Love's Labour's Lost

2000
U
1h 33m

IMDb RATING

5.9/10

YOUR RATING

Kenneth Branagh, Alicia Silverstone, Matthew Lillard, Natascha McElhone, Alessandro Nivola, Carmen Ejogo, and Adrian Lester in Love's Labour's Lost (2000)

Play trailer1:17

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16 Photos

Jukebox Musical Slapstick Comedy Musical Romance

An update of the classic Shakespeare story, director Kenneth Branagh shot the film like a classic 1930s musical. It tells the story of four best friends who swear off love.An update of the classic Shakespeare story, director Kenneth Branagh shot the film like a classic 1930s musical. It tells the story of four best friends who swear off love.An update of the classic Shakespeare story, director Kenneth Branagh shot the film like a classic 1930s musical. It tells the story of four best friends who swear off love.

Director
- Kenneth Branagh
Writers
- William Shakespeare
- Kenneth Branagh
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.9/10

YOUR RATING

Director
- Kenneth Branagh
Writers
- William Shakespeare
- Kenneth Branagh
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win & 2 nominations

Videos1

Trailer 1:17

Love's Labour's Lost

Photos16

+ 8

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The actors did their own singing.

Goofs
While the movie's concentrating on what is obviously WW2, one of the paper shown announces the end of the war on November 11, which is in fact the date of the end of WW1 in 1918 (the end of WW2 being on May 8, 1945 in Europe and August 15 in Asia).

Quotes
Berowne: From women's eyes this doctrine I derive: They are the ground, the books, the academes, from whence doth spring the true Promethean fire. O, we have made a vow to study, lords, and in that vow we have forsworn our books; For when would you, my liege, or you, or you in leaden contemplation have found out such fiery numbers as the prompting eyes of beauty's tutors have enriched you with? Other slow arts entirely keep the brain, and therefore, finding barren practisers, scarce show a harvest of their heavy toil; But love, first learned in a lady's eyes, lives not alone immured in the brain but with the motion of all elements courses as swift as thought in every power and gives to every power a double power, above their functions and their offices. It adds a precious seeing to the eye: A lover's eyes will gaze an eagle blind. A lover's ear will hear the lowest sound. Love's feeling is more soft and sensible than are the tender horns of cockled snails. Love's tongue proves dainty Bacchus gross in taste, for valour, is not Love a Hercules, still climbing trees in the Hesperides? Subtle as Sphinx, as sweet and musical as bright Apollo's lute, strung with his hair. And when Love speaks, the voice of all the gods make heaven drowsy with the harmony.
[begins to sing the song "Cheek to Cheek"]
Berowne: Heaven, /I'm in heaven. /And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak...

Alternate versions
The UK Region 2 DVD contains 5 deleted scenes:
The boys are arguing about the girls and about breaking the vows the made.
Moth, Constable Dull, Holofernia, Sir Nathaniel and Costard and discussing what to perform for the king, the princess and their company. They descide upon performing ^Óthe 9 worthies^Ô. Parts of this scene can be seen in the news reels.
The third extra scene is an extended version of the scene were the girls are discussing and mocking the gifts they received from the men. The extra parts are extra dialogue for Katherine and Rosaline. Katherine tells the story of a girl who died from melancholly. Rosaline has an extended part of dialogue in which she mocks the men and Berowne specifically.
There is a alternative scene for the masked dance scene more true to the story of Shakespeare. The boys dress up as Russians who specially came to visit the girls.
The fifth scene is the performance of 'the 9 worthies' by the supporting characters.
The UK Region 2 DVD does also contain various outtakes. Some of these were cut (ca. 4 seconds) to maintain the "U" rating.

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Gone in Sixty Seconds/Groove/Sunshine/Love's Labour's Lost/Grass (2000)

Soundtracks
I'd Rather Charleston
by George Gershwin and Desmond Carter
Performed by Kenneth Branagh, Alessandro Nivola, Matthew Lillard and Adrian Lester

User reviews109

Review

Featured review

8/10

Charming throwback to 1930s musicals

Thanks heaven for Kenneth Branagh; without him, cinema would be far less interesting and rewarding. His adaptations of Shakespeare will undoubtedly be his lasting contribution to the history of film, and this is no exception.

Having never read the play, I was quite pleased that Love's Labour's Lost was as easy to follow as it was. This has a fair amount in common with Branagh's earlier Much Ado About Nothing; mainly the highs, lows and plain ridiculousness of love. That film also featured Hollywood star casting (Keanu Reeves among others), but like that film, does not suffer from it. Indeed, it only seems to boost the feel-good nature of this film, as the actors joyfully get their collective teeth stuck into some of Shakespeare's wonderful dialogue.

What really makes this a must-see though is how the text is broken up into easily digestible chunks, interspersed with classic musical numbers from the 1930s. I wasn't prepared for how much of a joy it was to see some wonderfully romantic songs (sung pretty well actually) being put to some great dance numbers - Adrian Lester in particular was good. If, like me, you're too young to feel particularly nostalgic towards a time and genre of film that has long since gone, then I urge you to watch this and learn. And if you are old enough to yearn for those days, then do yourself a favour and go see!