The Comedy of Errors (1983)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

just watch it!

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

This comedy is a very good comedy with no disguises this time but with two pairs of twins who were estranged by some storm during a sea voyage when they were infants. Plus imagine the father who was estranged from one of each pair and the mother separated in her own way and not even knowing that those who arrived with her in Ephesus were hers. It all turns and whirls around these lost connections and these pairs of twins that create havoc on the main square of Ephesus. The square is full of mountebanks and other street artists, peddlers and vendors, hawkers in one word. And it is a real merry-go-round from one side to the other and all around. They are all so ignorant of the tricky situation they are in that they are all turned into curtal dogs turning the spit in their wheels: "To conclude, this drudge, or diviner, laid claim to me, call'd me Dromio; swore I was assured to her; told me what privy marks I had about me, as, the mark of my shoulder, the mole in my neck, the great wart on my left arm, that I amazed ran from her as a witch: And, I think, if my breast had not been made of faith and my heart of steel, She had transform'd me to a curtal dog and made me turn i' the wheel." (Act III, Scene 2, Dromio of Syracuse). But it is a comedy and that incessant turning may make you dizzy, so the duke will finally put some order in that disorder and the twins will find out their fate and the parents will be reunited and the children will recognize their parents. And to square the dog-wheel, couples will be built to come to the magic number of eight, if possible. The two pairs of twins make four, the parents will make six and the Duke will go to the party with the Courtezan mind you and that will make eight. But you also have the parents, each son with his wife or wife to be, the sister of the previous one, and the Duke and the Courtezan and the two Dromio going their way hand in hand, and that is eight again. Or even the two sons Antipholus, the two brothers Dromio, the two sisters who are married to or will marry the Antipholus, and their parents and you have eight again. Speaking of squaring a whirlwind, Shakespeare here is great. The BBC does a beautiful show because the twins really look like twins and the rhythm is so dynamic that we are really enchanted by the job. It is true too that all actors are perfect in their respective places and the slaps look and sound like slaps and quite many other little tricks like a rope turned into a hanging noose and a schoolteacher who is also a doctor and a great master in the art of dealing with insane people (the schoolteacher as much as the doctor), to his own expense in a way. Good entertaining job.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University Paris 8 Saint Denis, University Paris 12 Créteil, CEGID

I do find this story amusing even if not one of Shakespeare's very best. It's good enough to thoroughly enjoy and very well done too in this version. I particularly like Michael Kitchen (a favourite of mine anyway) as the patrician twins. Normally I don't like doubling of twins, I'd prefer two actors even if not identical enough - the audience can always take it they are identical, no problem. But MK did this so well, with the tetchy Ephesus twin with doublet always unbuttoned and the pleasant Syracusan with doublet always buttoned, plus the usual filming tricks to have them face to face at the end, that I had no problem this time. Perhaps this is partly because MK is such a good actor! The story is light and fluffy although with that serious edge one expects in Shakespeare, that twins parted at birth and parents also parted at the same time causes much distress. It seems rather strange the Syracusan side of the family waits so long to seek out the lost twin but you do need the twins to be adult because of the love interests. The utter confusion that ensues when one twin is taken for another is wonderful.Even more, it's two sets of twins since we also have the servant twins both called Dromio, leading to even more confusion. And parents finally reunited too. Very nice.I simply loved this production. Wonderful fun with fine actors. Roger Daltry does well as Dromio.

This play is not as feeble as, say, "Two Gentlemen of Verona," but it's not terribly strong either. Directors have a tendency to throw in distractions to up the level of interest: Trevor Nunn threw in nine songs, Greg Mosher added a clown and a drag queen, and here James Cellan Jones throws in a mime troupe.I don't care what his rationale was, there are three things in life worth avoiding: folk dancing, incest and commedia dell'arte. The mimes are superfluous, annoying and nowhere near as interesting as they are supposed to be.Getting past that, this is neither the strongest nor the weakest of the BBC Shakespeares. The set is a cheerful stylization of a tiny town on the Aegean, with a surprising amount of atmosphere. It's easy on the eyes and is also built in the round, so no matter which way the camera looks, you remain solidly within the physical setting.Cyril Cusack and Wendy Hiller get the acting honors, with a tip of the hat to Charles Gray.The master and servant pair from Syracuse are relaxed and benign, those from Ephesus are sour and prone to violence. Since the TV camera would not forgive two sets of actors pretending to be identical twins, one single actor plays both Antipholi (?), and another both Dromios. Michael Kitchen labors over a case of flu to differentiate his characters. Roger Daltrey is sincere and good-natured, but way out of his depth here and best passed over in silence.The trouble, as so often with farce, is the pace. Though things start off promisingly and finish well, that droop in the middle is serious.So, not a show for the ages, but not the worst thing ever to happen to the Bard.

I saw the Comedy of Errors with Roger Daltrey. I totally disagree. I thought Daltrey was very entertaining and acted brilliantly in it. Also got to see him on stage in NYC acting as Scrooge in a Christmas Carol about 7 years ago. He was good in that role, too.In addition to being a well known singer, I believe he shows a lot of versatility with his acting, also. I'm guessing he's gotta be on the other side of 60 now, but he still looks good. He was on Letterman recently with Peter Townshend, and although he's beginning to show age, he still keeps himself in great shape.While a lot of rock stars of his era were poisoning their bodies with drugs and alcohol, he seemed to steer clear. There were times he fought with his own band mates over the alcohol and drugs they were using and killing themselves with(Two of them died using drugs). He stayed away and looks great at his age compared to how bad others look from his era who were lucky enough to survive their drug addictions.