Shakespeare in Love

This year's Best Picture winner answers 400 years' worth of high school English students who wonder why the heck the Bard wrote that way: turns out he spoke that way too. As played by Joseph Fiennes in this enchanting historical confection, Will Shakespeare is the quintessential artist as hopeless romantic, giving his emotions such florid voice that even his contemporaries ask him to "talk prose." It's just one of many brilliant twists in Shakespeare in Love that it treats the doomed romance between Will and noblewoman Viola (Gwyneth Paltrow, who also nabbed an Oscar) both with utter sincerity and an ironic wink. Of course, the film is more than a meta-commentary on romantic love, offering wonderful satire on Hollywood filmmaking, including Geoffrey Rush's hilarious supporting turn as the penny-ante theater owner and a riverboat driver who asks Will to read a script he has written. Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard create a whip-smart script, which serves as a glorious period piece, a clever allegory, a marvelous actor's showcase and a pure romance with all the swoon appeal you could hope for in a tale of starr-cross'd lovers. It's almost--dare one say it--Shakespearean. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (S. Renshaw)[Blu-ray Review—Mar. 13, 2012—Lionsgate, 122 min., R, $14.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1998's Shakespeare in Love sports a great transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras include two audio commentaries (the first with director John Madden; the second with the cast and crew including Gwyneth Paltrow and Judi Dench), a production featurette (21 min.), deleted scenes (11 min.), a segment on the Oscar-winning costume design (3 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a wonderful budget-priced Blu-ray debut for this multiple Oscar winner.]