Melissa_W
I've seen this adaptation by Kenneth Branagh (I think originally a theatrical release in Britain but broken into two parts for HBO, which is what made it eligible for an Emmy). I was a bit apprehensive at first because the setting seemed really shifted far afield but the mid-19th century mix of Japanese and Western cultures worked very well. I also thought the casting was great with Brian Blessed in a dual role as the Duke and his brother; Bryce Dallas Howard also did quite well as Rosalind (Kevin Kline also appears but since he's fantastic with Shakespeare anyways I can only heap more praise on his excellent performance).
The only thing that really hurts this adaptation is the "country dance" at the end; it looks almost exactly like the dance at the end of Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing right down to the Patrick Doyle scoring of the song only with kimonos and Japanese peasants. It detracts a lot from the really superb work of the rest of the film and I can't think why Branagh didn't stay with the Japanese theme and have the song re-worked to fit the setting.
Melissa_W
