From the back cover of the book:
"Without doubt, Branagh's Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing revitalized the domain of Shakespearean films." Michael Skovmand, Screen Shakespeare, 1994
"Kenneth Branagh is the most amazing director I've ever worked with. He gets hold of your soul, puts his fist down your throat, gets into your guts and just stirs..." Kate Winslet, USA Today, April 1996
In 1993, when asked if he felt a drive to make Shakespeare come alive to new audiences, Kenneth Branagh answered, "I do feel a kind of mission, yes." Now at the height of his career, A Companion to the Shakespearean Films of Kenneth Branagh documents the extraordinary success of Kenneth Branagh's mission.
by Sarah Hatchuel
No one does William Shakespeare on film better than the multi-talented, world-famous actor and director, Kenneth Branagh. Unforgettable are his portrayals of the Bard's most enduring and complex characters; unbelievable is the impact his films have had on our contemporary understanding of the Shakespearean canon. His Oscar-nominated Hamlet; the well-loved Much Ado About Nothing filmed in the beautiful hills of Tuscany, and his early and brilliantly successful Henry V have introduced the great literary works to a contemporary audience. No doubt these films will influence Shakespearean acting on stage and screen for generations to come. This summer his newest Shakespearean adaptation, Loves's Labour's Lost, opens across North America.
The Companion to the Shakespearean Films of Kenneth Branagh examines the rich alchemy that has contributed to Branagh's body of work: the influences of his acting and directing Shakespeare on stage at London's Royal Shakespeare Company and at his own Renaissance Theatre Company; his development of a natural and contemporary diction for Shakespeare's poetry; his recycling of traditional Hollywood genres and filmic techniques; and more.
About the Author
Sarah Hatchuel studied Shakespearean acting at the London Academy of Performing Arts and attended the Sorbonne where she studied Shakespeare on film and became intrigued by Kenneth Branagh's influence on the popularizing of Shakespeare for a wider cinema audience. She was a guest speaker at the 1999 Shakespeare on Screen Conference in Malaga, Spain. She has a degree in management and economics, and lives and works in Paris.
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A Companion to the Shakespearean Films of Kenneth Branagh by Sarah Hatchuel ISBN 0-921368-89-5 US$ 22.00 / CDN$ 29.95 198 pp. / (pb) / 5 1/4 x 8 1/4 in Performing Arts / Film Distributed in the United States and Canada by General Distribution Services. Book can be ordered through amazon.com as well as General Distribution.