Pay channels pick Branagh

Another Kenneth Branagh adaptation of a Shakespearian favorite will be screening on Canadian cable this summer. Movie Central and The Movie Network will debut As You Like It — Branagh’s take on the romantic comedy of errors, made for HBO — on Aug. 21 and 23, respectively.

As You Like It marks Branagh’s fifth stage-to-screen adaptation of a Shakespeare play, following past entries such as Love’s Labour’s Lost, Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing. In this variation, he sets the story of romance and gender confusion in 19th century Japan. It stars Takuya Shimada, Alfred Molina (Silk), Kevin Kline (De-Lovely) and Janet McTeer (Tideland).

Branagh’s unusual renderings of Shakespeare upset some purists. His 2000 film version of Love’s Labour’s Lost was shot entirely in the style of a ’30s movie musical, though, that year, Branagh became the youngest actor ever to receive the Golden Quill, aka the Sir John Gielgud Award.