William Shakespeare Movies

Twilight's Catherine Hardwicke tackles Shakespeare's Hamlet with this modern retelling starring Speed Racer's Emile Hirsch. The Painted Veil's Ron Nyswaner provides the adaptation for the Overture Films production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Wilson Milam directed this Globe Theater production of William Shakespeare's tragedy Othello, starring Eamonn Walker (Oz) as the ill-fated Moor, and Zoe Tapper as Desdemona. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

With the 2006 MacBeth, controversial Australian director Geoffrey Wright (Romper Stomper, Metal Skin) launches his fourth big screen outing and continues the trend of reinventing Shakespeare by contemporizing the bard's plays. As in other recent efforts (Richard Loncraine's Richard III (1996), Michael Almereyda's Hamlet (2000)), Wright uses a distinctly postmodern context to extract related themes from the original work. Here, Wright reworks the brutal tragedy Macbeth, retaining its Elizabethan dialogue, but resituating the events within the arena of modern Australian gang violence. His Macbeth (Sam Worthington) is a drug baron and pimp, his Lady Macbeth a Valium-addicted, narcoleptic burnout and manipulator, his Duncan the head of Melbourne's criminal underground. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth murder Duncan in cold blood (framing the servants as responsible), but soon after Macbeth takes the throne, he is undone - and beheaded - by usurper Macduff. Like former adapter Roman Polanski, Wright ups the quotients of bloodletting, sadism, and underlying iciness. He filmed much of the picture with HD photography - thus capturing a broader range of imagery and a much blacker darkness in his nighttime sequences - and lit a pivotal action scene exclusively with red laser gun sights. The result is a thoroughly unique and unprecedented work. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

One of the biggest hits of the 1948-1949 Broadway season, the classic Cole Porter musical Kiss Me, Kate was triumphantly revived in 2000, running over 881 performances in New York and winning a Tony Award in the process. This faithful-to-its-source TV production of the "new" Kiss Me, Kate was taped during several live performances at London's Victoria Palace. The story concerns the efforts by an egocentric but likable actor, Fred Graham (Brent Barrett), to stage a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Hoping to boost the show's box-office value, Graham has cast his temperamental ex-wife, film star Lilli Vanessi (Rachel York), in the role of the shrewish Katharine. As the production unfolds during a tryout in Baltimore, Fred and Lilli discover that they can't live with each other and can't live without each other -- just like Petruchio and Kate in Taming of the Shrew. Other ingredients in this heady blend of modern showbiz savvy and classic Elizabethan theater are the play's second leads, chronic gambler Bill Calhoun (Michael Berresse); the incurably flirtatious Lois Lane (Nancy Anderson); Lilli's current fiancé, the pompous Harrison Howell (Nicolas Colicos), a boring Republican millionaire in the original play, here rewritten as a lampoon of General Douglas MacArthur; and a brace of Runyonesque gangsters (Jack Chissick, Teddy Kempner) who refuse to leave the theater until they can collect a 75,000-dollar gambling debt. All of the great Cole Porter songs are performed intact and con brio: "Another Opening, Another Show," "So in Love," "Faithful in My Fashion," "I Hate Men," "Tom, Dick and Harry," "Too Darn Hot," "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" "Why Can't You Behave?" and so on. As a bonus, Porter's "From This Moment On," not written for the 1948 theatrical version of Kiss Me, Kate, but performed in the 1954 movie version, is herein revived to give poor old Harrison Howell something to do besides get laughs. Michael Blakemore, who adapted and staged the 2000 revival, also oversees this irresistible TV version, which first aired in the U.S. courtesy of PBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A Maori take on one of William Shakespeare's most enduring plays, The Maori Merchant of Venice offers a new take on the classic tale as it explores the complications of religious discrimination, revenge, and the politics of business. Desperate to court the beautiful Portia (Ngarimu Daniels), Christian Bassanio (Te Rangihau Gilbert) approaches best friend, Antonio (Scott Morrison), for the money to do so, though Antonio's funds are currently tied up in ships that are currently out to sea. Wishing to accommodate his good friend, Antonio in turn takes a loan from Jewish moneylender Shylock (Waihoroi Shortland), who, well aware of Antonio's questionable business ethics and racist nature, agrees to loan him the funds on the morbid condition that if he is unable to repay the loan in cash, he must offer instead a pound of his own flesh. Shylock is subsequently crushed when his daughter Jessica elopes with Christian Lorenzo (Te Arepa Kahi), all the while stealing from her father. Though Bassanio passes a difficult test set by Portia's deceased father and wins her hand in marriage, he soon gets news that Antonio's ships have sunk and his old friend has been arrested at the request of Shylock, who remains eager to collect his due. Despite Bassanio's desperate please to save his friend and offer to double the original loan's return with money from the wealthy Portia, Shylock's thirst for utu (revenge) leaves Bassanio in a tight spot that may not be so easy to escape. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This British TV production of Othello is more than a mere updating of the classic William Shakespeare tragedy; with freshly rechristened characters and brand-new dialogue, the film qualifies as a "rethinking" of the 17th century Shakespearean play, albeit still retaining the original's power and potency. The story is set in the London of the near future, a crime-ridden metropolis virtually torn apart by racial hostilities. By order of the Prime Minister, black police officer John Othello (Eamonn Walker) is promoted to Commissioner, a post dearly coveted by Othello's friend, mentor and fellow officer Ben Jago (Christopher Eccleston). Seething with jealousy, Jago contrives to discredit Othello in the eyes of the public, and to destroy John's interracial marriage to the lily-white Dessie (Keeley Hawes). Among those used as unwitting dupes to gain Jago's ends are Othello's trusted lieutenant, Michael Cass (Richard Coyle), scrupulously honest police constable Alan Roderick (Del Synnott), and Jago's own wife, Lulu (Rachael Stirling). Typical of the film's modernizations is the handling of the evidence "proving" Dessie's infidelity. In place of the incriminating handkerchief in the Shakespearean original, a robe is offered which has been tampered with by Jago so that the DNA lab will find evidence that Dessie has not only cuckolded Othello, but also is part of a greater plan to ruin his reputation. A co-production of London Weekend Television, Canada's CBC, and America's PBS, Othello was first shown in the U.S. as part of the last-named network's Masterpiece Theatre anthology on January 29, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Bard goes digital as independent director John Farrell brings William Shakespeare's Richard the Second to the screen for the first time ever while simultaneously upping the creative ante by telling the digital video-shot tale in modern dress. Even in modern times Shakespeare's tale of political intrigue and a reckless king who loses it all still resonates powerfully, and with a cast that includes such emerging talents as Frank O'Donnell, Katina Delejade, Matte Osian, and Tom Turbiville, this film shows just how timeless the enduring playwright's words truly are. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Campbell Scott is both star and co-director of this elaborate (albeit economically produced) four-hour TV version of Shakespeare's immortal tragedy Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. The film is based on Scott's earlier theatrical production of the same play, with several of the same actors repeating their same roles. Updated to 1900 New York, the text remains substantially the same as it has always been: Hamlet (Scott), the "melancholy" Danish prince, discovers to his horror that his late father, the King, was murdered by his brother (and Hamlet's uncle) Claudius (Jamey Sheridan), who upon ascending to the throne, added insult to injury by wedding Hamlet's mother, Gertrude (Blair Brown). Though his desire for revenge is strong, Hamlet does not want any more bloodshed, and concocts an elaborate scheme to "catch the conscience" of Claudius and force him into a confession. Part of this scheme involves Hamlet's feigned descent into madness -- which, as interpreted by Scott, may not be as "feigned" as he thinks it is. Caught in the middle of this intrigue is Hamlet's lady love, Ophelia (Lisa Gay Hamilton), daughter of Claudius' chief consul, Polonius (played in the manner of a protocol-conscious Victorian diplomat by Roscoe Lee Browne). Some of the choices made by Scott in adapting Hamlet to the screen -- the turn-of-the-century setting; the utilization of black actors in the roles of Polonius, Ophelia, and Laertes (who is played by Roger Guenveur Smith); the casting of Byron Jennings to play both the Ghost of Hamlet's father and the Player King, who pretends to be the father -- were applauded by the critics. Other innovations, notably the use of slow jazz music throughout the action, and Hamlet's violent treatment of poor Ophelia during the "Get thee to a nunnery" scene, were not so enthusiastically received. Whatever the case, Scott does a remarkable job with a tiny budget and a slim 29-day shooting schedule. In addition to the actors' lilting interpretation of the Shakespearean dialogue and soliloquies, the film boasts a truly exciting climactic duel, shot in long takes without the use of stunt doubles. Initially produced for a theatrical release, this Hamlet made its American debut as a cable TV miniseries on the Odyssey Channel, beginning December 10, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A modern, light-hearted version of William Shakespeare's Macbeth (superstitiously known to theater types as "the Scottish play"), this romantic comedy was adapted, produced, and directed by Mackinlay Polhemus, who cast several family members in key roles. Josiah Polhemus plays Mack, a poet who returns to his hometown of Inverness, Scotland, where he encounters his three eccentric maiden aunts, who inform him presciently that he will marry Beth (played by the film's producer, Ann Boehlke). Mack's been secretly in love with Beth for many years, but she is engaged to marry his brother in one week. Mack knows that his brother is only marrying Beth in order to worm his way into the good graces of her wealthy father, a lawyer with a thriving firm. Unable to break up the relationship without destroying his family, Mack returns to his current residence in Inverness, California, resigned to the inevitable confrontation and confession. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

This production of the ballet based on Shakespeare's play and Mendelssohn's music stars the Pacific Northwest Ballet. Choreographed by George Balanchine, the two-act performance was accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra as conducted by Stewart Kershaw. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

This tragedy offers a retelling of the plot for "Romeo and Juliet" in a Macedonian setting which looks at both Muslim and Christian viewpoints. Damian, a Christian school teacher, has just come to the Muslim village of Velekorab. There he meets and falls in love with the beautiful Muslim Dzemile who is engaged to a local man, also a Muslim. Dzemile disregards her upbringing and falls passionately in love with Damian. But family traditions and mores pressure and ultimately prevail over Dzemile. In despair she kills herself leaving grief-stricken Damian to aimlessly wander the Macedonian countryside. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This is a modern-dress rendition of Shakespeare's famous "comedy," a semi-serious drama with a story featuring mistaken identities and confused declarations of love. Though it screens far more of the classic play's dialogue than the 1936 version featuring Laurence Olivier, some reviewers asserted that the movie's anachronistic modern settings and costumes made the play's references to ancient forms of clothing and customs confusing to those unfamiliar with the play, and irritating to those who are. Other viewers may find the amount of elaborate verbiage Shakespeare used to convey even the simplest sentiment tiresome. Despite these drawbacks, connoisseurs may enjoy the interpretations of these well-known roles by some of the better performers gracing the British stage in the 1990s, including Emma Croft, James Fox, Cyril Cusack and Celia Bannerman. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide