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Henry V : Superhero
We all know by now that Kenneth Brannagh, he of Henry V, Much Ado and Hamlet, is directing the new Thor movie. Odd? Not to him. He gave Comic-Con a Shakespeare lesson last week:
"We know that we’re interested in superheroes, kings, gods, because of their sort of human-like failings. So it seemed to me not as much of a stretch as some people might think," Branagh said at last week’s Comic-Con, where he presented footage from the film. "The stretch part of it is embracing the whole world of digital effects. That’s been something I’ve just loved because it’s — if you can think it, they can do it. And that’s exciting."
I think it’s fascinating that there are directors today who see all the CGI special effects stuff as their “go to” solution to everything, and here you have a classic Shakespearean who thinks that’s the hard part.
1 comment:
I'm really curious about the Thor movie, though for some reason I am expecting to be disappointed. I'm a fan of both Shakespeare movies and superhero films (the title of this post really caught my eye, especially since I had just finished my own post about Branagh's Henry V), and Branagh directing should be great news. But I think I'm worried about how Thor fits in as a superhero, especially since Marvel is so adamant about putting all of their characters together not only in the same "universe," but in the same movie (the much-touted Avengers movie, due out whenever...).
Thor is a GOD, so how is he to fit in with mortal heroes like Iron Man and Captain America? It's a strange mix, though I don't think I would be so interested in the outcome if Branagh weren't directing. I guess I don't want him associated with a comic book flop.
Not to pigeonhole the guy, but I really wish he would turn out more Shakespeare films. There was talk some time ago of him doing MacBeth, but as time goes on I feel we may not see him in another Shakespeare film until he's old enough for Lear...
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