LouHomey From my favorite movies..

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

oOoBarracuda I opted, again, for what the powers that be on the internet call the most faithful adaptation of Shakespeare's Cymbeline, and that is certainly what I got when I watched Elijah Moshinsky's 1982 made for T.V. version. Part of BBC Shakespeare; Cymbeline brought together Richard Johnson, Hugh Thomas, and Helen Mirren to tell the tale of the angry King of Britain whose daughter has chosen to marry a poor man, below her class level. Reeling from this betrayal, King Cymbeline banishes his new son-in-law who eventually goes off to fight for Rome in the army. Exploring themes familiar in works of Shakespeare such as, appearance v. reality, youth and age, and forgiveness; Cymbeline is a quintessential work of the Bard, even if not one of his more famous pieces. The daughter of King Cymbeline, of Britain; Imogen (Helen Mirren) neglects her father's wishes of marrying nobility and instead marries Posthumus (Michael Pennington). enraged at the feeling of disloyalty from his daughter, Cymbeline banishes Posthumus to Italy where he eventually fights for Rome. While in Italy, Posthumus meets a man named Cloten who believes that all women are just waiting to be seduced. Cloten wagers with Posthumus that he can travel to the British court and woo Imogen. Remaining steadfast to her husband, Imogen refuses Cloten's advancements. Realizing he will not successfully woo Imogen, Cloten hides in a trunk taken to Imogen's room one evening and watches her sleep, taking a bracelet from Posthumus on his way out of her chambers. Cloten then returns to Rome to brag about his seeming victory to Posthumus. Posthumus becomes enraged with his wife's alleged infidelity and sets orders to have her killed. Saved by a servant, Pisanio (John Kane) who believes in Imogen's innocence, he urges Imogen to dress as a man and infiltrate the Roman army in order to set things right with Posthumus. Imogen's task becomes more complicated when Posthumus, feeling regret, believing to be responsible for the death of his wife switches uniforms and begins fighting with the British army to try and redeem himself. Shakespeare crafts a story that is never quite what it seems to be, even to the end.As noted, this presentation is part of a BBC Shakespeare series and looks very much like a play on film. It needs to be mentioned that, at times, this does not play to the advantage. Oftentimes the set restrictions of a television program leave the actors seeming cramped and restricted on-screen. Other times, however, the closeness played to the production's advantage. For instance, in the touching scene between Imogen and Posthumus before his leaving for Italy, their close proximity added to the love they shared. The farewell scene culminated in a beautiful shot of the newlyweds centered against a window. This shot was wonderful and provided a nice foreshadowing of the separation they would experience upon Posthumus' departure. What a treat to see a work of Helen Mirren's from the 80's. I'm really only familiar with her more recent work, and now I can safely say that she was as good an actress as she ever was in 1982. The film moved a bit slow for me, but the story is captivating and Mirren's acting will keep you hooked until the end.Appearance v. reality, a theme Shakespeare explored throughout much of his work, was heavily relied upon in Cymbeline. This is most glaring in the beginning of the film. Even though the King comes off as an alpha male, attempting to thrust his will upon his daughter, he has relinquished all ruling power to the Queen. Throughout the film, the Queen gives off the appearance of siding with Imogen, yet all the while working against her. Of course, later in the film, Imogen dresses as a man attempting to give off the appearance of an Italian soldier, while in reality being a regal woman married to Posthumus. The ideas of youth v. age are also explored throughout the production. The King, living isolated from even his own family, forgets (or, rather, ignores) what it is like to fall in love, and is only thinking of class and tradition when encouraging his daughter to marry the right man. The movie really rests upon each character's ability to forgive. Imogen seeks forgiveness from Posthumus because she is innocent of what he believes her to have done. Posthumus also seeks forgiveness from Imogen for doubting her and trying to have her killed. Although not one of his more famous works, Cymbeline has a rich story that remains one of my personal favorites.

Peter Piper This play was first staged in the early 1600s and inevitably it has lost something in transportation through time and space to a BBCTV studio. The atmosphere doesn't feel right even though the costumes and sets are not bad. As for the plot, King Cymbeline (Richard Johnson) is not a happy bunny when his daughter Imogen (Helen Mirren) marries beneath her station. He banishes the husband from the kingdom and puts Imogen under the wing of her treacherous stepmother (Claire Bloom). From there the story takes many twists and turns. Robert Lindsay puts in a fine performance as a baddie, and it's nice to see Michael Gough, Patricia Hayes, Marius Goring and Michael Hordern popping up here and there. The play is not one of Shakespeare's greatest hits though, and this 1980s TV version only just held my attention; it seemed dull in parts.

Alain English Another good adaptation of a Shakespeare play, Cymbeline sees the title character, the King of Britain,cast his daughter Imogen into exile for choosing the wrong husband, lowly Posthumous thus setting off a chain of events that nearly sees him lose his crown. Machinations abound with the King's scheming wife,his fey and pompous stepson, as well as a group of hunters lurking in the nearby forest who have deep and ultimately redeeming connections with the King.Richard Johnson is likable enough as the beleaguered King, and Claire Bloom and Micheal Gough are good enough in their roles. Robert Lindsay could be more menacing in the part of the scheming Iachimo, despite a racy mock-seduction scene with Helen Mirren's Imogen. Mirren is good to watch as the virtuous but naive princess, despite a scene in the end where she's lamely disguised as a boy but no-one recognises her. Paul Jesson, usually cast as rough working class characters, bravely takes the other route as Clothen and comes off well. Micheal Pennington, however, is the biggest loss as Posthumous. He's gamely acting his socks off but he just isn't moving enough to really convince us of his character's plight.The story at least is seen to make sense and that is reason enough to give this one a go. Not the best of the BBC Shakespeare adaptations but not the worst either.

Tom May I really was far from gripped by this; I must admit that I was watching it in my faculty library, for study purposes - but that does not rule me out of having a fair opinion on this production's merits.This is one of the BBC Shakespeare Series, made in the late 1970s and early 1980s largely; 'twas a series that often lacked the necessary budgets to create any visual impact whatsoever. For instance, compare Orson Welles' filming of the Shrewsbury Battle to the pathetic, barely conveyed at all BBC sequence at the end of "Henry IV, Part I"... Really, these adaptations do not measure up (I admit I have not seen all of them, so I am not necessarily speaking about every one) to the many intriguing cinematic envisionings of Shakespeare, and indeed this "Cymbeline" simply does not make use of its television medium.The cast is solid, but uninspired; Helen Mirren, for example, very forgettable in the crucial lead female role. Many barely try to rise above the bare-minimum mediocrity of the production. Some of the costumes are 'nice' I guess - a conscious attempt to place the action in the early C17 - but Moshinsky's direction is pretty non-existent. The action is, however, presented without any zest, slant or variation; this basically seems far too much of a filmed stage-play, although it is of course supposed to be a 'television adaptation'. Some actors acquit themselves adroitly - the irreproachable Robert Lindsay perfect as the silvery jackanapes Iachimo - and most of an experienced, familiar cast are tidy, but fail to add much to their roles: Michael Gough ('Horror Hospital', 'Satan's Slave'), Marius Goring ('A Matter of Life and Death' indeed!), Graham Crowden ('The Company of Wolves', Old Jock in 'A Very Peculiar Practice' and a thumping hiss-the-melodrama-villain turn as Soldeed in "Dr Who"'s 'The Horns of Nimon'), John Kane, Hugh Thomas (inscrutably bespectacled here) and the grand old Michael Hordern in a cameo as Jupiter. Really, this is a competent but undeniably dull near-three hours to trudge through. One of the most curious of Shakespeare's plays is barely adapted; is it a history, a romance, a drama? A problem play...? The director is palpably at a loss as to define the material in his terms. It would take a rather more dynamic and thought through adaptation to bring something more out of the play. As it is, I was left un-enthused and unimpressed with this production, and by extension a play that seems a poor relation of the genuinely fascinating problem-comedies.