Kenneth Branagh Libros

An in-depth look behind the scenes of the making of Frankenstein. The book contains the full screenplay, biographies of the stars, detailed sections on casting, sets, camera-work, and the philosophy behind the film. It also features a study of the make-up of Robert de Niro as the monster.

Palabras al lector: EN UNA ATMÓSFERA DE FIEBRE Y ALUCINACIÓN. Si en Macbeth el escenario termina salpicado de sangre, en Hamlet sólo quedan la duda y el tormento. El drama Hamletiano carece de soporte real y los personajes atrapados en sus hilos se desplazan en una atmósfera de ingravidez, que dispone de ellos a su antojo. Es corriente afirmar que si el fantasma de la torre de Elsinor se hubiera aparecido a Macbeth, este hubiera consumado en el acto su venganza dando muerte al usurpador sobre su propio lecho. Hamlet, en cambio, convoca a sus espectadores durante cinco actos para demostrarles cómo no lo hace. Esa misma espera dura ya cuatro siglos y ha hecho que la duda de Hamlet, a un tiempo reflexiva, desesperanzada y melancólica, haya pasado a formar parte de los devaneos e incertidumbres de la mente y de las eternas preguntas conque el hombre interpela a sus destino. Hamlet hace posible que el teatro dentro del teatro pueda tener lugar desde el comienzo del mismo de la acción, de manera que el espectador, lector en nuestro caso, deja a un lado las apariencias de una trama convencional, e intuye en las elucubraciones y desvaríos del joven Hamlet, la revelación de un oscura verdad, nunca enteramente revelada. Hamlet-Macbeth, dos extremos irredimibles de la eterna insatisfacción humana. Salvador Garmendia

Henry V established Kenneth Branagh as one of the most gifted and versatile film artists of our time. Branagh wrote the screenplay, starred in, and directed the film to astounding critical and popular acclaim. With a marvelous cast, including himself as Henry V, Emma Thompson as Katherine, Derek Jacobi as the Chorus, Ian Holm as Fluellen, Paul Scofield as the King of France, Judi Dench as Mistress Quickly, and Robbie Coltrane as Falstaff, Branagh brings the play into contemporary times, adding a darker and harsher sensibility. Included here are Branagh's screenplay and introduction, and dramatic stills from the film.

Kenneth Branagh's much praised adaptation of HENRY V revolutionised Shakespeare in the cinema, giving a new youthful and contemporary energy to a well-known play and bringing it to a vast audience around the world. He has now directed and adapted MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, with a starry international cast that includes Denzil Washington, Emma Thompson, Michael 'Batman' Keaton, Ben Elton, Keanu Reaves as Don John, and of course Kenneth Branagh himself as Benedick. Lavishly illustrated with stills from the film, and with a foreword about the film and screenplay by Kenneth Branagh, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING will bring exciting new dimensions to one of Shakespeare's most mature and sophisticated comedies, and serve as a lasting souvenir of the film.