Much Ado About Nothing (1993) Kenneth Branagh This 1993 release is almost as convoluted as Romeo and Juliet, with a Prince doing what John Alden was supposed to do, young lovers being deceived by a villain, and a feuding couple being finagled to the altar. But you don't need to know the plot-it's Shakespeare-with all of his glorious prose and rhyme and rhythm and flow and control of the English language. "She speaks poignards, and every word stabs." "Silence is the perfectest herald of joy!" "For man is a giddy thing, and this is my conclusion." The entire movie was great, especially the saddles on the horses, the calligraphed song, the Garden, and the Tuscany villa. Academy Award nominations to Michael Keaton as the constable for being "too profound to be understood" and for being-as he himself notes most humorously-"an ass;" to Kenneth Branagh when speaking of marriage, for asking the priest "to bind me or undo me" (implying that marriage will do both); and to Emma Thompson speaking on her reluctance to marry: "not until God make men of some other metal than earth!" —David Apppleton

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