While it is never mandatory, as every work should be able to stand on its own without necessarily having to be reinvented in different contexts, one of the most objective signs of a truly great playwright is not only if their work stands the test of time, but can be adapted to different eras or scenarios, while still retaining the same spirit and complexity that inspired the original production. When it comes to this principle, few have been more prominent in the development of these ideas than William Shakespeare, whose plays have infiltrated just about every conceivable medium, developed and reworked into different contexts by hundreds of exceptionally talented artists and having a truly global reach, since these are often easily reconfigured into different cultures, much more than some of his contemporaries. His comedies in particular have held a special place in the history of theatre, since there is something extremely remarkable about how Shakespeare creates hilarious scenarios and invites us to accompany him on these journeys, which are always hilarious and heartfelt in equal measure. As You Like It isn’t his most beloved comedy, but it is the one that perhaps contains the simplest but evocative distillation of his style, and has appropriately been adapted in many different ways. Perhaps the most faithful adaptation is the one directed by Paul Czinner, who mounts a very charming production, not putting too much effort into changing the setting, and choosing instead to let the text speak for itself, which is sometimes optimal for a playwright like Shakespeare, whose words are never anything less than utterly impeccable. Featuring a tremendous cast and directed by someone fully committed to paying tribute to the material, this version of As You Like It is an absolute delight in both style and substance, which is to be expected as the bare minimum when working with such a charming text.

When it comes to adapting Shakespeare, as long as the people responsible for the production pay close attention to the details and overall story, it is not difficult to capture the spirit of his work, especially when dealing with a comedy. As You Like It is objectively one of the playwright’s most interesting texts, primarily because it represents him at his most playful and subversive, which is often a quality of his more humorous works, and something that is often lost when working with these stories. This was not a problem for those working on this specific adaptation, since this is a very inventive version of this story, albeit one that doesn’t go too far to explore certain themes. What this film does particularly well is capturing the right tone – As You Like It is known to be one of the more freewheeling, update plays that Shakespeare ever wrote, one in which there isn’t a single moment of dramatic intensity or any scenario where it can veer towards the melancholic, which makes it essentially only a string of hilarious moments tied together with a genuine sense of heartfulness, which is objectively the only way to go about telling such a story. Czinner is not a director we speak about often, primarily because he wasn’t a strong authorial voice, but rather someone reliable enough to helm these productions – but regardless, he was an incredibly diverse filmmaker, and it takes a lot of talent to adapt a stageplay into a film in a way that feels genuine and cinematic. It may not be the most formally interesting work based on the Bard’s stories, but it knows how to create the necessary atmosphere, being as delightfully upbeat as required, as well as going in many different directions that feel oddly appropriate for the era in which this film was made, specifically in terms of the narrative details that exist right at the heart of the film, which uses them very well in its pursuit of various deeper concepts.

In terms of actors who have their names synonymous with Shakespeare’s work, Laurence Olivier spent a good portion of his career establishing himself as perhaps the foremost scholar of his work, appearing in productions of nearly all of his major works, which expands from the stage to the screen, as well as from the start of his career right until the end. Needless to say, Olivier earned the right to consider himself someone who could navigate these dense but beautiful texts, developing a skillfulness that made it look almost effortless. As You Like It is the first time he had appeared in a film version of one of Shakespeare’s plays, and he was still quite young, having appeared on stage previously, but not having the opportunity to tread the Bard’s proverbial boards on screen. He is naturally quite remarkable – charismatic, endearing and unquestionably charming, he is brilliant in the role, developing the part of Orlando through his interpretation, which is quite different from other versions of the character, which is always a good approach for an actor, should they be both confident and skilled enough to undertake such a challenge. Despite his presence, Olivier isn’t even the best performance in this film, with that distinction going to Elisabeth Bergner, who commands the screen as the equally iconic Rosalind, the gender-bending heroine who is the direct catalyst for the delightful chaos that simmers throughout the film. She is remarkable, and she fits perfectly into the world that Czinner is constructing with this material, as does the entire cast, who are all deeply committed to peering beneath the surface of the text and finding their unique perspective on its primary concepts, each one of them bringing a different interpretation that fits into the central intentions of As You Like It, which strives to be a hilarious and irreverent tapestry of humanity in its most comedic form.

Beyond the performances, the aspect that propels this adaptation of As You Like It to greater heights than some of the slightly more ambitious versions is the fact that this is a film that knows exactly how to navigate some of the more challenging narrative territory normally found with this genre, which is beautifully developed by Czinner, who understands that this is a sotry that works best with a very simple approach. It is important to take the era this film was made into account – in the mid-1930s, it was perfectly appropriate to direct a film like this entirely on film sets, with a lot of work being done to transform these stages into whatever enchanting world we could soon be transported (and as we saw a year previously in the adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by William Dieterle and Max Reinhardt, it can result in a masterful and immersive experience when done right, and could even be viewed as one of the definitive versions of a text), which may seem limiting in a contemporary cinematic landscape where filming on location seems far more compelling, if not entirely obvious. Authenticity isn’t all that important, granted, we are dealing with a film that can give off the illusion of being genuine, even if it doesn’t entirely convince us. There is something quite magical about seeing these sets transformed into the pastoral forests of 16th century France, and the production design is gorgeous – simple but evocative in a way that is impossible to not embrace, this version of As You Like It is exceptionally well-made, with the efforts to bring this story to life visually match the incredible work being done by the actors, which is all that one could ask for when dealing with such an easily adaptable text that doesn’t take much work, but does require some effort.

Most of the time, to call a film theatrical could be seen as degrading it, especially since there is a stigma against stage-to-screen adaptations, since they are often little more than filmed versions of plays that extend slightly into the wider world, but not enough to actually be particularly captivating. This is not the case for this version of As You Like It, which not only recognises its theatricality but openly celebrates it. This is not a particularly difficult film to make, yet they still convey the sense that it was a labour of love, every detail being distinct and tenderly placed somewhere in this film, which is actively examining many different ideas, each one more interesting than the last. It may pale in comparison to some of the more artistically resonant adaptations of Shakespeare’s work, and it can sometimes feel limited in space, but it makes up for this through pure ambition, which is not an easily identifiable feature, especially not with a film as actively engaging as this one. Instead, we find ourselves being immersed in the world Czinner is building for us – it is rough around the edges and sometimes assumes we can keep up more than we actually can, which is usually a flaw, but feels like a defining feature of this film, which is far more engaging through this earnest appreciation for the material and its overarching conversations. Funny and heartfelt in equal measure, and never anything less than totally spellbinding, As You Like It is a truly delightful adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most wickedly funny works, and an exceptional romantic comedy that knows exactly how to capture our attention.