Shakespeare on Film
Infoplease picks the best film adaptations of Shakespeare
by Shmuel Ross
Relatively 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
Starring: Lawrence Olivier
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
Also starring: Emma Thompson
Description: This screwball comedy is fun for all, whether or not they're fans of Shakespeare.
Othello (1995)
Directed by: Oliver Parker
Starring: Lawrence Fishburne & Kenneth Branagh
Description: The Moor of Venice is finally portrayed on film by a person of color.
Richard III (1995)
Directed by: Richard Loncraine
Starring: Ian McKellen
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
Starring: Kevin Kline & Michelle Pfeiffer
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
Starring: Al Pacino & Jeremy Irons
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
Starring: River Phoenix
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
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio
Description: Moves the action to contemporary "Verona Beach," using music-video cinematography.
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Directed by: Gil Junger
Starring: Heath Ledger & Julia Styles
Description: Romantic teen comedy with a great soundtrack, loosely based on The Taming of the Shrew.
Hamlet (2000)
Directed by: Michael Almereyda
Starring: Ethan Hawke
Description: Sets the play in contemporary New York, with CEOs taking the place of kings.
Romeo Must Die (2000)
Directed by: Andrzej Bartkowiak
Starring: Jet Li & Aaliyah
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
Starring: Richard Harris & Lynn Redgrave
Description: King Lear involving a crime boss and his family in contemporary Liverpool.
O (2001)
Directed by: Tim Blake Nelson
Starring: Mekhi Phifer
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
Starring: James Legros & Christopher Walken
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
Starring: Amanda Bynes
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.
