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Shakespeare in Love

Shakespeare in Love

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: What a let down, repeat, what a let down!
Review: If ever there was an over-hyped show that does not live up to expectations it is "Shakespeare in Love". In my opinion it was a bore.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Overrated.
Review: What's the reason of the hype that's been created here in Europe on this movie? Surely it is not bad, but definitely not worth all credit it's been given. The acting is moderate, and the storyline even worse! There are better movies to see.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: my review
Review: This is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time.

The actors, the setting, the costumes, the music, everything is so captivating and they all work together to make this movie an unforgetable experience.

The story, just by itself is so well thought out! I thought I knew everything about Shakespeare before I saw this movie, but I learned so much more. Even my 9 year old son watched it with me and learned about Shakespeare and about the making of 'Romeo and Juliet'. I don't think he will ever forget this story.

A must see.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Girly
Review: Did you notice that most people that gave this movie(and Titanic) 5 stars, are women? Makes ya think, don't it?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Romeo Mettes Juliet
Review: Marvelously played, beautifully directed, a real piece of pleasure and pure hydromel from heaven. We will not believe one minute the story, but it is so beautiful that we are enchanted and entranced by it. Romeo and Juliet are nothing but the outcome (sublimation would Freud say) of Shakespeare's own love affair with a daughter of the aristocracy who wants be an actor in a time when women were banned from the stage. Fascinating and it deserves our watching it over and over again till we are numb with sleepiness and admiration. If you do not watch this film at least twice within two hours, you will never qualify for human survival. Dr Jacques Coulardeau Paris Universities IX and II

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Completely overrated!
Review: I found this movie to be very cute and funny but nothing more. It didn't deserve all the oscars it got and the fact that it won Saving Private Ryan in the battle for best picure award makes me angry. Although it is overrated it is still a clever film and the cast is really good especially Geoffrey Rush in a comedy sidekick role that he makes 100% memorable. Shakespeare in love is overall a decent film but no masterpiece, far from it actually.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My favorite movie
Review: When I saw this movie for the first time in the movie theatre I was not impressed. I thought it was a good movie, but I did not think it was the greatest movie ever. I saw the movie again this past September. That is when I fell in love with this movie. I really paid attention to the subtle lines in the script and to the enormously talented actors on the screen. After that viewing I ordered the soundtrack (which I also highly recommend). Everything about this movie is good and that is why you should watch it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An enchanting piece of fiction!
Review: Be forewarned: this is not, nor was it ever intended to be a history lesson about the creation of what is surely the greatest literary tragedy of all time. It was, however, intended to be a charming and ingenious FICTIONAL look at the period and the people who inhabited it. On that level it succeeds beautifully. Oh, for sure there are truths here, not the least of which has to do with the fact that all the parts in theatres of that time and place were played by men. But even that is presented with a keen sense of humor. In fact, the story revolves, to a great degree, around that element. The character of Viola (charmingly portrayed by Gwyneth Paltrow) loves the theatre so much she dresses as a man in order to enable her to act. This gender switching plot twist has been attempted several times in films of the past. TOOTSIE and YENTL are excellent examples of similar story lines. But here you have the character falling in love with a certain playwright named Will. How that element is integrated with Viola's gender switching is most ingenious. NOT historically correct but ingenious.

The script by Marc Norman (who also served as one of the producers) and Tom Stoppard is really what makes this film come alive. Without their vision, it would have been just another romantic comedy. As it is, these writers have humanized a period so remote from ours that you feel yourself transported back to that time. They certainly deserved their Oscar.

With all the controversy at the Academy Awards that year SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE came out looking like a villian. There is no doubt that SAVING PRIVATE RYAN should have won the Best Picture Oscar. If it were possible, this reviewer would give that film TEN stars instead of the usual maximum of five. It is that much better at what it does than SHAKESPEARE.... is at what it tries to accomplish! But why bother with technicalities. The Academy has made mistakes similar to this before. Miramax, the company responsible for releasing the film bought the votes from those that would have voted for ....RYAN. For that, they were wrong. But isn't it wonderful that they had the gumption to grab this film and distribute it so it could be seen by all of us. It truly is a blessing, even if it wasn't the best film of the year.

As far as the other awards go, Paltrow definitely deserved the Oscar. Her performance of the very classy girl that falls in love with Shakespeare is at once realistic and romantic. Without overacting, she convinces you she is the girl who loves the theatre so much she would temporarily give up her own identity to participate. Judi Dench as Queen Elizabeth shines briefly but did not deserve the Supporting Actress Oscar. The role is nothing more than a glorified walk-on. The supporting actress award should have gone to Lynn Redgrave in GODS AND MONSTERS. However, nearly all the other Oscars the film won were deserved. The costumes, sets, and music score by Stephen Warbeck are excellent. Occasionally, the sound department on the film overpowers the dialogue with the beautiful music and this is a shame. Otherwise the film is technically superb.

The rest of the cast, Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth, Ben Affleck and especially Joseph Fiennes as the love sick Will S. are perfect. John Madden directs with a keen eye for the period and setting and along with the fantastic script should be given credit for transporting the audience with a very smooth flight.

But the real beauty of the film is it's ability to make the viewer see just how down to earth and beautiful the works of Shakespeare really are. Over the years the intimidation of actors and directors alike has kept the Bard's works from reaching a wider audience, both in film and on stage. Thank goodness, we finally have a film which, without changing the works themselves, has made the playwright seem human and just as likely to flop as any have since. While it's not likely it really did happen this way, isn't it a beautifully creative way of telling the story. For that, the film is worth seeing, buying and seeing again. If you do your life will be enriched immeasurably!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fantastic
Review: Without question, Shakespeare in Love is one of the most charming and intelligent movies I've ever seen. The script is wonderful, operating on several levels with ease, the performances are all first-rate, and the costume and cinematography are wonderfully convincing. I had no interest when I walked into the theatre, and I was completely won over. Shakespeare in Love was entirely deserving of Best Picture, defeating a much stronger group of pictures than this year's bunch. Highly recommended.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Funny, but not worth Best Picture
Review: This is a pretty funny movie, but I don't understand why it won for best picture.


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