Shakespeare on FilmInfoplease picks the best film adaptations of Shakespeareby Shmuel RossRelatively Faithful Adaptations“An honest tale speeds best, being plainly told.” Henry V (1944)Directed by and starring: Laurence Olivier Description: This play, about a British military campaign, was filmed during World War II to boost the morale of British troops. Hamlet (1948)Directed by and starring: Laurence Olivier Description: Simplified version of Hamlet as "a man who could not make up his mind." Macbeth (1948)Directed by and starring: Orson Welles Description: Employs a mixture of stage and screen techniques. See the uncut version if you can. Othello (1952)Directed by and starring: Orson Welles Description: Made over several years on a shoestring budget. The soundtrack was completely reconstructed forty years later. Richard III (1955)Directed by and starring: Lawrence Olivier Description: Olivier, now in Technicolor! Falstaff / Chimes at Midnight (1965)Directed by and starring: Orson Welles Description: Cobbled together from the five plays featuring Falstaff: Henry IV Parts I and II, Richard II, Henry V, and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Othello (1965)Directed by: Stuart Burge Description: A staged version of the play recorded on film. Disconcertingly, Olivier performs wearing blackface. Romeo and Juliet (1968)Directed by: Franco Zeffirelli Description: Has teenaged actors in the leading roles, as written. Macbeth (1971)Directed by: Roman Polanski Description: Cinematically rich. Absorbing, bleak, and drenched in blood and gore. Henry V (1989)Directed by and starring: Kenneth Branagh Description: The first of Branagh's Shakespearean films, this is a dark film with realistic scenes of war. Much Ado About Nothing (1993)Directed by and starring: Kenneth Branagh Description: This screwball comedy is fun for all, whether or not they're fans of Shakespeare. Othello (1995)Directed by: Oliver Parker Description: The Moor of Venice is finally portrayed on film by a person of color. Richard III (1995)Directed by: Richard Loncraine Description: Transposes the play to a 1930s England that never was. Hamlet (1996)Directed by and starring: Kenneth Branagh Description: The definitive film version is an unabridged 4-hour epic. A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)Directed by: Michael Hoffman Description: Set in late 19th-century Italy and has characters on bicycles, but retains Shakespeare's dialogue. Titus (1999)Directed by: Julie Taymor Description: Visually eclectic adaptation of Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare's goriest play. The Merchant of Venice (2004)Directed by: Michael Radford Description: Places the controversial play in historical and geographical context. Looser Adaptations“More honored in the breach than the observance.” Kiss Me Kate (1953)Directed by: George Sidney Description: About a divorced couple asked to put on a musical production of The Taming of the Shrew, with songs by Cole Porter. Kumonosu Jo / Throne of Blood (1957)Directed by: Akira Kurosawa Description: Japanese version of Macbeth in which samurai take the place of Scots. West Side Story (1961)Directed by: Jerome Robbins & Robert Wise Description: Romeo and Juliet re-envisioned as a New York City turf war, with frequent dance numbers. Strange Brew (1983)Directed by and starring: Rick Moranis & Dave Thomas Description: Hamlet in a Canadian brewery, featuring Bob and Doug McKenzie. Beauty, eh? Ran (1985)Directed by: Akira Kurosawa Description: Japanese version of King Lear which also draws on samurai legends. The title means "Chaos." My Own Private Idaho (1991)Directed by: Gus van Sant Description: A road movie that's a loose adaptation of Henry IV. Green Eggs and Hamlet (1995)Directed by: Mike O'Neal Description: Spoken almost entirely in Dr. Seuss style couplets. (It's lots of fun when you begin / But very soon the joke wears thin.) Romeo + Juliet (1996)Directed by: Baz Luhrmann Description: Moves the action to contemporary "Verona Beach," using music-video cinematography. 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)Directed by: Gil Junger Description: Romantic teen comedy with a great soundtrack, loosely based on The Taming of the Shrew. Hamlet (2000)Directed by: Michael Almereyda Description: Sets the play in contemporary New York, with CEOs taking the place of kings. Romeo Must Die (2000)Directed by: Andrzej Bartkowiak Description: Romeo and Juliet as a martial-arts action film, with the rival houses becoming Asian and African American gangs on the Oakland waterfront. My Kingdom (2001)Directed by: Don Boyd Description: King Lear involving a crime boss and his family in contemporary Liverpool. O (2001)Directed by: Tim Blake Nelson Description: Othello moved onto a basketball court. Macbeth: The Comedy (2001)Directed by: Allison L. LiCalsi Description: Features a lesbian couple as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, and three gay men as the Weird Sisters. Scotland, PA (2001)Directed by: Billy Morrissette Description: This parodic adaptation sets Macbeth at a burger stand. Really. Duncan gets killed using a deep fryer. She's the Man (2006)Directed by: Andy Fickman Description: Twelfth Night at a British prep school. Films that use Shakespeare as a starting point and take it elsewhere“All the world's a stage.” Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1990)Directed by: Tom Stoppard Description: Focuses on two minor characters from Hamlet. What do you do when you're not the star of your own life? Looking for Richard (1996)Directed by: Al Pacino Description: A documentary about the challenges of producing, performing, and enjoying Richard III. Shakespeare in Love (1998)Directed by: John Madden Description: A clever and anachronistic tale of Shakespeare being inspired to write Romeo and Juliet. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (2000)Directed by: Paul Kafno Description: The Reduced Shakespeare Company's hilarious presentation of 37 plays in 88 minutes. More about William Shakespeare
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