alainenglish

"My Name is Khan" is a highly watchable fairy-tale drama about a Muslim man with Asperger's Syndrome - the Khan of the title, Rizwan Kahn (Shahrukh Khan) - who goes to live in America and makes a career as a cosmetics salesman. He falls in love with a beautiful girl Madira (Kajol) and forms a life with her young son Sam (Yuvaan Makaar). However, tragedy strikes as a result of 9/11, forcing Khan to go on a cross-country journey where he comes to the aid of a hurricane-stricken village, is placed in captivity for being a terrorist and finally meets the President of the United States.

Those of you who are reading this have presumably heeded the spoiler warning above so I hope I haven't given anything away. The movie clocks in at 170 minutes and I was surprised that, despite the many flaws with this film, I did not once feel bored.

This mainly comes down the performances of the three main characters. Shahrukh Khan's performance is brilliant and readily engaging. He is credible as his character and works well with Kajol and Yuvaan Makaar as his surrogate son. The relationships are funny, touching and credibly rendered.

The storyline really needed work, however, and is in many respects dishonest. These kinds of supposedly uplifting fairy tales may be superficially entertaining but in this case obscures the reality of what living with Asperger's is like. I know this myself as someone who has the condition. I know it's only a movie, but I am not being dishonest when I say the character has it easier than many others on the autistic spectrum both here in my country and across the world. In later scenes, the autistic aspects of Khan's character are completely ignored in favour of making him a poster boy for 'good Islam' in response to a hateful or ignorant American public. While it's good to have this distinction between positive and negative Islamic people, this topic deserves a more serious and less pat treatment than it gets here.

The film is slickly produced, with some fantastic cinematography and good use of Bollywood music - it's lovely to hear a Bollywood version of "We Shall Overcome".

I know I've just lambasted it's storyline but I'm giving it 8/10 anyway because I did enjoy it and I hope it kicks open the door for movies that have more serious treatments of the topics of Islam and Asperger's Syndrome.

Easily Shakespeare's most accessible play, with fairies, lovers and comical buffoons, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is given a decent enough rendering here. The play could have been paced better, and some scenes made funnier but on the whole the production is acceptable.

The Duke of Athens Theseus (Nigel Davenport) is preparing to marry his bride Hippolyta (Estelle Kohler) but has problems with two noblemen, Lysander (Robert Lindsay) and Demetrius (Nicky Henson), fighting over the same woman, Hermia (Pippa Guard). A fourth woman Helena (Cherith Mellor) hankers after Demetrius but he's not interested. A troupe of amateur actors, including the demented Bottom (Brian Glover) rehearse a play for the Duke's wedding. Hermia flees with Lysander into the forest pursued by Demetrius and Helena where Oberon (Peter McEnery), king of the fairies, takes an interest in their affairs in between squabbling with his Queen Titania (Helen Mirren). With the aid of his trusty sidekick Puck (Phil Daniels), he attempts to resolve the lovers' dispute himself and in the meantime embarrass Titania by having her fall in love with Bottom...

At it's base this an actually quite complicated plot but the genius of the writing is that it's very easy to follow. The production does the play proud in this aspect and there's never any problem understanding what's going on.

The lover's fighting in the forest benefits from the use of overlapping dialogue, and there is some lovely choral work to complement the fairy scenes. The beginning and end scenes in Athen's court could have been directed with a little more urgency. As it is, they drag somewhat.

Phil Daniel's Puck, however, is too sped up. He is lithe and physical but too much of his dialogue is unfathomable. The scenes with the mechanicals could have been played for more laughs, despite the best efforts of Glover and Geoffrey Palmer as Quince.

The lovers are well portrayed, and their fickleness as they fall in and out of love with one another is given a nice comic edge by the actors. I feel for the actors, though, as they spend most of their scenes drenched in mud and/or water, not a bad achievement in the studio setting.

This series really needs a proper modern dress update these days. There is so much power and relevance in Shakespeare's stories that this project, though well-intended, didn't always take advantage of.

Easily the best known of all the Shakespeare plays, it has been seriously let down here. Shoddy direction, stagnant studio work and erratic performances spoil a fine tragedy.

In the town of Verona, the Capulets and the Montagues have been feuding for centuries but tragedy is imminent when Romeo (Patrick Rycart), a Montague, falls in love with Juliet (Rebecca Saire), a Capulet. Bloodshed soon erupts...

The studio work, especially in daytime scenes, seriously stagnates the energy of the play. It's a story that, with it's energy, deserves to be shot outdoors. Coupled with this the costumes are hideous, with too many tights and ludicrous codpieces. The stage fighting looks horrendous, with far too much stretching and running around to be engaging.

Patrick Ryecart is too lightweight to be a truly effective Romeo. He manages the character's intensity when the plot gets going but his stately accent and bland, often inexpressive eyes limit his range. It is very hard for the audience to relate to this Romeo. Rebecca Saire is too youthful to be a good Juliet - she captures the character's naiveté but a little more sassiness would have been welcome.

The supporting roles don't fare much better. Joseph O'Connor's Friar Laurence is fine but too many of his best lines have been cut. Anthony Andrews' Mercutio belongs on stage and not on camera. He gurns and gesticulates excessively and looks rather ridiculous as a result. Alan Rickman, underplaying his role, has virtually no presence as Tybalt. He did develop an edge and intensity to deliver some fine screen performances in later years, but that isn't in evidence here. The Prince can be a fine role with his brief appearances but actor Lawrence Naismith fails to give the part any authority on camera. Only Micheal Hordern, in probably his best role in this series, comes out of this with any dignity. His Capulet is well-played and a joy to watch.

See one of the other versions of this story instead.

This fantastic rendition of "As You Like It" shames many others in the series with it's lovely costuming, strong direction and location work.

The brave Orlando (Brian Stirner) pursues the lovely Rosalind into the forest of Arden, after she is banished from the royal court by the Duke Frederic (Richard Easton), and along with her servant Celia (Angharad Rees) disguises herself as a boy to survive. Tagging along is Touchstone (James Bolam), the court fool. They find refuge with the former Duke of Arden (Tony Church), and cross-dressing romantic shenanigans quickly ensure as Rosalind attempts to ensure the honesty of her lover...

Although more could have been done with the location (near Glamis Castle, Scotland), it's quality shames the studio work done elsewhere in this series. Many other plays would have been significantly improved if they had been taken out of the studio but sadly this was not the case.

It helps that the play has been directed with flair and restraint - there is no dodgy lion sequence and the wrestling scene with Darth Vader actor David Prowse is brilliant.

Helen Mirren is compelling and well-costumed Rosalind, and Richard Pasco gives a wonderfully maddened turn as the moody Jacques. James Bolam makes a good fist of Touchstone.

A good effort, and no doubt one of the better ones of the BBC series.

One of Shakespeare's best known romantic comedies (how modern romcoms could do these days with more mix-ups and mistaken identities), this one nevertheless fails to deliver.

It's studio-bound setting severely constricts the action, it's sheer obviousness hampering the suspension of disbelief. Micheal Thomas and Felicity Kendal play the separated twins Sebastian and Viola, but they look too dissimilar to really convince in their roles, Thomas being at least two inches taller than Kendal - it is stretching the plot too much to believe that somebody could mistake one for the other.

Alec McCowen plays humiliated manservant Malvolio. He speaks nicely enough but his entire performance is far too restrained. The scene where he is dressed in cross-gartered yellow stockings in a failed bid to impress Olivia (Sinead Cusack) lacks the punch it needs to make it truly hilarious. The other comic characters such as Robert Hardy's Toby Belch cannot compensate. Trevor Peacock has been excellent in other roles in this series but his Feste here is completely ineffective.

A worthy effort as ever, but a modern setting and better casting would have much improved things.

This popular but controversial piece about a Venetian merchant who finds himself at the mercy of a ruthless Jewish money-lender is given a reasonable enough production here. The story with the lovers Bassiano and Portia (and their two friends Graciano and Neryssa) is played gently enough but the play is ruined by it's depiction of Shylock.

John Nettles and Kenneth Cranham are earnest and enjoyable, as is John Franklyn-Robbins depiction of Antonio. Leslee Udwin is sweet as Jessica, and Gemma Jones nails the stately but streetwise Portia.

However, Shylock (Warren Mitchell) is given blatantly villainous and unsympathetic take, visibly more brutish and inhuman than the other characters. His comeuppance, where he's made to kiss a crucifix, is disgusting.

Acted well enough, but you're better off watching the film versions which are more considered and as a result more compelling.

At 205 minutes, this adaptation of Shakespeare's "Othello" is no TV dinner but demands attention as it is a complex tale of jealousy, intrigue and tragedy.

Returning from war, Othello (Anthony Hopkins, in a role originally intended for James Earl Jones) wins the respect of the people and marries his beloved Desdemona (Penelope Wilton). But the scheming of his false friend Iago (Bob Hoskins) threatens all he has fought for...

Bob Hoskins is an excellent Iago, played so much as the Devil Incarnate but as a cunning, almost practical opportunist pulling everyone's strings for his own gain. David Yelland and Anthony Pedley are fine as his dupes Cassio and Roderigo, and Penelope Wilton as serene and innocent as Desdemona.

I profoundly disagree with British Equity not allowing James Earl Jones to take the role of Othello, an idiotic decision at the time that would probably not happen now.

But this takes nothing away from Anthony Hopkins, at least ten years before his star-making turn in "Silence of the Lambs" and giving Othello the full breadth of nobility, vicious jealousy and eventually overpowering guilt. It's a great performance.

Some of the performances are muffled by the poor volume levels on the DVDs, and many good lines and speeches lose some of their power as a result.

Nevertheless, despite it's length, this is still great Shakespeare.

This is easily one of Shakespeare's more exciting action-packed tragedies, working well even in the space of the confined set as shown here. Fine performances and solid direction quickly make the most of the plot. Although technically a Roman drama, it is not based on any true historical events from that period.

Roman General Titus Andronicus (Trevor Peacock) returns to Rome having won victory of Tamora (Eileen Atkins), Queen of the Goths, whom he has captured. As a reward for his victory he is asked to elect the next Emperor of Rome and he chooses Saturninus (Brian Protheroe), the late Emperor's son. Saturninus takes a fancy to Titus' daughter Lavinia (Anna Calder-Marshall) but when she refuses his offer of marriage, he selects Tamora as his Queen instead. Tamora wastes no opportunity to take revenge on her former captor and bloody havoc quickly ensues...

The redoubtable Trevor Peacock, a staple of these BBC adaptations, delivers a noble Titus corroded by rage and revenge. Atkins is on fine form as the scheming Tamora, although Protheroe could have made more of the sliminess in Saturninus.

One notable performer here has not been given his due elsewhere. Hugh Quarshie excels as Tamora's follower Aaron, and gives a solid performance of pure evil. It's a shame they couldn't cast him as the lead in "Othello" as he would been fantastic in the part.

The piece is shot on one set but it works well, the black, decaying walls suggesting a crumbling corrupt society and it is suggestive, appropriately enough, of the Roman Coliseum.

Good stuff.

After a battle to repel Irish and Norwegian invaders, Scottish warrior Macbeth (Nicol Williamson) is named Thane of Cawdor. But a chance encounter with some demonic witches sets on him on a course, encouraged by his voracious wife (Jane Lapotaire), to seize the Scottish crown with bloody consequences...

As a Scotsman, I always find it odd to hear the words of "Macbeth" being spoken in RP English accents. It doesn't hurt the text but it adds so much more hearing Scottish vowels enunciate Shakespeare's words.

So is it here, with Nicol Williamson giving a suitably schizophrenic performance as the main character and Lapotaire evincing an electric sexual energy as his wife. The two head up a strong cast who who carry the story very well.

They are helped by a great musical score and some strong direction. The stage fighting in this piece is easily among the best in the series, and the story in each fight is told with clarity and realism. The absence of gore effects for the supernatural elements of the play might have been a cost-cutting factor but it actually helps. When Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo at his dinner table, we only see an empty chair but it's cut together and scored just right that the audience still gets Macbeth's panicked sense of guilt.

A fine rendition of a still hugely-popular play.

"The Two Gentleman of Verona" is one of Shakespeare's much better comedies, full of the kind of witty wordplay and lively characters that frequently appear in them.

The plot is essentially simple: Proteus (Tyler Butterworth) is in love with Julia (Tessa Peak-Jones) and Valentine (John Hudson) is in love with Silvia (Joanne Pearce). Complications arise, however, when Proteus falls in love with Julia...

There are some good performances here from everyone involved. Butterworth and Hudson are great fun as the two leads, and handle the play's darker elements very well. The portrayal of the two servants Speed and Launce (Nicholas Kaby and Tony Haygarth respectively) are also spot-on, although the latter does tend to confirm Shakespeare's generally patronising attitude in his plays towards the working classes. David Collings as brilliant as ever as irksome fop Thurio.

The theatricality in the production (with a scene in a forest not shot on location but quite evidently in a studio) actually serves the comical story much better than realism.

A good one to get warmed up on Shakespeare.

"The Merry Wives of Windsor" takes one of Shakespeare's most popular characters, Sir John Falstaff, and gives him a story of his own where he tries to make advances on two wives to improve his station in life but in so doing only makes a total fool of himself.

Technically, this looks sumptuous with a wonderful Elizabethan set but the pace (despite a reordering of some scenes) is horribly slack. The subplot with a number of idiot suitors trying to claim the hand of Anne Page (Miranda Foster) pays off well but the build-up is terrible. The actors do what they can - Judy Davis and Prunella Scales as the two wives of the title come off with some dignity but Richard Griffiths is simply not engaging enough as Falstaff and Ben Kingsley is all over the place as Ford. Elizabeth Spriggs is quite good as Mistress Quickly and looks marvelous at the end where she impersonates the Fairy Queen.

Some better pacing and more fluid comic direction would have definitely given things here a much-needed kick up the backside.

This excellent Shakespearean comedy is given a good production here with the BBC. Excellent performances combined with some great direction make this one of the more watchable of the BBC productions.

King Leontes of Sicily (Jeremy Kemp) suspects his wife Hermione (Anna Calder-Marshall) of cheating on him with his friend King of Bohemia Polixenes (Robert Stephens) and sets in motion a tragic train of events leading to an improbable but welcome resolution...

Jeremy Kemp is excellent as Leontes, and Margaret Tyzack is on fine form as Hermione's friend Paulina. Debbie Farrington plays Perdita, Leontes grown-up daughter and she is well matched with Robin Kermode who plays Floriziel. David Burke is solid as Camillo, and it's interesting to see Scottish actor Rikki Fulton as amiable rogue Autolycus.

It's not all good - the bear special effect nearly produced laughter in me and the time span of the story is not played well at all - Camillo is the only who appears to age at all.

Still, it's good fun and well-paced despite it's three hour running time.

Good stuff.

I have never been a huge fan of "King Lear". Over-wrought and over-long, the effect at least upon me is tedious. There is no effective humour to counterpoint the drama (as in the weakest of Shakespearean plays) and the Fool character is no substitute.

The play is about a monarch who divides up his kingdom between his three daughters, one of whom rejects said inheritance, and the resulting scramble for his power results in the King's descent into madness.

Micheal Hordern plays the title character of Lear, and he is actually pretty effective even when the plot loses it's focus now and then. He is given good support by Brenda Blethyn as Cordelia, his most virtuous daughter, Norman Rodway as the doomed Earl of Gloucester and Anton Lesser as Edgar among others.

The stagy direction and lack of pace are deadening, and muffle the effect of the performances. Technically, it is fine for the time though (again) less dependence on straightforward black-and-white backgrounds would have greatly enhanced the look of the play.

I still don't like "King Lear" but if you enjoy this play and you are a student of Shakespeare, this is still a competent enough production.

This follow-up to "Julius Caesar" watching the continuing fortunes of Mark Antony (Colin Blakely) and Octavius Caesar (Ian Charleson) suffers from a fate that plagued too many of the BBC Shakespeare productions. Despite good performances and an accuracy with the text, it is overlong and too Elizabethan for it's own good.

Mark Antony has won the country of Egypt for the Roman Empire, but becomes divided from his friend and fellow ruler Octavius Caesar when he falls in love with Cleopatra (Jane Lapotaire), Queen of Egypt setting the pair of them on course for a showdown...

Blakely is good as Antony, and Lapotaire is dynamic and passionate as Cleopatra but Colin Blakely could do more with Caesar to give him more presence. There is some good support here with Emrys James's conflicted Enobarbus and Antony Pedley as Agrippa.

Technically it's got some interesting sets notably Cleopatra's boudoir, but there is an excessive reliance on plain white or plain black backgrounds, and the stage fighting is clumsy and awkward to watch.

Some scenes could have definitely been cut for pace as they drag too often, a sin in a straight drama such as this.

Worthy but ineffective stuff.

"Coriolanus" is a good Shakespeare play, though lack the thematic and character precision of some his better tragedies, most notably "Macbeth" which was also about a soldier.

Caius Marcius - later renamed Coriolanus - (Alan Howard) returns to Rome after a proud victory over the Volscian warrior and his nemesis Tullus Aufidius (Mike Gwylim). However his proud disdain for the people of Rome sees him quickly banished by the senators, setting the scene for his downfall that not even the appeals of sympathetic senator (Joss Ackland) or his mother (Irene Worth) can prevent.

Howard is quite a presence as Coriolanus, bristling with arrogance and hatred. His performance, though, is a little too theatrical at times. Mike Gwylim is fine as Aufidius and Irene Worth is a fine matronly presence as Volumnia, his mother.

It's technically very interesting to watch despite the typically clumsy stage fighting. Corioli and the home of the Volscis are crimson sets, appropriate for a defeated people drenched in blood and anger and the battles are framed well enough in darkly lit backgrounds of smoke and fire. Some scenes could have been trimmed for pacing.

Another good entry, and a reasonable enough try at one of Shakespeare's more difficult plays.

Heavy on dialogue and lacking in humour, "Julius Caesar" nevertheless has a great deal going for it - the powerful characters and some memorable speeches (I needn't list which ones), along with political intrigue combined with a supernatural undertone make this the best of Shakespeare's Roman dramas.

Julius Caesar (Charles Gray) arrives back in Rome after a glorious victory in Pompey. However, his inclinations towards political moves that would see him assume absolute control over the country see a rebellion among his inner circle that kick-starts a civil war that threatens to destroy the Roman Empire.

Unlike "Coriolanus" and "Antony and Cleopatra", this production actually makes an effort for accuracy in it's period detail and the Roman costumes and sets (within the confines of a BBC budget) actually look pretty good. The production employs an interesting technique of having the actors seem to 'think' their monologues (reacting wordlessly in camera as the monologue is spoken as a voice-over). This is a great idea that I'd like to see used more often in Shakespeare screen adaptations.

Charles Gray restrains the camp with which he imbues many performances and gives a very dignified and honest portrayal of Caesar. Richard Pasco and David Collings are very good as the scheming Brutus and Cassius, and Virginia McKenna gives a very spirited and sensual performance as Portia. Also of note is Keith Michell, who is excellent as Marc Antony.

It's a sit-through with little humour to counter the drama but it's worth it.

"The Comedy of Errors" is probably one of Shakespeare's more enjoyable comedies, with plenty of beautiful rhyming barbs and a plot with romance, intrigue, mistaken identity and of course the usual celebratory song and dance finale.

It's all done with aplomb here, despite a rambling prelude and some awkward split-screen effects near the end. When travelling tradesman Antipholus (Micheal Kitchen) and his assistant Dromio (Roger Daltrey) wind up in Ephesus, a bizarre series of escapades sees them confused with a local nobleman and his servant who not look identical to them but even have the same names. Complications arise with, among others, the nobleman's wife Adriana (Suzanne Bertish), her servant Luciana (Joanna Pearce) and the Duke of Ephesus (Charles Gray).

It's weird to see a member of "The Who" doing Shakespeare but Roger Daltrey acquits himself well and makes a fine double act with Micheal Kitchen. Bertish is wonderfully feisty as Adriana, and Cyril Cusack bookends the play as the twin's hapless father Aegeon.

The only serious problem is the staging. This story might have worked better on location, as the sets look too much like a Blue Peter style TV studio. Despite some fancy camera-work, it still detracts from the effect.

If you can ignore this, it's easy enough to enjoy this delightful comedy frolic

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.

After the zippy musical version of this Shakespeare play, I was expecting the BBC version to be a more sedate affair. It isn't, and some lively performances and astute staging really give life to this TV version of the play.

The King of Navarre and his three friends plan to devote three years of life study and to abstain from women throughout this period. Needless to say, the arrival of the Princess of France and her friends put a spanner in the works...

Jonathan Kent gives a dignified, quiet presence to the increasing invigorated King, and Mike Gwilym has marvellous fun with the text as Berowne. Maureen Lipman is on good form as the Princess of France, and Paul Jesson and David Warner are the comics of the piece, giving fine performances.

The sets and the lighting for this story are among the finest in the series, and their use gives the right kind of colour and shade to each scene.

Highly watchable Shakespeare.

Though not nearly as much fun as some of Shakespeare's better comedies, this is nevertheless good fun to watch. Although it irritates me to see Shakespeare performed in stodgy period dress, it's still a well-acted piece.

I was especially fond of Peter Jeffrey as the foppish Parolles. I like Shakespeare when he portrays upper-class idiots as he has a tendency in too many of his plays ("Measure for Measure", "A Midsummer Night's Dream")to portray the working classes as fools or rustics whose natural place is subservient to the lords and ladies who are so often his principal characters. This is patronising, but is some way made up for here. Jeffrey is excellent fun and his verbal duels with Micheal Horden's Lafeu are the best scenes in the play.

Angela Down is very good is the smart Helena, and Ian Charleson has the right mix of charm and sullenness as Bertram, her unwilling choice of husband. Pippa Guard is very fetching as the maid Diana, and Donald Sinden gives a good performance as the King of France.

By no means a classic of Shakespeare's, it's still a good watch.

One of Shakespeare's lesser-performed works, this is still a watchable play and it is well produced here by the BBC. It poses a number of staging problems, including three shipwrecks and a time span of twenty years. It's handled here well, however, and the result is a great production.

Pericles, Prince of Tyre (Mike Gwylim), discovers the dreadful answer to King Antiochus' riddle and it sets him on a course that sees him survive famine, forced into marriage and then losing his wife and child, only for a dramatic last-minute reunion.

Gwylim is good as the stricken Pericles, and he is well-backed up by Amanda Redman as his daughter Marina and Juliet Stevenson as his wife Thaisa. Annette Crosby is on good form as the scheming Dionyza. Edward Petherbridge is also likable as Gower, the narrator.

Another good quality alternative to Shakespeare on stage.

"Sherlock Holmes" is a terrific movie that, contrary to my expectation, captured the spirit and brilliance of the Arthur Conan Doyle novels. Although the trailers seemed to depict Holmes as morphing into an action hero, his detection work here is top-notch.

The story, involving the villainous Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) and his scheme to blow up the Houses of Parliament, is actually very good and supremely involving. Just when you think they have left a giant plot-hole it is explained away in the next scene. It is a great story on it's own, but leaves an exciting set-up for a possible sequel. Holmes' nemesis Moriarty (added during reshoots) is woven into the plot without detracting from it. But anyone expecting Brad Pitt to make an appearance (even post-credits) will be disappointed.

Robert Downey Jr. is brilliant as Holmes - flamboyant, eccentric and coldly logical he fills the role sublimely. Jude Law is good fun as Watson, and Mark Strong makes a terrific villain. Rachel McAdams and Kelly Reilly are appealing as the love interests for Holmes and Watson, and Eddie Marsan makes a good fist of the bumbling Inspector Lestrade.

The sets and CGI backdrops are also skilfully crafted and deliver a real Victorian flavour. Some fantastic action scenes abound, with a thrilling finale atop Tower Bridge.

I don't want to give away too much, but watching this will certain whet your appetite or curiosity about the Sherlock Holmes books.

A joy to watch.

Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure" is one of Shakespeare's darker comedies and has some decent musings on life, love and duty. It concerns the Duke of Vienna (Kenneth Colley), who decides to temporarily abdicate his throne and his place he puts the sinister Angelo (Tim Pigott-Smith). When Angelo decides to put a man to death for pre-marital sex, his sister Isabella (Kate Nelligan) pleads for his life. Angelo agrees one condition: she must surrender her virginity to him...

Tim Pigott-Smith is well-cast as Angelo, and his frightened yet lusty eyes easily convey his character's torn emotions. Kenneth Colley is excellent as the Duke, who disguises himself as a monk and arranges a happy ending for Isabella. Colley has a strong command of the language and propels the story along seemingly without effort. Christopher Strauli is Claudio, the condemned man and Yolande Palfrey is very pretty as his betrothed Juliet.

What irritates about this admittedly well-produced adaptations is their insistence on traditional costume and setting. Combined with 80s TV lighting, it really makes Shakespeare look like acquired taste rather than the vital playwright that he was and still is. The comics in this play, dandy Lucio (John McEnery) and the rustics led by Pompey (Frank Middlemass) get dialogue that sounds unexpectedly contemporary. Lucio describes women as "punks" and Pompey gets a wonderful bit of dialogue about his "bum". Derogatory insults, I know, but how well exchanges like this have played in a contemporary setting...

I enjoyed watching this version of the play, regardless of the limitations imposed on it by the period in which it was filmed and would recommend renting it for those looking for a cheaper alternative to Shakespeare at the theatre.

The 1970s/1980s BBC adaptation of all of Shakespeare's plays would be done very differently today. Back then, nearly all the actors and most of the stories were played in an old-fashioned Elizabethan style that you just wouldn't see nowadays.

This is exactly what plagues "The Tempest", one of Shakespeare's last plays and a story that just cries out for modern special effects to really add life to it's language and it's characters.

The story tells of Prospero (Micheal Hordern), the deposed Duke of Milan, reclaiming his Dukedom on the island where he's been exiled and he uses his powers of magic to whip a storm (the tempest of the title) to bring those who ousted him to the island, where they can resolve their differences. Complications arise with Prospero's daughter Miranda (Pippa Guard), the sailor Ferdinand (Christopher Guard) with whom she falls in love and the machinations of Ariel (David Dixon), a spirit of the island and Caliban (Warren Clarke), Prospero's slave...

It is as always very well acted, with notable performances from Hordern as Prospero and Pippa Guard who makes a very pretty Miranda. It is wonderful to see Nigel Hawthorne and Andrew Sachs pop up as clowns Stefano and Trinculo and they are good fun to watch on screen.

The design of the play is a perhaps a little bit too stagey, and not enough is made of the character of the island itself. Caliban's speech in Act 3, Scene Two tells of the wonders of the island but there is too little of these wonders on screen and a parade of naked man masquerading as spirits does not compensate for this.

Good to watch, but definitely for Shakespeare buffs only.

"Troilus and Cressida", based on the Greek legend of lovers Troilus and Cressyd, is not one of Shakespeare's best plays. The dialogue is too knotty, with a lot of characters making big speeches about very little and the best characters in the play are woefully underused.

I liked this version, as it showcases the best qualities of the play including the character of Pandarus (Charles Gray), who tries to help the lovers Troilus (Anton Lesser) and Cressida (Suzanne Burden) in the midst of the Trojan war. Unlike Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare's other famous tragic couple, these two are actually on the same side but their union is jeopardised when Cressida is bargained away by her father in exchange for a prisoner...

Asides from Gray, who gives a wonderfully camp turn as Pandarus, the brilliant Jack Birkett (aka the Great Orlando) gives a brilliant turn as Greek fool Thersites, his Mancunian twang making the most of the language. The two lovers when they get a look in are very well written and played, but their story is too overshadowed by the tedious political chicanery going in the rest of the play.

Worth checking out, especially after the recent Shakespeare's Globe production.