|
 Movie
B+ |
Video B | Audio B
| Extras C-
Kenneth Branagh, Michael Keaton, Robert Sean
Leonard, Keanu Reeves, Emma Thompson, Kate Beckinsale, and Denzel Washington
director Kenneth Branagh | MGM Home Entertainment
1993 | Romantic Comedy | PG-13 | 111 minutes
Region 1 | DVD-9
anamorphic
widescreen
1.85:1 aspect ratio
|
Dolby Digital 5.1
Summary: Much Ado About Nothing is a modernized
adaptation of a classic Shakespearean literary work. It features an
all-star cast directed by Kenneth Branagh. After a military victory, our heroes come home to a village
full of women in waiting. When most of our heroes and women pair up
for an unforgetable home coming and some romance, our hero Benedick (Kenneth Branagh)
is skeptical about the role of romance in his life and refuses to
participate in these festivities. Instead, he uses his wit and
talent to wage a war of words (in the Shapespearean sense) with the
beautiful but equally witty Beatrice (Emma Thompson). Our Prince (Denzel
Washington) realizes that Benedick and Beatrice are perfect for one
another and attempts to bring them together romantically in what turns out
to be a hilarious scheme.
But what is a Shakespearean work without
tragedy? Ah yes, that's where our Evil Don John (Keanu Reeves) comes
in. And who will come to save the day? No other than our
constable, brilliantly played by Michael Keaton. Much Ado About
Nothing stays quite true to the Shakespearean style of dialog, so fans
of Shakespeare's work will find the dialog quite natural to
understand. So, if you're looking for a romantic comedy period film,
with a twist of Shakespearean wit and tragedy, then this film is for you.
The DVD picture quality is rather soft during much
of the film, and the
Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is
very conservatively mixed.
DVD released on 1/7/2003 | Reviewed 3/30/2003
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Additional Notes: Unless we specify otherwise, the
video and audio quality are very good when their grades are "A-"
or better. Only the highest number of channels of surround sound
format is listed (e.g., Dolby Digital 5.1). If there are both Dolby
Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 soundtracks, then both are listed. All
DVD-Video discs are backwards compatible with stereo-only playback
systems.
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Associated equipment used in evaluation: Sony
DVP-S7700 reference DVD player, Sony
KP-61V45 61" rear projection TV (4:3 screen aspect ratio), Sony ES STR-V444ES A/V receiver, four
B&W CDM 9NTs as left/right main speakers
and left/right surrounds, B&W CDM CNT center channel speaker, Monster Cable M-series S-Video cable MSV-500, Monster
Cable Interlink LightSpeed 100 (Toslink) optical cable, Monster Cable
Interlink 400 MKII interconnects, Monster Cable
Original speaker cables in bi-wire configuration with Monster Cable twist-on gold-plated banana plug
connectors, Lovan Sovereign T HiFi audio
rack, and Sony MDR-V600 studio monitor headphones. Our home theater equipment was calibrated
with the Video
Essentials DVD.
Be sure to check out our Top 10 DVDs of the year
2001 and our list of this year's Oscar winners on DVD.
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