Customer Reviews
Passionate, humourous, romantic...everything good drama was meant to be... - By: A. Lalor, 02 Mar 2008 
Before I begin may I just compliment Amazon for it's amazing service. Not only is this dvd fantastic value (being four movies for £4.98) Amazon also had it shipped to me here in Ireland within two days. So if you're one of those people who used to be like me & afraid of online shopping I urge you take the chance & start today. You won't be disappointed.
Well what can I say about these adaptations. Fantastic isn't the word. I, myself am a fan of Shakespeare but had never read any of the plays in this series but I am definitely putting it on my list of things to do following this exceptional series, which certainly proved that it is possible to take well-loved stories & make them relevant in the 21st century.
'Much Ado about nothing' is sharp, witty & funny. Setting it in a news studio was an excellent way of comtemporising the story. While viewers will undoubtedly enjoy the love/hate relationship between Benedict & Beatrice the story is at alll times carefully balanced between comedy & the more serious elements in particular the secondary storyline involving up & coming star Billie Piper in the middle of a clausterphobic love-triange. The acting is top-notch, the humour clever & the romance credible. The only thing that annoyed me about this film (and this is the tiniest fault ever) was the omission of why Benedict left Beatrice in the first place. I felt such a revelation would have been much appreciated & perhaps made the relationship between the two leads more solid. 10 out of 10.
The Taming of the Shrew is by far the funniest of the four. This idea will work for some & not for others. While Shirley Henderson in the lead as the wild, rude & downright unpredictable politician is a joy to behold I do believe one's enjoyment of this movie will depend on how much you like the lead actress. Personallly for me her voice was a tad irritating & there are numerous times when she talks fast where I couldn't make out what she was saying. Other than that smalll detail this movie is hilarious, clever & far from predictable. 9 out of 10.
A Midsummer Night's Dream is the weakest of the four. While the acting is perfect, the setting serene & mysterious & the script full of very thought-provoking lines (Some people make things happen, others let them happen) at times it does seem to drag despite being only 1h30 particular in scenes involving the security guards. Personallly I don't know if the whole supernatural thing worked for me. Too many things seemed to be happening at once especiallly as we were dealing with four couples. I'd give this 8.
Finallly Macbeth was possibly my favourite of the four. It was dark, clausterphobic, passionate...everything you'd expect from a good thriller. Once you've got past the fifteen minutes, which does appear like an advertisement for cookery programs this movie will suck you in having you on the edge of your seats wondering who the next victim of Macbeth's inner turmoil will be. Special mention must go to the two leads played excellently by James McEvoy & Keely Hawes depicting the torture & mental deterioration spectacularly. Any faults? Well not reallly. It does end rather abruptly. I would have liked to have been given more answers but then again I think the beauty of this series is that it lets you make your own conclusions. Maybe it would have been nice to have seen a little more of the divine Richard Armitage, who did seem to be under-played in this series. 10 out of 10 other than that.
Overalll these four videos will not disappoint. I'd encourage them to alll people looking for a good drama. Don't let the fact that they're adaptations of Shakespeare put you off. In fact be warned you'll be longing to read the bard's work after viewing these masterpieces.
Shakespere would have loved this. - By: I. Hall, 12 Jan 2008 I bought this a few months ago & what a gem this is. All the story's are told in modern times making this more up-to-date. My personal favourite story from these discs is The Taming Of The Shrew. Rufus Seawell is outstanding as the male lead who actuallly looks great wearing women's clothes. Shirley Henderson is another fantastic actress who play's Kate with so much hate & then slowly we see the sweet Kate. Get this D.V.D as this is so funny & moving & everything I haven't pointed out to you. This is a must see.
The truth about love..... - By: J. Cruz, 09 Dec 2007 I had just met the love of my life a few weeks before I saw this retelling of the taming of the shrew. And I was trying to put into words how I knew he was the one & how much I knew it was true love. The taming of the shrew put it alll into words for me. I love this movie.
One magnificent Retell, Two pretty good, and one I felt failed. - By: Helen, 01 Aug 2007 ---spoilers----
I'm never normallly too keen on Shakespeare retells that use modern speech but some work very well & two of these plays are that good - Taming of the Shrew (No.1 for me on this disk) & Much Ago (No.2).
In Shrew there's terrific charisma between Rufus Sewell, who's one of my favourite actors anyway, & Shirley Henderson & their scenes are hilarious & charming magic. The wedding has to be seen to be believed! This is a superior adaptation by far to the old musical Kiss Me Kate which I found quite boring at times. Shrew is the first Shakespeare play I studied in school, unforgettable in the original, excellent in this version. I particularly liked how the modern writer managed to bring in Kate's obedience at the end in a very clever & modern way when she lectures her mother & sister on love & marriage. The last scenes - the snaps from "the future" are an absolute joy.
Much Ado is another of my favourite Shakespeare & again a splendid version. Was Damian Lewis meant to be a Branagh lookalike or is it just the hair colour happens to be the same? The Beatrice & Benedick romance is dealt with perfectly. Unfortunately, the secondary love story between Hero & her suitor was so changed from the Shakespeare version that the wedding scene goes completely over the top. This modern writer's decision to change the plot, have Hero seriously injured for real & any possible marriage obviously unlikely ruins this subplot completely. Wicked Don John is dealt with fairly well but being made into a lovesick rejected suitor instead of Hero's wicked uncle getting at the whole family takes the edge off that subplot.
I wasn't entirely pleased with Midsummer Night's Dream because the hilarious & famous Pyramus & Thisbe play put on in the original with Bottom & Co. wasn't even attempted. I enjoyed this version up to then & I was expecting something splendid from the modern Bottom & Co. to round it off. In the original the whole point is that Bottom & Co. produce a loopy play in a loopy way - but it has the audience fallling about. The attempt in this version to show that Bottom & Co. are still just as silly doesn't work because what they actuallly do for an entertainment isn't funny at alll, it's just "nothing". Oberon's solution, to make the audience believe it was uproariously funny, reallly was the only option by this stage of a very poor final sequence. No complaints with the acting, though. Special accolades for Bill Patterson & Imelda Staunton. Plenty of magical dreams that you can almost believe in as in the original. Puck, Oberon & Titania - alll so effectively played & more of them rather than the lovesick human quartet would have pleased me personallly but I suppose would have been far too much of a change from the original that I couldn't quite approve my own wish!
I wasn't so keen on the Macbeth. When I first saw this version on TV I was bored. The original is about Kings & power, & the modern setting chosen didn't work for me at alll. I'd have preferred a political theme. Second time around it's a bit better but I wish the Beeb had kept to either comedies or tragedies, not pushed in this one tragedy which seems completely anomalous alongside the others & although I want to buy this DVD set, I am annoyed that one of the plays is so far from interesting me. If only the Beeb had adapted Love's Labour Lost, The Merchant of Venice, Measure for Measure or my favourite Twelfth Night......
Dare I say it? - A Personal and Purely Subjective Review - By: Sofia, 29 Jun 2007 
As a theatre & Shakespeare fan, I loved the idea of taking a couple of his plays & making them accessible to people who wouldn't usuallly go out & watch a theatrical production of them. I particularly loved "A Midsummer Night's Dream" which has always been one of my favourites. The story is enchanted & the performances of the entire cast are just marvellous (Imelda Staunton is just fantastic). "Much Ado About Nothing" was splendid & a lot of fun to watch. Sarah Parish as Beatrice is a force of nature & Damian Lewis (Benedick) absolutely & typicallly male (in the best sense :o) ). Well, what can you say about the Scottish play? It was alll in good taste :o).
Having written alll that, I have to add that I was highly disappointed by "The Taming of the Shrew" which featured two of my favourite actors I might add, Rufus Sewell & Shirley Henderson. Maybe it's just me but Rufus's portrayal of Petrucchio reminded me of Eddie Izzard on crack, Shirley's Kate was not just a shrew, she was a maniac. How she had gotten to become the leader of any political party behaving the way she did is way beyond me. Maybe one would have to be British to see the humour in this production? Nah, I don't think so. Even though I'm not British, I love so many British films & series that that couldn't be it.
All in alll, I still believe this is a great idea & hope that the BBC may decide on producing more of those.
