English - Much Ado About Nothing Movie Comparisons
A True Comedy
“Much Ado About Nothing”, a comedy written by Shakespeare, tells us the story of a complex love story between two pairs of lovers. Recently, I had watched two adaptations of this play. One was the original play written by Shakespeare and directed by Branagh. The other adapted by David Nicholls and directed by Brian Percival. The Shakespearean adaptation takes place in the Renaissance era of Messina, Italy. The adaption by David Nicholls takes place in the modern era, in England. Clearly, the Shakespearean version is much older, and so it differs from the modern adaption greatly. In terms of setting, feminism and language, distinct differences can be found.
First of all, as the time periods differ, there is a huge contrast in the setting. In Branagh’s version, the setting takes place in Leonato’s mansion, in Messina, Italy. As the governor of Messina, Leonato allows Don Pedro and his soldiers to stay in the mansion to rest after a victorious battle. However, this would be unlikely to happen in the modern era. So, in Percival’s version, the setting is changed to a local news studio in England. This setting gives a lot of advantages to the characters of the play. It allows characters in the play to eavesdrop on each other, which acts as a catalyst to other events. Also, it suits the personality of the characters well, especially the brilliant, witty talkers, Beatrice and Benedick. In addition, the setting creates different moods. In Branagh’s version, there is a garden, a fountain, and a party hall, which shows how much freedom the characters have. On the contrary, in the other version, as it is a workplace, there is much more stress portrayed. We can see this through the use of cigarettes, alcohol, and electronics. Like so, these factors created different atmospheres for the characters in each version, and affected the plot as well.
Another difference can be found in the use of language as well as the use of literary devices used. Primarily, in
“Much Ado About Nothing”, a comedy written by Shakespeare, tells us the story of a complex love story between two pairs of lovers. Recently, I had watched two adaptations of this play. One was the original play written by Shakespeare and directed by Branagh. The other adapted by David Nicholls and directed by Brian Percival. The Shakespearean adaptation takes place in the Renaissance era of Messina, Italy. The adaption by David Nicholls takes place in the modern era, in England. Clearly, the Shakespearean version is much older, and so it differs from the modern adaption greatly. In terms of setting, feminism and language, distinct differences can be found.
First of all, as the time periods differ, there is a huge contrast in the setting. In Branagh’s version, the setting takes place in Leonato’s mansion, in Messina, Italy. As the governor of Messina, Leonato allows Don Pedro and his soldiers to stay in the mansion to rest after a victorious battle. However, this would be unlikely to happen in the modern era. So, in Percival’s version, the setting is changed to a local news studio in England. This setting gives a lot of advantages to the characters of the play. It allows characters in the play to eavesdrop on each other, which acts as a catalyst to other events. Also, it suits the personality of the characters well, especially the brilliant, witty talkers, Beatrice and Benedick. In addition, the setting creates different moods. In Branagh’s version, there is a garden, a fountain, and a party hall, which shows how much freedom the characters have. On the contrary, in the other version, as it is a workplace, there is much more stress portrayed. We can see this through the use of cigarettes, alcohol, and electronics. Like so, these factors created different atmospheres for the characters in each version, and affected the plot as well.
Another difference can be found in the use of language as well as the use of literary devices used. Primarily, in