All's Well That Ends Well

In a sense, there has been too much effort and taste lavished on a problem play that is a long way short of Shakespeare's best. The Vermeer interiors and Rembrandt references look a treat, but (as well as being anachronistic by half a century) add weight where there is little in the text. A number of the performances do the same, including Angela Down's magnificent Helena, and Paul Brooke's Lavache, the least clownish, and most accountant-like, clown one could possibly hope to meet.

The problem is that if the play is read as a piece with serious psychological points to make and where motivation may be complex but remains explicable, then it is a hard play to watch. Bertram is a distinctly unappealing husband (Ian Charleson's performance does not find hidden depths) for a strong character such as Helena. The tormenting of Parolles by Bertram and his friends can be dismissed as Elizabethan knockabout, unless the treatment is highly realistic, in which case - as in this production - it looks like torture. The attempted seduction of Diana can be farcical, with the clever comedic logic of the rings and the pregnancy, but here seems simply unpleasant.

Donald Sinden's King is the sort of eye-rolling ham performance that will make sense of this play, but amidst the restraint he falls rather flat.

The stand-out performance is Celia Johnson's Countess, a lovely role brilliantly played. She is not the butt of any jokes, and so can be played tenderly. As with Sinden, the older style of acting suits the material. Sometimes, for example during the Florentine scenes, one aches for Johnson to be on screen.

It's not awful, just very much the wrong style, like filming St Trinians in the style of Cathy Come Home.

This award-winning BBC production brings life, enormous appeal, and intelligence to a play criminally underperformed. It's a pleasure to watch ... and re-watch ... and re-watch.

Let's start with the fact that the production itself has been hailed far and wide for its beauty and visual precision. Director Elijah Moshinsky patterned it after paintings of Vermeer, and even though this may be unknown to the viewer, it has a remarkable subliminal impact.

Now for the cast:

Angela Down is the truly perfect Helena (the heroine of the play). She looks the part -- comely yet intellectual -- and speaks her lines with the perfect emotional fit. Most importantly, her diction and enunciation, and the speed at which she says the bard's words, make everything she says perfectly understandable and perfectly apt within that emotional fit. The viewer never has to wonder "What did she just say?" or "What does that mean?" Nonetheless the lines are fluid, musical, emotional, and very human. To me, this is the sign of a true Shakespearean actor.

Celia Johnson as the Countess Roussillon (Bertram's mother and Helena's guardian) is equally fantastic. She's a pleasure to watch and listen to. Consummate acting.

Ian Charleson as Bertram, Helena's very reluctant love object, is suitably sullen and morose, yet we see the physical beauty and the inherent charm, nobility, and charisma which attracts Helena to him. Charleson, a very internal actor, never overplays the part. To some extent he sometimes almost underplays it, occasionally speaking softly whilst his compatriots declaim more loudly or forcefully. Yet he holds our attention and fits the role very well.

The supporting cast is almost without exception quite admirable -- some remarkably so. Excellent casting, and a lot of excellent acting.

All in all, a very good production which makes the play easy to understand and enjoy.

Highly recommended.

The production design of this video is based on paintings by Vermeer, Rembrandt, de la Tour and others. It is uniformly striking and lovely, and will live in the memory.

The acting performances are good, but uneasy, perhaps reflecting the problematic nature of the play. Ian Charleson's Bertram is cold, Angela Down's Helen is weepy, and so they stay for yards and yards of iambic pentameter. Only Donald Sinden as the King errs on the side of too much emotional variety, but it's hard to remember a Sinden performance in which he wasn't an explosive law unto himself. Michael Hordern and Peter Jeffrey battle deftly as Lafeu and Parolles, while Paul Brooke's Lavache is more menacing than witty. Pippa Guard's Diana is unfailingly dignified, and a small cameo by the aged Valentine Dyall proves unexpectedly moving. And as the Countess, Celia Johnson's presence is every bit as sympathetic here as it was in "Brief Encounter" 35 years earlier.

Any dissatisfactions mentioned in this review are just quibbles, however, as the play is rare and worthwhile, the production gratifies the eye, and no one writes a closing reconciliation scene like Shakespeare. Indeed, All's Well That Ends Well.

'All's Well that Ends All' is not one of Shakespeare's best-known plays, lesser known more like. It is somewhat unorthodox for Shakespeare and was unorthodox at the time, with its depiction of gender role reversals and how surprisingly realistically cynical it is. It is also one of the most difficult Shakespeare plays to stage and interpret, with it being very psychological and having to bring it out compellingly and realistically.

That is a shame because it is an interesting play, both as an overall play and to analyse. 'All's Well that Ends Well' is not one of Shakespeare's best by any stretch, but all Shakespeare plays are worth reading and seeing at least once and 'All's Well that Ends Well' is no exception. It is funny, thought-provoking and sometimes very moving, with Shakespeare's mastery of language and memorable quotes always shining. Despite saying this, this deservedly acclaimed 1981 Elijah Moskinsky production is one of the best of the BBC Televison Shakespeare series. Although some productions are better than others and few of them are flawless, this series is a must watch for the main reason of seeing performances of all of Shakespeare's plays done with taste and with talented actors on board regardless of budget limitations.

Visually, it is one of the best-looking productions of the series. It does look incredibly attractive, gorgeous actually, in especially the sets and it was clear that a lot of care went into the production values, furthermore they were tasteful in look and in how used. Inspired by and based on the paintings of the likes of Vermeer, it is also one of the most visually interesting BBC Television Shakespeare productions. Nicely shot too, intimate yet not static.

Much credit has to go to Moskinsky for the stage direction. Never too cluttered. Never static with tedious stretches. Always done in good taste, without anything that adds nothing to the drama, works against it or leaves a bad taste in the mouth. He does a fine job making the characters compelling, both in character traits and psychologically. Bertram for example is made to be more complex than he can be, both cold with a big ego and sympathetic. Likewise with the character interaction, a prime example being with Helena and Bertram, which is at times remarkably tender and grows emotionally. What makes 'All's Well that Ends Well' problematic to stage does not phase Moshinsky. The balance of comedy and drama is funny and poignant and beautifully balanced.

It is hard not to expect fine performances from a talented cast, and the same can be said for all the productions of the series. Here we get them and more. The standouts for me are Angela Down as a positively text-book Helena, very deeply felt and strong and it felt very human and genuine, and Celia Johnson's dignified Countess. Also found Pippa Guard very charming, and Ian Charleson avoids making Bertram one-dimensional. Michael Hordern can do no wrong and Peter Jeffrey has fun, and it is great not to have an intentionally clownish character in Lavache too clownish or annoying.

Not much at all to criticise. For my tastes Donald Sindon overdoes it somewhat as the King.

Did find Bertram's conversion rather abrupt and rushed, but in all fairness that has always been one of the biggest criticisms of the play.

Summing up, all's well with this production and it's one of the best of the BBC Television Shakespeare productions, despite it being one of the lower rated ones. 9/10

"Elijah Moshinsky's TV movie of Shakespeare's 'All's Well That Ends Well' is a funny love story with a twist. Angela Down does a great job playing Helena, who loves Bertram, played by Ian Charleson. Bertram is a nobleman who doesn't love her back. Helena, who learned a lot from her doctor father, cures the King of France and is allowed to marry Bertram. But Bertram runs off to Italy and asks her to do impossible tasks to prove she's faithful. Helena doesn't give up, follows him, and cleverly does what he asked, winning him over.

This movie is one of the best in the BBC Television Shakespeare series. It has beautiful designs, inspired by famous painters like Vermeer and Rembrandt. The costumes and sets are detailed and the lighting adds to the mood of the story.

The actors do a great job, especially Celia Johnson as the kind Countess of Rousillon and Michael Hordern as the funny and loyal Lafeu. Sinden is the thankful King of France and Down's Helena is strong and understanding.

The movie captures the complicated ideas in Shakespeare's play, which is often hard to perform. It's a good mix of funny and serious, romantic and realistic, and explores important themes like gender roles, class, loyalty, honor, trickery, and forgiveness. It also includes great quotes from Shakespeare like "Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none" and "The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together". It's a great movie that shows that everything can end up well."