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Brian Blessed, Bryce Dallas Howard, Romola Garai, Adrian Lester, Alfred Molina ... see more see more... , Kevin Kline , David Oyelowo , Richard Briers , Jade Jefferies , Janet McTeer , Jimmy Yuill , Alex Wyndham , Takuya Shimada , Richard Clifford , Patrick Doyle , Gerard Horan , Nobuyuki "Daishi" Takano , Paul Chan , Jothan Annan , Jonathan Broadbent , Iain Robertson , Youki Yamamoto , Sacha Bennett , Yee Tsou

Director Kenneth Branagh tackles the works of William Shakespeare for the fifth time in his career as a filmmaker with this adaptation of one of The Bard's most accessible works. Rosalind is the daugh... read more read more...ter of a banished duke, and lives among a community of Westerners living in 19th century Japan. When her father, the duke, is suddenly banished, the frightened girl is forced to flee for the Forest of Arden lest she risk being executed by her malevolent uncle. Joining Rosalind on her flight to the forest is her sympathetic cousin Celia, who helps to pass her incognito kin off as a man in order to avoid detection. Later, Rosalind's clever ruse begins to serve a dual purpose when she determines to use the disguise to gauge the devotion of Orlando, yet another exile, while making her way to the Forest of Arden. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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48% liked it

5,045 ratings

Critics

36% liked it

14 critics

PG, 2 hr. 15 min.

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh

Release Date: September 1, 2006

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DVD Release Date: September 25, 2007

Stats: 477 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (477)

  • shiftyeyeddog
    July 23, 2008
    shiftyeyeddog
    Here's one that snuck completely under my radar, probably because it was apparently made-for-HBO (which I don't have) and not released theatrically. I like Branagh, and I like Kline, but Bryce Dallas Howard in the lead? I'll pass... right?

    Well, I gave it a shot. Kenneth Br... read moreanagh has successfully returned to the lighter side of Shakespeare for the first time since 1993's Much Ado About Nothing (Love's Labour's Lost is better left overlooked). He again shifts the setting, this time to 19th century Japan. An odd choice, but it kind of works.. once you get used to it. The acting across the board is top-notch, and unlike some other Shakespeare adaptations, they all sound completely natural reciting the dialogue.

    I do have problem with them expecting us to believe the other characters actually thinks she is a man (when all she's done is change her clothes), but I guess that's just one of those things you have to overlook and suspend disbelief.

    As for Bryce, she could not have been more perfect in the role. She is undeniably charming, handles the part masterfully, and is by far the best thing about the film. Maybe it's time to overlook her history of bad Shyamalan films and watch where her promising talent takes her.
  • gator681
    May 11, 2008
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]"As You Like It" starts with a palace coup resulting in the Duke(Brian Blessed) being deposed by his own brother(Blessed again), along with nearly all of his family. The new duke keeps his niece, Rosalind(Bryce Dallas Howard), around to keep his daughter, Cel... read moreia(Romola Garai), company. To keep themselves busy, the cousins watch a wrestling match where Rosalind and the victorious wrestler, Orlando(David Oyelowo), develop a mutual infatuation. But Rosalind soon becomes too popular for her own good and is exiled, too. Celia decides to leave with her cousin since they cannot easily be parted, bringing the fool(Alfred Molina) along for laughs...[/font]

    [font=Century Gothic]Based on the William Shakespeare play, "As You Like It" proves the old adage that any movie with Brian Blessed in dual roles cannot be entirely bad. In fact, there is a most formidable cast that also includes Janet McTeer, Kevin Kline and Adrian Lester. But director Kenneth Branagh does not exploit the unique setting of tariff ports in 19th century Japan(actually every other possible setting for Shakespeare has already been used) to its full advantage.(Hopefully, he was not just inspired by the early wrestling scene...) Still, this is a gorgeously photographed and entertaining movie about love trumping material possessions every time. But love can be a possession like every other object. And remember that falling in love is the easy part. [/font]
  • Yinali
    February 5, 2009
    Yinali
    The awful confusion of Shakespeare's novel itself is a confusion, imagine a movie about it...
  • sayers1977
    March 13, 2012
    sayers1977
    For an overview of the play and some decent performances this is fine but isn't up to the standards of Branagh's 'Hamlet' or 'Much Ado' (I haven't seen 'Henry V' or 'Love's Labours'). His concept of setting it in a Japanese culture doesn't really work , especially since there are... read more so few actual japanese actors. Also the dramatic beginning, although interesting as a scene setter, is far too drataic and doesn't work in what should essentially be a comedy. The actors all do very well with their parts and make sense of the script (there is little actual verse in the play so it isn't a difficult one to follow) but you can't help wishing that such a good cast were given a more substantial Shakespeare play to perform. Interestingly the epilogue is cleverly done and is better than most of the rest of the film. If only Branagh had pursued this style rather than the other.
  • SunilJawahir
    March 18, 2009
    SunilJawahir
    It started off promising but just got dull.
  • jimbotender
    February 25, 2009
    jimbotender
    I thought at first this was a deteriorating prank.Prithee be monsieur Branagh,for your academic hostility turned boomerang on your facade.Whereas there's love in the air,nectar onto the skin,passion is traveling on different routes.What's the secret ingredient to amuse the untrai... read morened Shakespearean audience with a mediocre play by the bard?Don't ask me,ask Kline and Garai who seemed to be the 2 individuals who obviously acted.
  • Doctor0Quinzel
    January 21, 2008
    Doctor0Quinzel
    This is suppose to be a Shakespearian comedy, but it's not all that funny. It was very pretty to look at, the cinematography was great.
  • ileo
    November 9, 2007
    ileo
    This has always been a favorite of mine from the Shakespeare collection. The beautiful and fascinating tale of Rosalind.
    This film adaptation was brilliant and cultural!
    Loved the music! Loved the scenery!
  • sethcaddell
    February 21, 2010
    sethcaddell
    Not horrible, but it was only tolerable because I watched it in segments and I had just finished the book. Seems to do an injustice to the Japanese culture.
  • jrmcm
    November 24, 2009
    jrmcm
    Kenneth Branagh is such an inconsistent, self-conscious director it's pitiful. And he's not even directing himself in this one! As soon as I realized he had moved 'As You Like It' to Japan, I thought, 'Oh, this could be good.' I was wrong. The picture was shot entirely in England... read more, and any Japanese influence hardly survives beyond the first scene.

    I would imagine names like 'Branagh' and 'Shakespeare' could draw a stronger cast than this, but based on the final product, maybe I shouldn't be so surprised (It did involuntarily go direct-to-HBO). Brian Blessed gives the only interesting performances of the bunch, playing both Duke Senior and Duke Frederick with striking sensitivity. It's not brilliant acting so much as simply being more amusing than anything else happening on screen. Doll-faced Bryce Dallas Howard is a saccharin Rosalind and proves she's no great actress, but it's Celia (Romola Garai) who's nearly impossible to watch, constantly mugging with the mock-energy of a community theatre reject. Even veterans Kevin Kline and Alfred Molina seem paralyzed by Branagh's direction, aimlessly voicing lines with all the conviction of marshmallows.

    Roger Lanser's pretentious film-school cinematography was perhaps the most laughable aspect, with the camera endlessly floating around and seeming to silently scream, "YOU'RE WATCHING A MOVIE. LOOK AT MY POETIC EYE - MY PHOTOGRAPHY IS A METAPHOR FOR WHAT THE CHARACTERS ARE FEELING."

    Ridiculous music cues, no sense of editorial pacing, and actors generally stumbling through Elizabethan verse round out the amateur quality of Branagh's comical adaptation. I'm confident it's difficult to translate Shakespeare's plays to the screen, but after Ken's majestic version of 'Hamlet,' I thought he could do better than this.

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Critic Reviews

Heather Boerner
December 18, 2010
Heather Boerner, Common Sense Media

Fun retelling, but longer than teens will like it. Full Review

Rich Cline
September 21, 2007
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall

Energetic and entertaining, but it's like a long episode of an over-talky, out-of-control soap opera. Full Review

Derek Malcolm
September 21, 2007
Derek Malcolm, This is London

It's not an unsuccessful adaptation. But it rarely catches fire as one of Shakespeare's most popular plays should. Full Review

Neil Smith
September 21, 2007
Neil Smith, thelondonpaper

Kenneth Branagh directs this pedestrian spin on the Shakespearean comedy that proves stubbornly resistant to his boisterous brand of all-star panto. Full Review

Anthony Quinn
September 21, 2007
Anthony Quinn, Independent

Kenneth Branagh gamely continues to put Shakespeare on film, and audiences continue to ignore them. Full Review

Nigel Andrews
September 21, 2007
Nigel Andrews, Financial Times

Kenneth Branagh is in danger of becoming the next Kenneth Branagh, in a career of serial self-replication as our last unstoppable screen Shakespearean. Full Review

Peter Bradshaw
September 21, 2007
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]

Branagh's direction is fluent, surefooted, a little broad sometimes; his ingenious Japanese staging recreates the wrestling match as a wacky sumo contest. It's elegant and Howard is very good. Full Review

Wendy Ide
September 21, 2007
Wendy Ide, Times [UK]

Faced with As You Like It, one of the Bard's more tiresome plays, Branagh's direction loses conviction and his storytelling lacks the engaging enthusiasm of his previous Shakespeares. Full Review

Anna Smith
September 21, 2007
Anna Smith, Film4

Smart casting and stand-out performances don't compensate for the twee source play and an over-ambitious screenplay from Branagh. Full Review

Neil Smith
September 21, 2007
Neil Smith, Total Film

Unremarkable take on the Bard's cross-dressing comedy, ostentatiously relocated to 19th-century Japan though wholly shot in the Home Counties. Full Review

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  • "Where'd they teach you to talk like that? Some mexican wanna hump-hump bar? Sell crazy somewhere else, we're all stocked up here-"  Answer »
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