In honour of the 400th anniversary of his death, countless people have taken to the internet to express their fondness and passion for the works of William Shakespeare. Amongst them is Sir Ian McKellen, who recently uploaded a video response within which he beautifully captures the relevance of Shakespeare’s work for contemporary audiences:
“Although he wrote about kings he’s really writing about anyone that gets power, anyone that’s ever been ambitious, anyone that’s ever been in love, or fallen out of love or had love go sour… Shakespeare’s your man. He seems to have invented us really.”
In fact, the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) lists Shakespeare as having writing credit on 1,151 films – a figure that is only ever increasing.
In light of all this, here at HC Falmouth we have compiled a list of films surrounding the ever-present figure of the Bard. Some of our list are more obvious adaptations that adhere to both plot and dialogue, whereas others are films more loosely based on Shakespeare’s heritage or even the man himself. So if you’re in need of a dissertation break why not chose from one of the below films, it’s techincally shakespeare so its actually education…right?!
Love them or hate them, it seems that we just can’t get enough of this cultural legacy!
1) William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet (1996), dir. By Baz Lurhmann
Any consideration of Shakespeare adaptions will come across Lurhmann’s stunning interpretation of what is arguably Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedy. Anyone familiar with Luhrmann’s style will know his keen eye for theatricalism and aesthetic, and as part of the Red Curtain Trilogy, this 90’s adaptation is only too eager to comply.
Bonus Points awarded for: Starring young Leo and of course, remaining in the spirit of authentic Shakespearean dialogue.
2) West Side Story (1961), dir. By Jerome Robbins & Robert Wise
To remain in the theme of adaptations of Shakespeare’s ‘star-crossed lovers’ we come to American musical, West Side Story. Following the rivalry between the two gangs: The Sharks and the Jets. From the Jets arrives Tony, who falls in love with the sister of a rival Sharks member, Maria.
This is a must-see for any musical theatre fans, as critics suppose that it’s focus on social problems marked a turning point in American musical theatre.
Bonus Points awarded for: Nostalgia value and iconic depiction of squad dance goals.
3) 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), dir. By Gill Junger
Moving on now to Shakespeare’s comedies, we cannot neglect to mention this late 90’s adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew. Despite diverging from Shakespeare’s title and renaissance theatre dialogue, this teen-film offers up a familiar plot that it’s writers have endowed with a captivating contemporary resonance.
Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) faces the age-old high school woe of wanting to ask his dream girl to the dance, but in order to lift her Father’s strict rules, he faces the momentous task of finding a guy to date her sister – who happens to be the meanest girl in school.
Bonus Points awarded for: Star power added by fresh-faced Joseph Gordon-Levitt and of course, the legendary Heath Ledger and his comic rendition of ‘I Love You Baby’ (Go on, you know you can’t resist re-watching this cinematic gem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rore790l_sk)
4) She’s the Man (2006), dir. By Andy Fickman
To keep in the domain of comedies, teen-films and child-stars, we arrive at She’s The Man, starring a younger Amanda Bynes. The gender-role reversals and love-plots gone astray that make up Shakespeare’s comedic play Twelfth Night are transplanted here into an American college, where after her girl’s team is cut, Viola (Bynes) masquerades as her older brother Sebastian, attending his college to chase up her right to play soccer.
Bonus Points awarded for: The infamous scene that will stick with you that features Channing Tatum with tampons up his nose, attempting an apparent remedy for a nose bleed. We wonder how he feels now to look back at this proud moment in his career…
5) Shakespeare in Love (1998), dir. By John Madden
The spectrum of contemporary films inspired by the literary enigma, however characterised by adaptations of his plays, does not end there. Rather, the fascination that surrounds Shakespeare as an icon of British history and culture has also prompted the emergence of films concerned with adapting the man himself.
Shakespeare in Love boldly re-invents the invisible figure into ‘Will Shakespeare’(Joseph Fiennes), a struggling playwright complete with designer stubble, an earring and a leather-look doublet. Director John Madden claims that his film recreates the original democratic appeal of Shakespeare, namely that in the Bard’s era his plays were considered more popular culture than high-brow esteemed literary works.
The fun in watching this film is picking out the intertextual references to various Shakespeare plays; be-it how the names of the rival playhouses are incorporated into speech or the loving exchanges between Will and his love interest, Viola (Gwyneth Paltrow).
Bonus Points awarded for: Well, in places it can be a bit cringey, but hey ho, creative liberties can take you anywhere! An intriguing – if not, entertaining – biopic, worth a watch if Shakespeare makes you hot under the collar.
So there we have it: a (very) brief glimpse into the world of Shakespeare adaptations. It would be impossible to cover all ground in one post so here is a quick list of some other films or series you may wish to check out for their relation to Shakespeare’s work:
Warm Bodies, The Lion King, The Hollow Crown, Gnomeo + Juliet, (Joss Whedon’s) Much Ado About Nothing, Forbidden Planet, O, Get Over It… And there’s many more out there!
Check out Sir Ian McKellen’s original video: https://www.facebook.com/ianmckellen/videos/10153559514768601/
The Royal Shakespeare Company: https://www.facebook.com/thersc/
You can now watch the recent ‘Shakespeare Live! From the RSC’: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0791mqd/shakespeare-live-from-the-rsc