Review of Stage Beauty

Introduction

I am a lady!

Long before Emily Howard, there were indeed men who dressed as ladies, because ladies were not allowed to perform on stage until 1662. Then along came Charles II who decided to continue to sweep away the puritanism of Cromwell, so it was time to allow women on stage, and it was the end of an era.

Stage Beauty is based loosely (rather loosely at times) on the story of Edward Kynaston, one such man who dressed as a lady, and those around him during this time of change.

Video

The anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer is very good, and you definitely get the feeling that you`re in 1660s England. It`s pleasingly free from dust and dirt, and everything looks excellent. A surprisingly good transfer given that this is no blockbuster, but pleasing indeed.

Audio

A DD5.1 soundtrack is provided, but is never used to its full potential in its re-creation of the 1660s. The soundtrack sometimes puts music around the sound stage, but no other sounds tend to escape from their confines in the centre channel.

The other soundtrack is an audio description track, designed for those with visual impairment. This explains what is happening up on the screen. There should be more of these tracks on DVDs so it is a very welcome inclusion.

The other piece of audio to mention is the over the top cheeky cockney binman accent of Nell Gwynn who sounds like she would be more at home on the set of Snatch than in Charles II`s court.

Features

Just 2 worth mentioning. First the commentary by director Richard Eyre, who gets into lots of technical detail and makes the track very heavy going. If you didn`t really enjoy the film then this commentary track won`t win you over.

Setting The Stage: Behind The Scenes is the featurette that doesn`t really go behind the scenes, and just mixes loads of interview clips from the EPK, where various cast and crew get to gush about each other. They don`t really tell you very much about the film, and there is only the odd interesting snippet.

A weblink and a trailer wrap things up.

Conclusion

Director Richard Eyre states that he wanted "to give a modern feel to the story without being anachronistic". He fails. There is far too much anachronism in this film that is at times camper than a row of pink tents. There is much hamming it up, with Richard Griffiths stealing the best lines as Sir Charles Sedley.

The obvious comparison is Shakespeare in Love, which was equally disappointing and predictable. The ending is stuffed with more cheese than a four cheese pizza and you find yourself wondering why you just sat through this. If you want to see performances and stories from the 1600s get out and about and see your local Shakespeare company, or one of the many travelling companies who are always on tour. You`ll get a much more enjoyable experience than this. If you want a comedy where men dress up as ladies, try Little Britain instead.

The DVD is strong on picture, ok on sound, and rather lacking in extras, with those that you do get not being of much interest. Not even worth a rental really.