Shakespeare

[Slimybug]

I've recently made the commitment to finish reading all of the Bard's 37 plays by the end of the year. So far, I've completed 11.

1. Hamlet
2. Romeo and Juliet
3. Macbeth
4. Othello
5. Julius Caesar
6. Much Ado About Nothing
7. A Midsummer Night's Dream
8. The Tempest
9. Henry V
10. Twelfth Night
11. Titus Andronicus

And now I'm reading The Taming of the Shrew.

My favorite is by far Much Ado, and I adore both film versions, as well as the 2011 filmed stage production with David Tennant & Catherine Tate. It's so the OG rom-com!

My friend and I run a review channel on Youtube together, and I just convinced him to take "The Shakespeare Challenge," and watch and review a Shakespeare film a month. By my calculations, there are 38 films within the parameters of being theatrically released in the United States. So it should be a fun 3 years!

Now, let's move on to more important matters...


I'm pretty sure that it's necessary for the survival of the human race that Jonathan Majors and Tom Hiddleston do the next feature film version of Othello. I've heard of some pretty amazing Othello/Iago combinations, including James Earl Jones and Christopher Plummer in the 80s (which my dad's cousin saw live), and Chiwetel Ejiofor and Ewan Macgregor in 2007 (which has an audio recording which I've purchased and can't wait to listen to). BTW, Cassio always seems to be played by a young up-and-comer. It was Kelsey Grammer in the former and Tom Hiddleston in the latter.

I've also always wanted to see James Marsters as Iago, but come on, Majors/Hiddleston HAS to happen! The universe wills it!

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Speaking of Christopher Plummer, he was wicked cool as Shakespeare loving Klingon bad guy General Chang from Star Trek VI:

[foxley]

My friend and I run a review channel on Youtube together, and I just convinced him to take "The Shakespeare Challenge," and watch and review a Shakespeare film a month. By my calculations, there are 38 films within the parameters of being theatrically released in the United States. So it should be a fun 3 years!

Are you limiting yourself to straight adaptations? If you include works based on Shakespeare (e.g. 10 Things I Hate About you is a high school take on The Taming of the Shrew) you would greatly expand your repertoire.

Also 38 seems a bit low for Shakespeare films, even if you limit yourself to features commercially released in the US. Of the top of my head, I can think of multiple versions of just Hamlet (including portrayals by Laurence Olivier, Kenneth Brannagh and Mel Gibson(!)) and Romeo & Juliet.

Still good luck with your project, and make sure you include Roman Polanski's version of Macbeth--one of my favourite Shakespeare films--and Titus, a truly bizarre adaptation of Titus Andronicus starring Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange.

[Slimybug]

Also 38 seems a bit low for Shakespeare films, even if you limit yourself to features commercially released in the US.

Yeah, pretty sure I got everything, including...

4 each of Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, and Macbeth
3 of Othello & A Midsummer Night's Dream
2 of As You Like It, Julius Caesar, Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III, and The Taming of the Shrew
1 of Twelfth Night, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, King Lear, Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, and Titus Andronicus

Oh, and I guess I should mention I'm limiting it to SOUND films, as who wants to watch a silent Shakespeare film?

And the full list...

1929: The Taming of the Shrew
1935: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
1936: Romeo and Juliet
1936: As You Like It
1945: Henry V
1948: Hamlet
1948: Macbeth
1953: Julius Caesar
1955: Othello
1956: Richard III
1965: Othello
1967: The Taming of the Shrew
1968: Romeo and Juliet
1970: Julius Caesar
1971: King Lear
1971: Macbeth
1972: Antony and Cleopatra
1989: Henry V
1990: Hamlet
1993: Much Ado About Nothing
1995: Othello
1995: Richard III
1996: Twelfth Night
1996: William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet
1996: Hamlet
1999: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
1999: Titus
2000: Love’s Labour's Lost
2000: Hamlet
2004: The Merchant of Venice
2006: As You Like It
2010: The Tempest
2011: Coriolanus
2013: Much Ado About Nothing
2013: Romeo and Juliet
2015: Macbeth
2018: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
2021: The Tragedy of Macbeth

[foxley]

I'm assuming that you are limiting yourself to films in English, but here are a few more (although I can't swear these were all commercially released in the US):

1946: Othello
1950: Julius Caesar - w/Charlton Heston as Caesar
1954: Romeo and Juliet
1969: Hamlet - w/Anthony Hopkins as Claudius
1992: As You Like It
1968: A Midsummer Night's Dream
1979: The Tempest
1982: The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
1986: Twelfth Night - w/ Geoffrey Rush as Sir Andrew
1999: King Lear - w/Brian blessed as Lear
2006: Macbeth
2008: Richard III
2013: Twelfth Night
2014: Cymbeline
2015: M4M: Measure for Measure - all-male cast version

Happy viewing!

[Slimybug]

Hmmm. I'll have to look into a few of those.

The 1950 Julius Caesar I believe was very much an amateur film, and Wikipedia says, "was mainly shown in schools and colleges."

The 1954 Romeo and Juliet is giving me pause (no Shakespeare pun intended) as I'm unable to tell to what extent it was even released in the US. It certainly didn't make waves like the 1968 film did only 14 years later.

2014's Cymbeline was a streaming release, as was 2018's King Lear. Though after we're done with the ones in question, we may open it up to more, and those two will definitely be among the first in line.

After that, there are 24 indirect adaptations, such as 10 Things I Hate About You, that we can watch. At least, these are 24 of the more well-known ones.
And no, I don't count The Lion King as an adaptation of Hamlet. Drives me crazy when people say that. Sure, there's some similarities, but no real evidence that that was at all what the writers were intending to do. It also bears a lot of similarities to the story of Moses, but no one ever calls it a Biblical allegory.

1947: A Double Life (Othello)
1953: Kiss Me, Kate (film version of the musical based on The Taming of the Shrew)
1956: Forbidden Planet (The Tempest)
1957: Throne of Blood (Japanese Kurasawa film based on Macbeth)
1961: West Side Story (obviously Romeo & Juliet)
1975: Doctor Who - “Planet of Evil” (The Tempest)
1991: My Own Private Idaho (Henry IV)
1997: Ronnie and Julie (again, obviously Romeo & Juliet)
1999: 10 Things I Hate About You (The Taming of the Shrew)
2000: Romeo Must Die (Romeo & Juliet)
2001: Get Over It (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
2001: Motocrossed (Disney Channel Original Movie based on Twelfth Night)
2001: Scotland, PA (Macbeth)
2001: O (Othello)
2003: Deliver Us From Eva (The Taming of the Shrew)
2005: Much Ado About Nothing (ShakespeaRe-Told)
2005: Macbeth (ShakepeaRe-Told)
2005: The Taming of the Shrew (ShakespeaRe-Told)
2005: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (ShakespeaRe-Told)
2006: She’s the Man (Twelfth Night)
2006: The Office - “The Coup” (Macbeth)
2011: Gnomeo and Juliet (Romeo & Juliet)
2015: Strange Magic (apparently a Midsummer Night's Dream?)
2021: West Side Story (Romeo & Juliet)

[Reviresco]

Link us up with the youtube.

[Iron Maiden]

I know that both film versions of Richard III are available in the US. IIRC Sir Laurence Olivier's is on HBO Max along the 1195 "modernized" version with Ian McKellan

[Slimybug]

Speaking of Christopher Plummer, he was wicked cool as Shakespeare loving Klingon bad guy General Chang from Star Trek VI:

Yes, writer/director Nicholas Meyer is a Shakespeare nut, hence all the references in that film, including the title. He's also a Sherlock Holmes fan, and made his name by writing a Holmes novel, The Seven Per-Cent Solution, and getting an Oscar nomination for writing the screen adaptation, hence why Spock also references Holmes in that film.

You might enjoy this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare_and_Star_Trek

[foxley]

If your going to watch the indirect adaptations, I'd strongly recommend 1955's Chimes at Midnight (a.k.a. Falstaff), directed by and starring Orson Welles. It tells Falstaff's story and is an amalgamation of scenes from Richard II, Henry IV part 1, Henry IV part 2, Henry V and The Merry Wives of Windsor. This was very much Welles' baby and he regarded as it as possibly his greatest work.

Some other adaptations to consider:

1933: You Made Me Love You (The Taming of the Shrew)
1940: The Boys from Syracuse (The Comedy of Errors)
1948: Yellow Sky (The Tempest)
1955: Joe Macbeth (guess)
1956: Jubal (Othello)
1961: Romanoff and Juliet (obviously Romeo & Juliet)
1962: All Night Long (Othello)
1974: Catch My Soul (Othello)
1982: Tempest (The Tempest)
1983 Strange Brew (Hamlet)
1987: China Girl (Romeo & Juliet)
1990: Men of Respect (Macbeth)
1990: Romeo.Juliet (Romeo & Juliet among feral cats)
1996: Love Is All There Is (Romeo & Juliet)
1996: Tromeo and Juliet (Romeo & Juliet w/Troma-esque sexuality and violence)
1997: A Thousand Acres (King Lear)
1999: Let the Devil Wear Black (Hamlet)
2000: Bollywood Queen (Romeo & Juliet)
2001: The Children's Midsummer Night's Dream
2002: A Midsummer Night's Rave (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
2003: Deliver Us From Eva (The Taming of the Shrew)
2006: Measure for Measure (Contemporary re-working set in the British army)
2006: Rome & Jewel (Romeo & Juliet)
2006: Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss (An animated adaptation featuring seals and other marine life)
2008: David & Fatima (Romeo & Juliette)
2008: Were the World Mine (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
2011: Private Romeo (Romeo & Juliet)
2020: Shakespeare's Shitstorm (The Tempest)

[Gray Lensman]

I'm assuming that you are limiting yourself to films in English, but here are a few more (although I can't swear these were all commercially released in the US):

1946: Othello
1950: Julius Caesar - w/Charlton Heston as Caesar
1954: Romeo and Juliet
1969: Hamlet - w/Anthony Hopkins as Claudius
1992: As You Like It
1968: A Midsummer Night's Dream
1979: The Tempest
1982: The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
1986: Twelfth Night - w/ Geoffrey Rush as Sir Andrew
1999: King Lear - w/Brian blessed as Lear
2006: Macbeth
2008: Richard III
2013: Twelfth Night
2014: Cymbeline
2015: M4M: Measure for Measure - all-male cast version

Happy viewing!

I think the 1950 version of Julius Ceasar has Charlton Heston as Antony. I recently watched the "Freinds, Romans, Countrymen" speech on Youtube.

[Alan2099]

It might be just a touch outside of your intended viewing experience, but I would also recommend the Hamlet episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Yes, writer/director Nicholas Meyer is a Shakespeare nut, hence all the references in that film, including the title. He's also a Sherlock Holmes fan, and made his name by writing a Holmes novel, The Seven Per-Cent Solution, and getting an Oscar nomination for writing the screen adaptation, hence why Spock also references Holmes in that film.

You might enjoy this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare_and_Star_Trek

That’s was plenty interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[Slimybug]

Wow, thanks for the reccomendations, guys! We're only doing a movie a month, so this could go on for the rest of our lives, during which time there will be more adaptations!

There is also all the made-for-TV films especially the BBC Television Shakespeare series from the 70s and 80s, which covered all 37 plays! The most famous one is Hamlet with Derek Jacobi (which some have claimed as the greatest Hamlet of the 20th century, or ever) with Patrick Stewart as Claudius. Legend has it Stewart was talking to co-star Lalla Ward, who was on Doctor Who at the time, and told her "I wouldn't be caught dead doing science fiction." Other notable episodes include Othello starring Anthony Hopkins and Bob Hoskins, The Taming of the Shrew with John Cleese, and Romeo and Juliet with Alan Rickman as Tybalt.

The BBC series aside, here are some other notable made-for-TV films

1968: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (released theatrically in the UK, but only on TV in the US)
1970 : Twelfth Night (ITV Saturday Night Theatre, starring Joan Plowright & Alec Guiness)
1974: Antony and Cleopatra (w/ Patrick Stewart & Ben Kingsley in supporting roles)
1990: Othello (Theatre Night, starring Ian McKellen as Iago)
2008: King Lear (Ian McKellen)
2009: Hamlet (David Tennant, w/ Patrick Stewart as Claudius [29 years after being so alongside Jacobi].)
2010: Macbeth (Patrick Stewart)
2012: The Hollow Crown: Richard II
2012: The Hollow Crown: Henry IV, Part I
2012: The Hollow Crown: Henry IV, Part II
2012: The Hollow Crown: Henry V (Tom Hiddleston!!)
2014: Cymbeline
2016: The Hollow Crown: Henry VI, Part I
2016: The Hollow Crown: Henry VI, Part II
2016: The Hollow Crown: Richard III
2018: King Lear (Anthony Hopkins & Florence Pugh)


Ooh, and another indirect adaptation is 2019's The King, starring Timothy Chalamet, Robert Pattinson, & Lily-Rose Depp, which is supposed to be an adaptation of Henry V.

And THEN there's a great deal of filmed plays to watch, some highlights being...

1964: Hamlet (Richard Burton, shown in theaters back in the day, directed by John Gielgud)
1990: Hamlet (Kevin Kline)
2011: Much Ado About Nothing (David Tennant & Catherine Tate, maybe my favorite Shakespeare piece ever!)
2014: Romeo and Juliet (Orlando Bloom & Condola Rashad)
2015: The Winter’s Tale (Branagh Theatre Live, starring Kenneth Branagh & Judi Dench)
2015: Hamlet (Benedict Cumberbatch, w/ Ciaran Hinds as Claudius)
2016: Romeo and Juliet (Branagh Theatre Live, starring Richard Madden & Lily James [from Branagh's Cinderella film] and Jacobi as an old Mercutio)


So yeah....Given everything recommended here, we have 168 things to watch, enough to last us for exactly 14 years!

Link us up with the youtube.

I will as soon as we start. We will hopefully watch and review The Taming of the Shrew (1929) this weekend!

[CaptainEurope]

I saw one of the lesser known plays, Love's Labour's Lost, while vacationing in Scotland. It was part of "The Bard in the Botanics", performed in various locations of Glasgow's botanical gardens. It was awesome but rained almost the entire time.