Official Press Release
FROM SHAKESPEARE TO HOLLYWOOD: KENNETH BRANAGH AT THE NFT
In May 1999 the National Film Theatre will stage a major retrospective of
the films and television work of celebrated actor/director Kenneth Branagh
(2-31 May). On 23 May Kenneth Branagh will take part in The Guardian
Interview at the NFT, following a special preview of his latest film, Woody
Allen's Celebrity.
Kenneth Branagh is one of Britain's most prolific and exciting talents. He
has proven himself at ease with popular drama and single-handedly
re-invigorated Shakespeare for a modern audience, making possible such hits
as Shakespeare in Love.
Born in Belfast in 1960, he found early success on the London stage in
Julian Mitchell's award-winning play Another Country. He received great
acclaim for his Ulster-set BBC Play for Today trilogy about the Troubles
that began with Too Late to Talk to Billy in 1982.
Fortunes of War (1987), the BBC's epic seven-part adaptation of Olivia
Manning's Balkan and Levant trilogies, saw a consummate portrayal of Guy
Pringle by Branagh in a lavish production that also starred Emma Thompson as
Harriet Pringle.
In 1989 he came to international prominence with his stunning version of
Henry V, a darker, more visceral and brutal take on Shakespeare than
Laurence Olivier's 1944 adaptation.
Branagh's successful collaboration with the Bard has been repeated several
times, in a lusty romp through Much Ado About Nothing (1993), his excellent
performance as Iago in Othello (1995), In the Bleak Midwinter's (1995)
hilarious look at the drama of doing Shakespeare and his triumphant
full-length Hamlet (1997).
Kenneth Branagh has also made his name in Hollywood, directing and starring
in the intricate neo-Noir Dead Again (1991) and a fiercely imaginative
version of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), and delivering a complex
performance in the Robert Altman-John Grisham thriller The Gingerbread Man
(1997).
Booking information: NFT Box Office open daily 11.30 am - 8.30pm
tel: 0171 928 3232
Press Contact: NFT Press Office, Brian Robinson or Eliza McCann
tel: 0171 815 1327 or 1330
Introduction in May programme
KENNETH BRANAGH
A hugely experienced classicist with a populist bent, Kenneth Branagh has
been applauded and reviled by the media in roughly equal measure. In 1989
he was awarded the New York Film Critics' Circle Best First Time Director
for Henry V and in 1993 BAFTA bestowed the Michael Balcon Award for
Outsatnding British Contribution to Cinema. By the time he had reached the
age of 36 Branagh's films had made over £250m at the box office.
Ironically, concurrent with these plaudits, he continued to endure in
Britain the most vicious and incisive attacks from those who would prefer to
dismiss his achievements as the enviable luck of an amateur.
But Branagh, like the criticism, endures. His ability to gather, nurture
and inspire loyalty in a group of highly talented actors shows evidence of
the profession's faith in his administrative and cultural integrity. He has
a way of unavoidably translating his vast enthusiasm for acting into
something approaching bravura. Moving confidently from stage to screen,
from actor to director, his love of language and theatricality, combined
with a fresh, intelligent approach to film-making, has brought Shakespeare
to new, young and appreciative audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.
Latterly working on low-budget British comedies and big-budget Hollywood
genre pictures, he has associated with the best - Woody Allen, Robert Altman
and Francis Ford Coppola. His restless creative energy has led him to
experiment with challenging and divergent roles, refusing, in his own words,
'to shrivel my soul' by playing safe.
This retrospective season gives audiences the opportunity to enjoy the full
range of Branagh's work as actor, director, actor-director, producer and
script-adaptor over ten years. It ranges from his portrayal on television
of Guy Pringle, the charming but indiscriminate idealist in Olivia Manning's
Levant and Balkan trilogies to the neurotic screenwriter in Woody Allen's
Celebrity. Perhaps the secret of Branagh's continued success is his
unchallenged commitment to the art and craft of filmmaking and acting. If
he pays light heed to the critics who remain sceptical of his will to
attempt so much, his attentiveness to a public with an appetite for good
cinema ensures that a Branagh film is never less than satisfying and
frequently richly rewarding. --Olwen Terris
Schedule
**Sunday 23rd May - 6.30pm: Celebrity + Kenneth Branagh live on stage,
interviewed by The Guardian**
Monday 24th May - 8.40pm: Othello
High Season: Branagh made his feature film debut as a bumbling MI6 operative
in this busy comedy set on the Greek island of Lindos. Mainly concerned
with the 'colonising' effects of tourism on the island, the film features a
multitudes of characters and comic sub-plots, all ably orchsetrated by Clare
Peploe, making her feature film debut. The beautiful cinematography is the
work of Chris Menges.
A Month in the Country: Set in Yorkshire in 1920, this adaptation by Simon
Gray of the novel by J.L. Carr centres on two ex-servicemen who are set to
work restoring a medieval church. Branagh brings considerable charm and
warmth to his portrayal of the gay Charles Moon, and it is his relationship
with the hetersexual Tom Birkin (Colin Firth) that gives the film its
emotional anchor.
Henry V: Branagh's feature film debut as a director is a fearless and lucid
interpretation of Shakespeare's play to which a starry cast brings a fine
sense of ensemble playing. The battle scenes are squalid, while Branagh's
delivery of the 'St Crispin's Day' speech and his carrying of the murdered
boy across the carnage of Agincourt to the hymn 'Non Nobis' are reasons
enough to see the film.
Dead Again: A homage by Branagh to the cycle of Freudian film noirs and
melodramas produced by Hollywood in the '40s and '50s. Its clever script
uses reincarnation as a way of redefining and updating the genres to the
1990s, and provides Branagh and Emma Thompson with dual roles. There is an
excellent supporting cast, and a lush score by Patrick Doyle.
Peter's Friends: Six members of a university cabaret troupe gather for a New
Year reunion party at a country house. With a firm nod to The Big Chill,
disillusionment, recriminations, boredom and self-obsession rise to the
surface. There are good one-liners and intelligent performances, especially
from Hugh Laurie and Imedla Staunton. Branagh's third film as
actor-director is a bitter-sweet comedy of failure.
Much Ado About Nothing: Beuatifully photographed in the seductive Tuscan
landscape, Emma Thompson and Branagh as Beatrice and Benedick bring
sensuality, wit and intelligence to Shakespeare's comedy. It is left to
Richard Briers' arresting Leonato, moving from breezy cheerfulness to
speechless rage, to bring the darker undertones to the surface.
Swing Kids: Branagh, in an uncredited role, gives a subtly shaded
performance as a seemingly sympathetic Gestapo officer in this true story of
a group of young men in '30s Germany who fell under the spell of Amercian
jazz. The film charts the changes wrought on three friends whose love of
the music by black and Jewish composers and performers inevitably fell foul
of the Nazi regime.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: Designed as a successor to the box-office hit
Bram Stoker's Dracula, Branagh's big budget film eschews the former film's
flamboyant approach, and is closer in spirit to Terence Fisher's cycle of
Frankenstein films made for Hammer. Helena Bonham Carter stands out in an
excellent performance as the ultimately tragic Elizabeth.
In The Bleak Midwinter: Waspish wit, vaudeville slapstick and a sentimental
celebration of the theatrical tradition prevail in Branagh's film about a
struggling actor and a troupe of eccentric thesps who stage a production of
Hamlet in a village church over Christmas. The black and white photography
is well suited to the brittle edge of the humour in this endearing working
of the 'let's put on a show' theme.
Swan Song: A colloquial adaptation of a one-act play by Anton Chekhov,
Branagh delicately handles this story of Svelovidov, an 88-year-old actor
who finds a sympathetic ear and collaborator in Nikita, the prompter.
Hamlet: An epic adaptation of Shakespeare's play. It's long (textual
fidelity at four hours) and wide (70mm), but Branagh delivers a performance
both passionate and restrained. Served by an international starry cast (Ken
Dodd as Yorick, Charlton Heston as the Player King and a superb Polonius
from Richard Briers), this lavishly designed film lends a vigorous, fresh
intelligence to the art of bringing the Bard to the screen.
Celebrity: An intoxicating comedy about the delicate matters of love and
fame, Celebrity features Branagh slipping quite consciously into the schtick
figure of Woody Allen as a divorced writer with sexual angst. It's a
trademark persona, yet he inabits it to effect, while Judy Davis as the
traumatised ex-wife hits new peaks in a brilliant career. A film of fluent
discontinuities briskly shot in exhilarating monochrome.
Othello: Oliver Parker's debut feature makes full use of exotice Venetian
locations and sumptuous lighting to bring the melodrama of Shakespeare's
play of betrayal and jealousy to the screen. Laurence Fishburne as Othello
is brooding and violent while Branagh as the embittered, enigmatic Iago
addresses the camera directly in an intelligent performance of one of
Shakespeare's most complex roles.
The Gingerbread Man: Set largely during a hurricane, Robert Altman's rewrite
(as Al Hayes) of an original screenplay by John Girsham ensures that
Branagh's lawyer is a much more believable and compromised figure than is
usually found in the writer's work. Embeth Davidtz makes a strong
impression as the femme fatale, while the Southern locale is brilliantly
evoked by Chinese cinematographer Changwei Gu (making his debut in the
West).
The Billy Trilogy: Set in Unionist Belfast, Graham Reid's trilogy of plays
show a family pulled apart not by sectarian differences but by emotions they
find it impossible to articulate. The betrayed husband (James Ellis), only
able to express his tortured feelings through violence, clashes repeatedly
with his fiery son, Billy (Branagh), while Brid Brennan, as the eldest
daughter, endeavours to keep the family united. Although all three plays
are concerned with the same group of characters, each develops individual
themes and explores new aspects of their lives. Reid's ear for dialogue
(helped by using Ulster actors), together with the strength of the acting
and direction, adds up to a triumphant, if harrowing, achievement.
The Shadow of A Gunman: Branagh had long fancied doing Sean O'Casey's play,
which is set in May 1920, with Ireland in the throes of Republicanism and
Black and Tans roaming the Dublin streets, spreading terror. Unwittingly
drawn into this political minefield are room-mates Donal Davoren (Branagh),
a pretentious poet, and Seumus Shields (Stephen Rea), a pedlar. With
telling performances from Bronagh Gallagher, James Ellis and John Kavanagh,
the Shadow of A Gunman and its flawed heroes move from high farce to
tragedy.
Fortunes of War: Olivia Manning's Balkan and Levant trilogies explore the
fate of individuals and personal relationships while the destinies of
nations are in the balance. Alan Plater's script faithfully captures the
books' liberal humanity and comic wit while James Cellan Jones' sure
direction retains their literary quality. Kenneth Branagh perfectly
captures Guy Pringle's complex nature - naive, generous, selfish, and
intellectual - and is beautifully matched by Emma Thompson's long-suffering
Harriet. But Ronald Pickup's infuriating yet charming incarnation of the
crumpled aristocrat, Prince Yakimov, almost carries off the honours. Set at
the outset of the Second World War in Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia and Egypt,
this was the most expensive drama made by the BBC.
**thanks to Eliza McCann
**thanks to Catherine K
**thanks to Toni Slaven
Sunday 2nd May - 6.15pm: Too Late to Talk to Billy
Film and TV summaries
Sunday 2nd May - 8.30pm: A Matter of Choice for Billy
Monday 3rd May - 6.15pm: A Coming to Terms for Billy
Wednesday 5th May - 6.15pm: High Season
Wednesday 5th May - 8.30pm: A Month in the Country
Friday 7th May - 8.30pm: A Month in the Country
Saturday 8th May - 6.10pm: Henry V
Tuesday 11th May - 8.40pm: Dead Again
Wednesday 12th May - 8.45pm: Peter's Friends
Thursday 13th May - 6.30pm: Much Ado About Nothing
Saturday 15th May - 2.30pm: Fortunes of War (episodes 1-3)
Saturday 15th May - 6.15pm: Fortunes of War (episodes 4 & 5)
Saturday 15th May - 8.40pm: Fortunes of War (episodes 6 & 7)
Sunday 16th May - 6.15pm: Swing Kids
Sunday 16th May - 8.30pm: Much Ado About Nothing
Wednesday 19th May - 6.10pm: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Wednesday 19th May - 8.40pm: Shadow of a Gunman
Friday 21st May - 6.20pm: Hamlet
Saturday 22nd May - 3.30pm: Henry V
Saturday 22nd May - 6.10pm: In the Bleak Midwinter + Swan Song
Sunday 23rd May - 4.00pm: Peter's Friends
Wednesday 26th May - 6.10pm: Ghosts
Friday 28th May - 6.20pm: Othello
Friday 28th May - 8.45pm: The Gingerbread Man
Saturday 29th May - 8.30pm: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Sunday 30th May - 6.20pm: Hamlet
Monday 31st May - 6.10pm: In the Bleak Midwinter + Swan Song
Monday 31st May - 8.40pm: The Gingerbread Man
**thanks to Catherine K