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Shakespeare film adaptations

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Worthy scaffold: The epic intimacy of William Shakespeare
a dramatic black and white image of a man and woman leaning with their faces close together
Shakespeare and Beyond

Worthy scaffold: The epic intimacy of William Shakespeare

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Author
Austin Tichenor

Austin Tichenor writes about movies that feel like plays and theater that feels cinematic.

The power of restriction: Joel Coen's 'The Tragedy of Macbeth'
Denzel Washington in “The Tragedy of Macbeth
Shakespeare and Beyond

The power of restriction: Joel Coen's 'The Tragedy of Macbeth'

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Author
Austin Tichenor

Denzel Washington in The Tragedy of Macbeth, now streaming on Apple TV+ A movie that honors a play’s theatricality: That’s what director Joel Coen said he wanted for The Tragedy of Macbeth, his new adaptation of the Scottish play. The…

Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet turns 25
Shakespeare and Beyond

Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet turns 25

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Author
Carla Della Gatta

Carla Della Gatta writes about Baz Luhrmann’s movie Romeo + Juliet, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, which became an indelible version for Gen X, Gen Y, and even Gen Z. In homage to West Side Story, it Latin-izes the…

Your guide to streaming Shakespeare in March
Anthony Hopkins in King Lear.
Shakespeare and Beyond

Your guide to streaming Shakespeare in March

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Author
Ben Lauer

Streaming platforms are a great way to get some Shakespeare while you’re social distancing. Here’s what’s streaming now, featuring Anthony Hopkins, Bollywood, “The Twilight Zone,” and more.

"A goodly prize": Award-winning Shakespeare movies
Photograph from Laurence Olivier's movie of Henry V: Olivier as Henry V. United Artists Corp. Folger Shakespeare Library.
Shakespeare and Beyond

"A goodly prize": Award-winning Shakespeare movies

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Author
Austin Tichenor

Since we’ve just completed the annual Hollywood marathon called “Awards Season” — several self-congratulatory months filled with the Independent Spirit Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, various guild awards from around the world, the British Film & Television Academy Awards (the…

The King, Prince Hal, and Falstaff: Shakespeare’s father-son triangle onstage and onscreen
Shakespeare and Beyond

The King, Prince Hal, and Falstaff: Shakespeare’s father-son triangle onstage and onscreen

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Author
Austin Tichenor

Timothée Chalamet (Hal) in The King, 2019. IMDB One of Shakespeare’s most moving love triangles isn’t romantic, it’s filial. The tension between Prince Hal and his two father figures — King Henry IV and Sir John Falstaff — fuels both…

Chimes at Midnight: Orson Welles is Falstaff
Orson Welles as Falstaff in Chimes at Midnight
Shakespeare and Beyond

Chimes at Midnight: Orson Welles is Falstaff

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Author
Michael Anderegg

Chimes at Midnight, the 1966 film directed by and starring Orson Welles, constructs a rich, complex, and moving portrait of the larger-than-life Sir John Falstaff, who appears in three of Shakespeare’s plays and is among the best-known characters in all…

Was it the first Shakespeare film? The silent King John
Herbert Beerbohm Tree as King John in King John by William Shakespeare. Oil on canvas. Charles Buchel, 1900. Victoria and Albert Museum.
Shakespeare and Beyond

Was it the first Shakespeare film? The silent King John

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Author
Michael Anderegg

With Herbert Beerbohm Tree as the king, the four-minute silent movie “King John” (1899) is often called “the first Shakespeare film,” as Michael Anderegg explains. Watch the surviving one-minute fragment and learn more about its theatrical star.

America's Shakespeare: The Bard goes west to Hollywood
Hamlet costumes
Shakespeare and Beyond

America's Shakespeare: The Bard goes west to Hollywood

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Author
Esther French

The costumes for Alan Bates and Glenn Close in Hamlet (1990). (The Collection of Motion Picture Costume Design: Larry McQueen) Shakespeare has provided rich material for Hollywood’s film industry over the decades, from The Taming of the Shrew (1967) with…

Explore Shakespeare and world cinema, from China to Brazil
Maqbool
Shakespeare and Beyond

Explore Shakespeare and world cinema, from China to Brazil

Posted
Author
Esther French

Can you imagine Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra transposed to rural India, where Antony becomes a cock fighter and Cleopatra a medicine woman? Or what about a Hamlet in the Himalayas, with the title character seeking forgiveness and reconciliation instead of revenge? Mark…