As You Like It

Plot

The second presentation of the BBC/PBS 37-installment project The Shakespeare Plays was the Bard's As You Like It. The plot, borrowed from Thomas Lodge's romance tale "Rosalynde", takes place in the forest of Arden. Rosalind (Helen Mirren) is forced by various political intrigues to disguise herself as a man. She loves Orlando (Brian Stirner), but of course can't declare herself in her "male" state. Meanwhile, Phebe (Victoria Plucknett) pines away for Rosalind, who she assumes to be a very good-looking man. Other romantic entanglements involve Rosalind's friend Celia (Angharad Rees), the buffoonish Touchstone (James Bolan), the toothsome Audrey (Marilyn Le Conte) and Silvius the shepherd (Maynard Williams). Taped on location at Glamis Castle in Scotland, As You Like It mades its American TV debut on February 28, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Review

Shakespearean actors are like opera stars; if they can perform, their age and appearance are of secondary importance. In this 1978 production, the two leading actors -- Helen Mirren as Rosalind and Brian Stirner as Orlando -- are more than suitable verbally but less than suitable physically. Mirren, 33 at the time of filming, is attractive enough, but she lacks the girlishness to portray a rhapsodic teenager. On a theater stage before myopic or back-row spectators, her ripe countenance and faux-naif demeanor would not matter. But in a video production, in which camera lenses are close to within an inch of a mole or a gesture, a young lady ought to look and act young. Her inamorato, Stirner, resembles a pool cue. But in a wrestling match, he defeats a colossus twice his size and Rosalind chalks him up for her own. Audio and visual deficiencies also mar the production. What viewers see and hear is only a notch above the quality of a home-video recording. However, if viewers can abide these shortcomings and settle back for the long haul (150 minutes), they will see a well-acted play that features some of Shakespeare's most memorable lines, including the famous "All the world's a stage" speech in Act II. They will also discover that love -- a many-splintered thing in Shakespeare's plays -- has a way of triumphing in the bard's comedies, even when it involves scrawny Stirner and almost matronly Mirren. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi

Cast

• Helen Mirren - Rosalind
• Richard Pasco - Jaques

Timothy Bateson - Sir Oliver Martext; James Bolam - Touchstone; John Moulder-Brown - Hymen; Tony Church - Banished Duke; Richard Easton - Duke Frederick; Clive Francis - Oliver; Arthur Hewlett - Adam; Jeffrey Holland - William; David Prowse - Charles; John Quentin - Le Beau; Angharad Rees - Celia; Brian Stirner - Orlando; David Lloyd Meredith - Corin; Chris Sullivan - Dennis

Credit

Geraldine Stephenson - Choreography, Robin Fraser-Paye - Costume Designer, Geoffrey Burgon - Composer (Music Score), William Walton - Composer (Music Score), Kezia de Winne - Makeup, Don Taylor - Production Designer, Cedric Messina - Producer, William Shakespeare - Play Author

Previous:	As You Like It (1936 Film), As You Desire Me (1932 Film)
Next:	As You Like It (1992 Film), As You Like It (2007 Film)