We continue our celebration of the 450th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare on “Picture Perfect” this week, with music from film adaptations made by Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh. The two overlapped on a handful of the Shakespeare plays, including “Henry V” and “Hamlet.” William Walton was Olivier’s house composer, and Patrick Doyle provides the scores for Branagh.
Walton and Olivier collaborated on three big projects, with Olivier as actor, director and usually producer – “Henry V” (1944), “Hamlet” (1948) and “Richard III” (1955). Earlier, in 1936, Walton scored a film version of “As You Like It.” Olivier didn’t direct this one, but rather appeared in one of the leads as the lovesick Orlando. In the role of Rosalind was the more unconventional choice of Austrian actress Elisabeth Bergner, who had played the role on stage. Her husband, Paul Czinner, directed. The film exudes great charm, and Walton’s music is as close to springtime as it gets.
Branagh is today’s foremost popularizer of the Bard. His turn as actor and director in “Henry V” (1989) boldly placed him toe-to-toe with Olivier. Amazingly – and deservedly – comparisons were not unfavorable. Branagh’s performance was nominated for an Academy Award. (Olivier, too, had been nominated, and received a special award for his “Outstanding achievement as actor, producer and director in bringing ‘Henry V’ to the screen”). However, by the time Branagh came to direct his version of “As You Like It” (2006), a number of factors had changed.
Following “Henry V,” things continued promisingly with a crowd-pleasing romp, “Much Ado About Nothing” (1993). But then Branagh mounted an unabridged, four-hour film adaptation of “Hamlet” (1996), laden with crazy cameos from Jack Lemmon (bad) to Charlton Heston (amazingly good), followed by a headscratch-inducing, American Songbook-laden “Love’s Labours Lost” (2000), which was universally panned. It certainly didn’t help Shakespeare’s clout in the eyes of distributors.
“As You Like It” received theatrical showings overseas, but was shown in America only on HBO. In Branagh’s version, the forest of Arden is transferred to 19th century Japan. There, English traders encounter ample kimonos, kabuki theatre, ninjas and a sumo wrestler. As always, Doyle provides a score that is lyrical and lovely.
It’s instructive to view the two directors’ takes on “Henry V” in the context of the times in which they were filmed. When Olivier brought Harry the King to the big screen, England was in throes of the Second World War and his “Henry” bubbles over with patriotic zeal.
Branagh, on the other hand, offers a darker, post-Vietnam “Henry,” with his charismatic, ambitious king plunging his country into a war that is both costly and messy. Fortunately, as history tells us, the long-bow saves the day, and Branagh’s Henry makes us forget his cold rejection of old friendships with a hair-raising rendition of the St. Crispin’s Day speech that makes anyone who hears it want to fight the French, consequences be damned.
Join me Friday evening at 6 ET for “Picture Perfect: Music for the Movies,” or catch the show later as a webcast, at http://www.wwfm.org.
