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Movies / On DVD / Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night

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Twelfth Night (1996)

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Reviews Counted:30

Fresh:21

Rotten:9

Average Rating:6.8/10

Consensus: Director Trevor Nunn makes some questionable choices, but his stellar cast -- which includes Helena Bonham-Carter, Ben Kingsley, and Nigel Hawthorne -- more than rises to the material.

Runtime: 2 hrs 45 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Trevor Nunn's version of William Shakespeare's classic comedy revolves around Viola, a young woman who disguises herself as a man to work as a page in the court of Count Orsino. Orsino is... Trevor Nunn's version of William Shakespeare's classic comedy revolves around Viola, a young woman who disguises herself as a man to work as a page in the court of Count Orsino. Orsino is hopelessly in love with a woman named Olivia, and soon Viola finds herself hopelessly in love with Orsino. But Orsino thinks she's a man, and her predicament worsens when she realizes that Olivia has fallen in love with her. Nunn's film sets the play in the 19th Century and brings out both the ebullient and the melancholy aspects of Shakespeare's story. [More]

Starring: Helena Bonham-Carter, Ben Kingsley, Nigel Hawthorne, Richard E. Grant

Starring: Helena Bonham-Carter, Ben Kingsley, Nigel Hawthorne, Richard E. Grant, Imogen Stubbs, Mel Smith, Imelda Staunton, Steven Mackintosh, Toby Stephens

Director: Trevor Nunn

Director: Trevor Nunn
Screenwriter: Trevor Nunn
Producer: Stephen Evans, David Parfitt
Composer: Shaun Davey

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Twelfth Night

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
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Why Nunn chose to set this version in the 1890s is a little baffling.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
07/06/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
10/18/08
Angie Errigo
Angie Errigo
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The direction is assured, and the cast is masterly.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
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Stage director Trevor Nunn hasn't exploited it in his film of the chaotic Bard farce, which delivers only fitfully on goodwill the play automatically beckons.

comment Comment
01/01/00
USA Today
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
03/24/02
Boston Phoenix
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/25/02
Boxoffice Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Where is Preston Sturges when we need him?

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/06/08
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
06/23/04
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

Carter plays the slightly unstable Olivia with comic efficiency.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
01/01/00
Barbara Shulgasser
Barbara Shulgasser
San Francisco Examiner

No review available.

comment Comment
10/31/03
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

Twelfth Night is blessed with a first rate cast, all of whom have bought into Nunn’s vision.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide

British director Nunn doesn’t always take advantage of the play’s comic possibilities. But he creates absorbing, original moments -- in the unlikeliest of places.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post

No review available.

comment Comment
07/04/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Focuses on the twists and turns in the giddy game of life.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
08/28/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Shakespeare aficionados will probably be pleased that so much of the written word has made it to the screen, but the two-plus hour running length is a bit burdensome.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

Nunn has done a very good job of keeping the humor and vitality of Shakespeare intact...

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

No review available.

comment Comment
04/10/03
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Only fitfully do the actors actually seem to become the characters they are playing.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
02/14/01
Kevin Thomas
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Not to be missed.

Full Review Source: Film Scouts | comment Comment
04/17/02
Leslie Rigoulot
Leslie Rigoulot
Film Scouts

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinematter | comment Comment
01/01/00
Madeleine Williams
Madeleine Williams
Cinematter
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
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