From Shakespeare to comic books: Kenneth Branagh directs Thor
26 May 2011With the summer months approaching, Hollywood now enters its blockbuster movie season. Increasingly, a trip to the cinema feels like stepping onto an amusement park ride. Spectacle and bombast are the order of the day, and sequels abound, as the Hollywood studios return again and again to the safest and most lucrative wells from which to draw a profit. In some cases, we will be seeing films that mark the fourth or fifth entry into a single franchise.
, this season’s first big comic book blockbuster, this summer is scheduled to bring films based on numerous popular comic book heroes, including the X-Men, Green Lantern, the Transformers, Captain America and Conan the Barbarian. We have noted before what a generally empty-headed trend this is.There will be no convincing comic book fanatics, but one must say there has hardly been a film project based on a comic book yet that has resulted in a meaningful work. If Thor is any indication, there is no reason to believe there are any such works on the way.
In Asgard, the kingdom of the Norse gods, the mighty Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is about to be named King in a ceremony conducted by his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins). Before the ceremony is completed, agents of the Frost Giants, a race that had once threatened to conquer the Nine Realms of the universe until they were stopped by Odin’s army, infiltrate Asgard in an attempt to steal back a vital power source confiscated by Odin during the wars.
Outraged by the invasion, Thor defies his father’s wishes for peace and travels to the Frost Giants’ world to fight them, threatening to start another large-scale war. For his arrogance and recklessness, Odin strips Thor of his powers and banishes him to Earth.
On Earth, Thor meets and befriends a team of scientists led by Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). Through his contact with Jane, Thor will learn the value of self-sacrifice and begin to reject his warrior mentality. In the meantime, Thor’s jealous brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is revealed to be in league with the Frost Giants and is conspiring to claim the throne of Asgard for himself.
Once Thor proves himself humble and again worthy of his powers, having been changed by his time on Earth, he must reclaim Mjolnir, the magical hammer that is the source of his powers, and return to Asgard to battle Loki for the throne that is rightfully his.
In an already dubious film genre, Thor is surely among the silliest comic book films yet produced. It’s virtually impossible to take any of this seriously. As the film progresses, one begins to feel a certain sympathy for the young actors tasked with making such material appear convincing. That they fail to do so is not entirely their fault. With regards to the more veteran actors—including Hopkins and Stellan Skarsgård—one only wants to ask them what on earth they’re doing in this film.
Henry V By Kenneth Branagh - News
Director Kenneth Branagh (who has warrior film experience, having directed the fine Henry V) beautifully displays Thor's fighting prowess as he plows his way through an army of Frost Giants before our hero realizes that by following his warrior
In the director's chair is Kenneth Branagh, the actor and director best known for his adaptations of Shakespeare. In the past, Branagh has produced memorable film versions of Henry V (1989), Much Ado About Nothing (1993) and Hamlet (1996),
As of June 6, "Thor" had racked up $169 million in US ticket sales. compared with $38 million for Branagh's previous box office topper, the 1991 Hitchcock homage "Dead Again." ("Henry V"? It took in $10 million.) It was not always so.
Stolen Shakespeare will be presenting Henry V and Double Falsehood, the latter of which may not have come from Shakespeare's quill. "It [ Double Falsehood] is probably an adaptation of an adaptation," says Jason Morgan, artistic director of Stolen
Having adapted 'Henry V', 'Much Ado About Nothing', 'Love's Labour's Lost', 'As You Like It' and 'Hamlet', the stories of Asgard Royal Family and their impact on the Nine Realms, Kenneth Branagh was a bold but obvious choice by Marvel Studios and it
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Henry V
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1 1 Kenneth Branagh's Henry V ( 1 ... The 1989 film of Shakespeare's Henry V directed by, scripted by and starring Kenneth Branagh, presents an interesting ...The reel Shakespeare, alternative cinema and theory
Drawing on Peter S. Donaldson's more extensive analysis in "Taking on Shakespeare: Kenneth Branagh's Henry V," Shakespeare Quarterly 42 (1991): 60-71, ...Useful Information Directory
Henry V (1989) - IMDb
Directed by Kenneth Branagh. With Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Simon Shepherd, James Larkin.
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Henry V (1989 film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Henry V is a 1989 film directed by Kenneth Branagh, based on William Shakespeare's play The Life of Henry the Fifth about the famous English king. ...
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