Oliver's first cinematic Shakespeare, David Lean as editor, J.M. Barrie (Peter Pan author) credited for "treatment" of the play, Jack Cardiff (the great cinematographer) as camera operator. With all of that talent it should be great. I'm not some kind of purist when it comes to cinematic Shakespeare.
Given that "As You Like It" is not one of my favorite plays this experiment of bringing the Bard's work to the masses could be enough to keep this viewer away from ever wanting to see any more of this. The most damaging part of this version is the poor choice by director Paul Czinner of turning over the pivotal role of Rosalind to his wife, Elisabeth Bergner. For me the thickness of her German accent bleeds all of the life and poetry out of the production. She is quite attractive but just not right for this part. The beautiful photography, the fairy tale sets, the play itself, and the beautiful Oliver (whose performance is far from classic) can not salvage this abomination. It's everything Shakespeare should not be.
Given that "As You Like It" is not one of my favorite plays this experiment of bringing the Bard's work to the masses could be enough to keep this viewer away from ever wanting to see any more of this. The most damaging part of this version is the poor choice by director Paul Czinner of turning over the pivotal role of Rosalind to his wife, Elisabeth Bergner. For me the thickness of her German accent bleeds all of the life and poetry out of the production. She is quite attractive but just not right for this part. The beautiful photography, the fairy tale sets, the play itself, and the beautiful Oliver (whose performance is far from classic) can not salvage this abomination. It's everything Shakespeare should not be.