Shakespeare in Love: A Screenplay

Rating:
Summary: Nice farce, wrong message.
Review: Shakespeare did write Twelfth Night after Romeo, however he drew on preexisting sources for these as for all his plays. His genious does not lie on how his emotional life shaped his work but on how he reshaped reality as well as those interpretations of reality already recorded in the literature of his times. Stoppard mimicks his method and builds a story on the basis of crossed references that Shakespeare amateurs can not help but smiling at. He is incredibly good at that. As a creator, however, he has betrayed himself suggesting with this screenplay that art is a product of chance and gonads, not of the mind and, above all, of the intelligent mind.

Rating:
Summary: How does he write so well? . . . It's a mystery!
Review: Stoppard and Norman have interwoven a screenplay worthy of it's phenomenal acclaim. It was easily the finest and wittiest montage of iambic pentametre, puns, and one-liners I have ever experienced . . . especially on screen. Bravo once again to one of the finest dramatists of this century! Believe me, like the show, I could . . .GO ON!

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, lustful poetry...
Review: Such a screenplay I have never heard. Sleek and flowing, peaceful, true. The closest words to heaven I have yet heard.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, of course
Review: The movie was so great, and mostly on the strength of it's terrific script, so could this book be anything but a great read? I loved, absolutely LOVED this movie, went to see it four times and I'm eagerly awaiting the release of the video. This is very much worth the read, because there is just such a volume of literary and historical allusions that's its impossible to catch all of them at the theater, especially if you only see it once, since all you end up doing is trying to keep up with the plot, which moves at such excellent speed. Reading the screenplay allows you to catch many of the subtler jokes you may miss even upon repeated viewings. Thank you Shakespeare In Love! You have renewed my belief in the capability of the language of movies to be as meaningful and sublimely beautiful as any found in literature ("Love knows nothing of rank or riverbank! It will spark between a queen and the poor vagabond who plays the king, and their love should be minded by each, for love denied blights the soul we owe to God!") (Viola as Thomas: ....Tell me how you love her, Will. Will: Like a sickness and its cure together. Viola as Thomas: Yes, like rain and sun, like cold and heat. (collecting herself) Is your lady beautiful? Since I have come from the country I have not seen her close. Tell me, is she beautiful? Will: Oh, if I could write the beauty of her eyes! I was born to look in them and know myself. Viola as Thomas: And her lips? Will: Oh Thomas, her lips! The early morning rose would wither on the branch if it could feel envy!") Etc.

Rating:
Summary: HOW COULD IT NOT GET BEST PICTURE
Review: This movie showed us what true love really is. One person said "Ryan should have gotten best pic". Well, Red Line was way much better than that pic becuase it explored emotions and showed the feelings of each character. Ryan...good effects. Shakespeare In Love is well written and well acted. It is a love story that is never told. Just like our own lives.

Rating:
Summary: a boastful, light-hearted romp
Review: To be frank, I've seen the movie more times than I'd like to admit. I was going to give this book four stars based on the movie (the movie was excellent, but not the year's best, even if it is my preferred one), but that wouldn't be honest. This review is about the screenplay, not the movie. Besides, the best part of the movie is the script, anyway. Boastful, light-hearted, and delightful, this romp plays around with you, targeting you with its acid wit. It is also completely fictional, so don't expect much truth in it, even if the background and some of the history is real (including the subtle fact that Shakespeare really didn't have his own stories, with exception to two of his plays). There was no Viola, nor was there a Lord Wessex. This script is not to be taken seriously. But even if you are serious, you'll find yourself defrosting around the edges by the time you flip to page two.

Rating:
Summary: Simply an Excellent Screenplay!
Review: To be honest, I have not seen this movie yet. But I have read this screenplay for quite a few times and I LOVE IT!!!! Without watching the movie, I can imagine how the actors like Gwyneth Paltrow or Joseph Fiennes play out their Viola and Will. Both Marc Norman and Tom Soppard give very specific instruction on how the artists should apporch this screenplay. I laugh and cry when I read this screenplay, envying those people who involved in this movie production. Without a doubt, this is the best screenplay I have ever read!

Rating:
Summary: Well Worth Owning!
Review: Whether or not you agree with the Oscar for the FICTIONALIZED (lighten up folks!) version of Shakespeare's life, this screenplay is well worth owning for Shakespeare buffs just for the sheer beauty of the language and to catch all the references to Will's Work that you missed watching the movie. Never mind that Twelfth night was written at least 5 years after R&J, that maybe the guy who wrote all that stuff wasn't even really Shakespeare, or any other details, this is a story of might-have-beens, and it's a beautifully done tribute to the Bard.