Preparation
Prior to watching Much Ado About Nothing, read a film review on the website of one of the following major national newspapers: Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, or Washington Post. You should not look for a review of the same film you are watching for class. Instead, you should look for a review of the same genre-in this case, either drama or romantic comedy will be acceptable. Your goal is to consider the standard way in which films are professionally reviewed. You should keep this in mind as you watch the film and as you prepare to write your own review of it. In the works cited section at the end of your written assignment, you will include the citation for the review you read.
• You should label each part of your paper with the bold headings provided below. Other than the headings, do not copy the text of the prompts into your paper.
• Your responses must follow the order of the prompts as outlined below, with clear paragraph breaks to show that you have followed the prompts in sequence.
• Your responses must be in short-essay, or paragraph, format.
• While you will not be graded on word count or page length, your responses must include specific detail and thoughtful analysis.
• The expected length of a paper that meets rubric requirements is more than 1 page, but no more than 2 pages.
• Examine the rubric below to see how your paper will be graded.
Part 1: Review
Write a brief review of the film. Your review should include:
• things about the film you did and did not like,
• anything from the film that you found especially appealing or distracting,
• and whether or not you would recommend this film to others. Be specific.
Part 2: Character Examination
Select ONE of the following characters: Don John OR Dogberry.
Name the character you have chosen. Compare the character as you read him in the text with his portrayal in the film-what similarities or differences did you find between his portrayal in the text and his portrayal in the film? In what specific ways did the film add dimensionto his character? Consider his props, clothing, and the settings in which he is portrayed.
Part 3: The Entrapment of Benedick and Beatrice
First, read the following text about film as an art form:
"Film employs the same basic properties of other media. It has compositional elements like line, form, mass, volume, and texture. It uses 3-dimensional space like sculpture. It incorporates movement like dance. It has dialog like literature and poetry....
"However, it is unlike any other genre of art by its quality of free and constant motion. The continuous interplay of sight, sound, and motion allows film to transcend the static limitations of painting and sculpture-in the complexity of its sensual appeal as well as in its ability to communicate simultaneously on several levels. Film surpasses drama in its unique capacity for revealing various points of view, portraying action, manipulating time, and conveying a boundless sense of space. Unlike stage productions, film can provide a continuous, unbroken flow, which blurs and minimizes transitions without compromising the story's unity. Unlike the novel or the poem, film communicates directly, without abstract symbols like words on a page but through concrete images and sounds..."