(L to R) Director Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot and crew on the set of 20th Century Studios’ ‘A Haunting In Venice.’ Photo by Rob Youngson. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Kenneth Branagh is an Oscar-winning Writer, director, producer, and actor.
The filmmaker first made a name for himself in the 80’s and 90’s for his big screen adaptions of William Shakespeare plays like ‘Henry V,’ ‘Much Ado About Nothing‘ and ‘Hamlet,’ which he also starred in.
As a director Branagh is also well-known for adapting other literary masterpieces to the big screen such as ‘Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein,’ ‘Thor,’ ‘Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,’ ‘Cinderella,’ and the Agatha Christie adaptions, where he also plays detective Hercule Poirot including ‘Murder on the Orient Express,’ ‘Death on the Nile,’ and ‘A Haunting in Venice,’ which opens in theaters on September 15th.
He’s also appeared in many beloved films as an actor that he did not direct like ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,’ ‘Valkyrie,’ and Christopher Nolan‘s ‘Dunkirk,’ ‘Tenet‘ and the recent ‘Oppenheimer.’
After several Academy Award nominations over the course of his career, Branagh finally won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for his very personal 2021 film ‘Belfast.’
In honor of ‘A Haunting in Venice’s release, Moviefone is counting down every movie Kenneth Branagh has ever directed.
Let’s begin!
Ferdia Shaw in ‘Artemis Fowl.’ Photo: Nicola Dove / Disney.
Artemis Fowl (Ferdia Shaw) is a 12-year-old genius and descendant of a long line of criminal masterminds. He soon finds himself in an epic battle against a race of powerful underground fairies who may be behind his father’s (Colin Farrell) disappearance.
“Remember the name”
56
1 hr 34 minJun 12th, 2020
Out of work actor Joe (Michael Maloney) volunteers to help try and save his sister’s local church for the community by putting on a Christmas production of Hamlet, somewhat against the advice of his agent Margaretta (Joan Collins). As the cast he assembles are still available even at Christmas and are prepared to do it on a ‘profit sharing’ basis (that is, they may not get paid anything) he cannot expect – and does not get – the cream of the cream. But although they all bring their own problems and foibles along, something bigger starts to emerge in the perhaps aptly named village of Hope.
“The drama. The passion. The intrigue… And the rehearsals haven’t even started.”
73
1 hr 39 minFeb 9th, 1996
During World War I, in an unnamed country, a soldier named Tamino (Joseph Kaiser) is sent by the Queen of the Night to rescue her daughter Pamina (Amy Carson) from the clutches of the supposedly evil Sarastro (René Pape). But all is not as it seems.
London, June 29th, 1613. The Globe Theater, ran by the famous playwright William Shakespeare (Branagh), accidentally burns to ashes. Seriously affected, he stops writing and returns to his hometown, where his wife Anne (Judi Dench) and daughters Judith (Kathryn Wilder) and Susanna (Lydia Wilson) get surprised to hear he intends to stay there definitively, after two decades working in the capital, neglecting his sincere affections for them.
“The final act of the world’s greatest playwright”
62
1 hr 41 minJan 4th, 2019
After inheriting a large country estate from his late father, Peter (Stephen Fry) invites his friends from college: married couple Roger (Hugh Laurie) and Mary (Imelda Staunton), the lonely Maggie (Emma Thompson), fashionable Sarah (Alphonsia Emmanuel), and writer Andrew (Branagh), who brings his American TV star wife, Carol (Rita Rudner). Sarah’s new boyfriend, Brian (Tony Slattery), also attends. It has been 10 years since college, and they find their lives are very different.
“Love, friendship, and other natural disasters…”
65
1 hr 41 minSep 18th, 1992
Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot in 20th Century Studios’ ‘A Haunting in Venice.’ Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Celebrated sleuth Hercule Poirot (Branagh), now retired and living in self-imposed exile in Venice, reluctantly attends a Halloween séance at a decaying, haunted palazzo. When one of the guests is murdered, the detective is thrust into a sinister world of shadows and secrets.
“Death was only the beginning.”
Celebrated sleuth Hercule Poirot, now retired and living in self-imposed exile in Venice, reluctantly attends a Halloween séance at a decaying, haunted palazzo…. Read the Plot
The King of Navarre (Alessandro Nivola) and his three companions swear a very public oath to study together and to renounce women for three years. Their honour is immediately put to the test by the arrival of the Princess of France (Alicia Silverstone) and her three lovely companions. It’s love at first sight for all concerned followed by the men’s hopeless efforts to disguise their feelings.
“A new spin on the old song and dance.”
56
1 hr 33 min
Based on the 1937 novel by Agatha Christie, ‘Death on the Nile’ is a daring mystery-thriller about the emotional chaos and deadly consequences triggered by obsessive love. Branagh is back as the iconic detective Hercule Poirot, and is joined by Tom Bateman, four-time Oscar® nominee Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders and Letitia Wright.
Witty, playful and utterly magical, the story is a compelling romantic adventure in which Rosalind (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Orlando’s (David Oyelowo) celebrated courtship is played out against a backdrop of political rivalry, banishment and exile in the Forest of Arden – set in 19th-century Japan.
58
2 hr 7 minApr 7th, 2007
Based on Mary Shelley’s novel, “Frankenstein” tells the story of Victor Frankenstein (Branagh), a promising young doctor who, devastated by the death of his mother during childbirth, becomes obsessed with bringing the dead back to life. His experiments lead to the creation of a monster (Robert De Niro), which Frankenstein has put together with the remains of corpses. It’s not long before Frankenstein regrets his actions.
“Be warned.”
64
2 hr 3 minNov 4th, 1994
Chris Pine plays the young Jack Ryan, cruising the downtown streets of Manhattan for ‘Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,’ from Paramount Pictures. Photo credit: David Lee.
Jack Ryan (Chris Pine), as a young covert CIA analyst, uncovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy with a terrorist attack.
“Trust no one.”
61
1 hr 45 minJan 17th, 2014
In this Shakespearean farce, Hero (Kate Beckinsale) and her groom-to-be, Claudio (Robert Sean Leonard), team up with Claudio’s commanding officer, Don Pedro (Denzel Washington), the week before their wedding to hatch a matchmaking scheme. Their targets are sharp-witted duo Benedick (Branagh) and Beatrice (Emma Thompson) — a tough task indeed, considering their corresponding distaste for love and each other. Meanwhile, meddling Don John (Keanu Reeves) plots to ruin the wedding.
“Romance. Mischief. Seduction. Revenge. Remarkable.”
70
1 hr 51 minMay 7th, 1993
On his sprawling country estate, an aging writer (Michael Caine) matches wits with the struggling actor (Jude Law) who has stolen his wife’s heart.
“Obey the rules.”
63
1 hr 26 minOct 12th, 2007
When her father unexpectedly passes away, young Ella (Lily James) finds herself at the mercy of her cruel stepmother (Cate Blanchett) and her daughters. Never one to give up hope, Ella’s fortunes begin to change after meeting a dashing stranger (Richard Madden) in the woods.
“Midnight is just the beginning.”
68
1 hr 45 minMar 13th, 2015
Hamlet (Branagh), Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father (Brian Blessed) murdered and his mother (Julie Christie) now marrying the murderer… his uncle (Derek Jacobi). Meanwhile, war is brewing.
75
4 hr 2 minDec 25th, 1996
5. ‘Thor‘ (2011)
Chris Hemsworth in ‘Thor.’ Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Against his father Odin’s (Anthony Hopkins) will, The Mighty Thor (Chris Hemsworth) – a powerful but arrogant warrior god – recklessly reignites an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans as punishment. Once here, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.
“Two worlds. One hero.”
68
1 hr 55 minMay 6th, 2011
In 1949 composer Roman Strauss (Branagh) is executed for the vicious murder of his wife Margaret (Emma Thompson) with a pair of scissors. In 1990s Los Angeles a mute amnesiac woman (also Thompson) shows up at an orphanage and private eye Mike Church (also Branagh) is called in to investigate. Under hypnosis both the woman and Church seem to have a strange link back to the Strauss murder.
“How many times can you die for love?”
65
1 hr 47 minAug 23rd, 1991
Genius Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Branagh) investigates the murder of an American tycoon (Johnny Depp) aboard the Orient Express train.
Gritty adaption of William Shakespeare’s play about the English King’s (Branagh) bloody conquest of France.
“The great adventure of a king who defied the odds to prove himself a man.”
73
2 hr 17 minOct 6th, 1989
(L to R) Caitriona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Judi Dench, Jude Hill, and Lewis McAskie in ‘Belfast,’ directed by Kenneth Branagh
Written and directed by Branagh, ‘Belfast’ is a poignant story of love, laughter and loss in one boy’s (Jude Hill) childhood, amid the music and social tumult of the late 1960s.
“No matter how far you go, you never forget where you came from.”
72
1 hr 38 minNov 12th, 2021
Discussion about this post