Excellent condition DVD of an interesting take on this Shakespeare comedy romance

Having taken Shakespeare at his word on Hamlet (i.e., not cutting a single syllable out of a very long play), Kenneth Branagh selects a more radical approach with Love's Labour's Lost. Here the prolific director-star weeds out much of the play's dialogue, and adds songs and dances of a decidedly modern bent. The King of Navarre (Alessandro Nivola, Nicolas Cage's wacko brother in Face/Off) and his three comrades (Branagh, Matthew Lillard, Adrian Lester) take a vow: no womanly distractions while they pursue their studies. Ah, but at that very moment, floating down a magical studio-built river, is the queen of France (Alicia Silverstone), accompanied by three ladies-in-waiting. You do the maths. Branagh has set the tale on the eve of the Second World War, which allows for the inclusion of vintage pop songs, including "Cheek to Cheek", "The Way You Look Tonight" and a rousing chorus of "There's No Business Like Show Business", led by--who else?--Nathan Lane. The fact that most of the cast members are not accomplished song-and-dance folk is clearly meant to charm, but the results are spotty at best. Perhaps the most dynamic performer is Natascha McElhone (memorable from Ronin), whose aristocratic bearing and bottomless eyes lend a gravity to the material that is otherwise absent from Branagh's twinkly staging. The play contains some of Shakespeare's loveliest paeans to the language of love, yet Branagh seems to be in a hurry to juice everything up lest the audience lose interest. The labour shows.

As always, the DVD edition is much superior. Not only is it letterboxed (and Branagh shot his delightful throwback musical in the grand full 2.35:1 widescreen format), but it also has deleted scenes and a making-of featurette. If you're still living in the VHS-past, perhaps this Holiday season is the time to treat yourself to the ever-widening world of DVD.

The transfer is crisp and it sounds terrific (though I don't have a high-end system, so take that for what it's worth). As for the extras:

Outtakes - 7:00 minutes of laugh-filled screw ups. I always imagined while watching the film that it must have been a joy to make. These giggling outtakes prove that conclusively. Branagh himself seems the one most susceptible to breaking out into uncontrollable laughter. It's nice to see as a footnote to this terrific movie.

Deleted Scenes - four excised scenes, totaling about 18:00 minutes! The most time is devoted to the pagent put on near the end of the story. Good stuff, but I see how the running time as is probably works best. It's nice to have them as a supplement anyway!

Making-Of Featurette - only 8:00 minutes long, but they cram some good stuff in there about how much intense (yet fun-filled) practice these mostly non-singing non-dancing non-Shakespearian actors had to go through before going in front of the cameras. Branagh talks about their comaraderie as being "bonded in a slightly-marked terror" at what someone else refers to as "musical-comedy boot camp". Brief, but good.

So, like I said, if you are still living in a DVD-less world, you are really missing out on some great stuff.