Why the hell was Orlando played by a black actor? The setting was stupid and arbitrary enough (Japan? Please), but of course they have to make Orlando and his brother be black just so they can throw a little race-mixing propaganda in this POS production as well.
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For myself, I do not care for this movie. I think Brannagh did much better with Henry V and Much Ado about Nothing.
However, to address your comments. There is no reason to pick white/black/asian/whatever for a particular part unless it is integral to the story. Denzel Washington was brilliant in Much Ado about Nothing while Keanu Reeves pulled off an incredibly bad Don John. If I am watching Shakespere, more than special effects, cultural setting, costumes, etc.. I watch it for the acting. A brilliant actor can bring to the surface the joy that is Shakespere, a bad actor will make it seem like nothing more than boring poetry.
So, for me, If a performance of Macbeth is set in India with a cast of non-whites it is perfectly acceptable as long as they bring Shakespere to life. I will take that any day over another bad actor slaughtering the Bard.
Is your problem with black people on their own or with their interactions with your master race?
He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. -Nietzsche
This forum would have been better if darkprince2008 wasn't a racist pig.
Why the hell do you have a problem with Orlando being played by a black actor?
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This forum would have been better if darkprince2008 wasn't a racist pig.
Why the hell do you have a problem with Orlando being played by a black actor?
"We are coming Father Abraham, 300,000 blood suckers."share
Just because someone doesn't think a black person fits into somewhere, doesn't mean they're racist. They could just mean it doesn't fit.
Just because someone doesn't think a black person fits into somewhere, doesn't mean they're racist.
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Yeah, I have to agree with you!!! D:
I'm not working out.
My philosophy: No pain, No pain.
it didn't make a difference to me wether or not orlando was black. and i certainly don't think it would have been a better film if he wasn't. if orlando was played by a butt-naked playboy bunny it might have been a better version of AYLI, but only just. awful film. it would seem that brannagh completely ignored the fact that AYLI's supposed to be a comedy.
shareI have to agree with Darkprince, the multi-racial factor does spoil the authenticity of the film and makes it feel ''out of place'' and the cliched black man/white women propaganda comes through strongly as seen in alot of films nowadays.
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I daresay that everyone who bashes Branagh's choices here doesn't give a damn about the fact that Ian McKellen's "Richard III" is Nazi-themed.
Or that Trevor Nunn's "Twelfth Night" is set in the 19th century.
Or that Baz Luhrmann's awful "Romeo and Juliet" is set in modern Los Angeles.
Or that Ethan Hawke's "Hamlet" is set in modern-day New York City.
Or that the Kevin Kline "Midsummer Night's Dream" is set in 19th century Italy.
In Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet", one of the sentries in the opening scene was black, and nobody even noticed. Why so sensitive about "As You Like It"? Does an interracial romance bother you that much?
Los Angeles? I thought Verona Beach was in Florida myself.
Also, I liked Baz Luhrmann's film. DiCaprio at that stage of his career was a perfect choice for Romeo. If only Claire Daines had been up to the challenge of Juliet.
I am not a huge fan of this interpretation (the early scenes and last 20 minutes were good. Everything in between was blah), but the cast was fine all around. I thought the actor who played Orlando was excellent and his humorous interactions with Howard's Rosalind was this movie's strongest scenes. I too agree that Shakespeare should not be limited to race or singular location. Much Ado About Nothing is possibly the best Shakespeare film ever made (certainly the best Shakespeare comedy set to celluloid) and it features a magnificent performance from Denzel Washington as Don Pedro. A black actor playing a Spanish prince who leads a band of white men and is loved by a Tuscan town as he attempts to court one of its white daughters briefly in one scene. Conversely, Keanu Reeves plays HIS BROTHER, Don John and though he be white as the character is written, he is entirely AWFUL in that film and its one blemish.
And disdain for the setting in Japan? Shakespeare itself is a bit of a fantasy as all the plays are written in English poetry and spoken with beautiful english diction yet his plays are set in Italy, Denmark, France, etc. Should Romeo have an Italian accent or speak in Italian? Need all interpretations of Hamlet be set in the MIddle Ages (the only film version that actually does is Mel Gibson's)?
Nobody seemed to care that Branagh had a black prince in Much Ado or black and Asian courtiers in his Hamlet. It only becomes a problem when it deals with interracial relationships, eh? I should point out Bard wrote a play called Othello about a black prince marrying a white woman and race played little a role in that tragedy.
If they were playing historical figures who were not black, it might've seemed contrived. But they're playing fictional characters in a Shakespeare play/movie, so it's open for interpretation. Besides, Brannagh has had varieties of races (and accents) in previous movies. It's his style.
shareYou sound like a racist... Hmm.
I'm not working out.
My philosophy: No pain, No pain.
Darkprince2008,
It's set in Japan - I know you disagree with that interpretation, but still that was the creative choice of the filmmakers- yet why is it that you have more of a problem with black people playing Japanese people than white people playing Japanese people? They're all miscast by your single-race standards, yet you're saying the black guy is more so?
If a Japanese-themed world has been created for the film, by your anti-mixed-race stance, shouldn't all the parts be played by Japanese people.
If not, why single out the black guy.
Unless, of course, you're racist.
...which you are.
"Should Romeo have an Italian accent or speak in Italian? Need all interpretations of Hamlet be set in the MIddle Ages (the only film version that actually does is Mel Gibson's)?"
Franco Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" is set in the Middle Ages too...just being technical, lol.
-Amanda
"She will remember your heart when men are fairy tales in storybooks written by rabbits"