since it's on the list for my Shakespeare course, I watched Othello, since that is one of plays I haven't read yet (I mistakenly thought it would be boring, since it's about jealousy and I'm usually not interested in jealousy). I enjoyed both movies a lot (far more than, for example, Polanski's Macbeth, or any version of Hamlet I've ever seen on screen - though admittedly those were the one with Mel Gibson and the one with Ethan Hawke in a modern setting, which are both I think not very good. Actually, the only Shakespeare adaptations on film that I remember liking are Merchant of Venice - the one with Al Pacino as Shylock - and Baz Luhr's Romeo and Juliet) but I think at some point I must have read somewhere that Kenneth Branagh is somehow... not good. I realize that youtube commenters are possibly the last authority to consult on matters of taste (or anything else, as few places contain stupidity in a more concentrated form than youtube comments) but there were actually some fairly well-worded ones on Othello saying that Branagh was not a good Iago. But I found him excellent! Both he and Laurence Fishburn rocked. I liked Branagh as Prince Hal, too, which is perhaps the greater achievement, as I was bound to love Iago and probably would've been bored by Henry if the performance had been less compelling, but nevertheless Branagh's Iago was good. And had chemistry with everyone and everything. And I thought the movie was well directed, too (the second to last scene, with Othello, Desdemona, Emilia and Iago all dead on the bed reminded me very much of the ending of The Idiot).

The one possible quibble I have with Branagh is his way of breaking the fourth wall by looking directly at the camera and even, on occasion, touching it, but then again, this is Shakespeare! People do soliloquies, and Shakespeare breaks the illusion enough to make Brecht proud.

Any thoughts on that? Is liking Kenneth Branagh a proof of bad taste? I am deeply concerned about this.