Neil Welch Against the background of young love (and a malicious plan to disrupt it), Beatrice and Benedick are brought together by their friends, despite a history of bickering and sniping towards each other.Filmed at London's Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, this is a straightforward film of a theatrical presentation in front of a live audience (some of whom are getting severely rained on, at times). The play is one of Shakespeare's most accessible, and it is well performed here by a cast who are mostly unknown to TV and movie watchers. Costumes are handsome, and the Globe itself is always a pleasing setting (there is little by way of staging, but that does not matter). The audience reaction is a pleasing part of this recording - there is a lot of laughter.My one minor criticism is Dogberry's tic - yes, he should be played broadly, but it adds nothing.

ferdinand1932 This is an exciting and superb production in every respect. The actors are all in excellent form and well directed. Their grasp of the text and especially its pacing is just a pleasure as they make it work splendidly. This is where the basics of people and language come together to give an amusing and emotional experience.No film version can get anywhere near to this experience. Films are always edited and simplified.But the one ingredient that makes this comedy rise so very high is that of the audience. They react and sigh, laugh, and jeer, clap and give the feeling of being there and having a communal experience. The audience really add an extra layer of enjoyment and no doubt it's why laughter tracks were added to TV comedies to try to lend that quality of communal pleasure.There is no point singling out certain names for mention here as everyone on the stage, behind it, with the camera, etc have all done a wonderful job.Watch this and forget all other movie versions.

LFTSmith I agree that this was one of the best productions of All's Well that Ends Well that I have seen. The cinema production from the Globe enabled viewers to capture the performance better than those attending the event (particularly rain-soaked groundlings). The performance by Eve Best was outstanding, though all were first-rate. Eve Best showed perfect timing in a wonderful comic performance - a side of her acting I had not previously had the pleasure of experiencing. The Globe should be encouraged by the success of this production to more on-screen. The atmosphere enjoyed by those attending a live performance seems unlikely to damage takings. I for one would be happy to attend a live performance and then enjoy the cinema performance later-or vice versa.

Richard Nathan I have seen many performances of "Much Ado About Nothing," (although I have not yet seen the Joss Whedon film), and this is my favorite one to date. It was shot live at the Globe Stage, and the rain was pouring down on the groundlings in the first part, but they stayed and enjoyed the performances. I can't recommend this one enough. I have seen the play often on stage, and I've seen the Branagh film and the television one with Sam Watterston (both of which I also recommend), but this one made me feel like time. One of the best things about it is that it made Claudio seem like less of a jerk for the way he treats Hero. The performer plays Claudio as particularly young and naive, so his actions are ALMOST forgivable.