Twelfth Night Movie Review 1996

Director Nunn's take on Shakespeare's gender-bending, romantic-comedy, which is now set in the 1890s. Shipwrecked on an unfriendly Illyrian shore, Viola (Stubbs), believing twin brother Sebastian (Mackintosh) to be dead, disguises herself in male attire and joins the retinue of the lovesick Duke Orsino (Stephens). He's pining for the Countess Olivia (Bonham Carter) and decides to use Viola-turned-Cesario as a surrogate wooer. Too bad Olivia's becoming more interested in her effeminate pseudo-suitor and that Orsino's having a few sexual quandries of his own.

Distribution

New Line Home Video, 116 N. Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048, Phone: (310)854-5811, Fax: (310)854-1824, URL: http://www.newline.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS
Running time 133 minutes.
Originally from British.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Romantic Comedy, Gender Bending, Mistaken Identity, Brothers & Sisters, Adapted from a Play, Plays to Film: William Shakespeare, Period Piece: 19th Century, Cousins

Screenplay

Trevor Nunn

Cast

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

Cinematography

Clive Tickner

Director

Trevor Nunn

Music

Shaun Davey

Producer

Stephen Evans, David Parfitt, Greg Smith, Renaissance Films, Fine Line Features