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Shakespeare on Film - 1/4/2013 7:02:50 PM   
dcnovice


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Status: offline 		The reading thread got me to thinking about Shakespeare. I've had the good fortune to see a fair amount of his work performed live at DC's renowned Shakespeare Theatre, which I heartily recommend to anyone coming to town.

But a poster in that thread also made the good point that the Bard's work can be seen, more accessibly, on film as well. So I'm looking for suggestions. Anyone have a favorite Shakespeare film worth checking out?

I love Henry V (with Kenneth Branagh) and Richard III (with Ian McKellan).


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RE: Shakespeare on Film - 1/4/2013 7:08:55 PM   
SylvereApLeanan


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Status: offline 		OMG, I love Shakespeare! Titus (Titus Andronicus), starring Anthony Hopkins in the title role and The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino as Shylock are must-see films. I also enjoyed Laurence Fishburne's version of Othello and A Midsummer Night's Dream starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Kevin Kline.

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RE: Shakespeare on Film - 1/4/2013 8:25:06 PM   
Aylee


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Status: offline 		Taming of the Shrew with Elizabeth Taylor. 

Hamlet with Mel Gibson. 

Richard III and Midsummer Night's Dream have already been mentioned.




To help out though:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_William_Shakespeare_film_adaptations




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RE: Shakespeare on Film - 1/5/2013 8:04:40 AM   
dcnovice


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Status: offline 		Thanks to you both! I will check these out.

We read Merchant in ninth grade, but I can't recall if I've ever seen it since. I still have the "mercy" speech memorized!

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RE: Shakespeare on Film - 1/5/2013 8:48:57 AM   
mnottertail


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Status: offline 		Romeo and Juliet (the old one, not with DiCrappio) Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey, 1968 a Franco Zefferelli Film.   Uh, Michael York as Tybalt.....I, of course like Mercutios part, John McEnery.   

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RE: Shakespeare on Film - 1/5/2013 9:09:36 AM   
AthenaSurrenders


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quote:

ORIGINAL: dcnovice

Thanks to you both! I will check these out.

We read Merchant in ninth grade, but I can't recall if I've ever seen it since. I still have the "mercy" speech memorized!


I learned that speech in high school too.

I liked the modern Romeo and Juliet. Granted, the setting is surreal but I think all of the actors spoke the dialogue so effortlessly it was as though that's really how they spoke. It's also very accessible, which I think is a big selling point for an adaptation of a play which is so widely studied by young teenagers.

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RE: Shakespeare on Film - 1/5/2013 10:43:12 AM   
SylvereApLeanan


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quote:

ORIGINAL: AthenaSurrenders
I liked the modern Romeo and Juliet. Granted, the setting is surreal but I think all of the actors spoke the dialogue so effortlessly it was as though that's really how they spoke.


I got the opposite impression. To me, it was painfully obvious that neither Leonardo DiCapprio nor Claire Danes had any clue what they were saying. They were just mouthing lines. It was as if the director said "Okay, in this scene you're sad, now say your lines."

The only people who gave credible performances, at least IMO, were the guy who played the priest and John Leguizamo. Leguizamo was brilliant as Tibalt though.


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RE: Shakespeare on Film - 1/5/2013 12:20:54 PM   
littlewonder


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Best I've ever seen. I couldn't take my eyes off the movie. It was stunning to see it acted out in such a unique way. I was blown away personally.

I usually HATE Shakespeare on film. Plus these days every single movie out there has been based on Shakespeare in one way or another.

ETA: So glad I am not the only one who did not like the Leonardo DiCaprio one. I thought he was painful to watch. Leguizamo was excellent though I agree. I love Shakespeare. When I had to learn it in high school, everyone else groaned and had a difficult time with it. I however, could not get enough of it and reading it came like second nature to me and easily understandable.




< Message edited by littlewonder -- 1/5/2013 12:25:02 PM >

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RE: Shakespeare on Film - 1/5/2013 11:55:08 PM   
Winterapple


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I like the Olivier Shakespeare films especially Richard III and
Hamlet, some might find them a little creaky. But in Richard
you get Olivier, John Guilgud, Ralph Richardson and Claire Bloom.
Pretty impressive and I'm indifferent to Olivier as an actor.

The Zefferlli Shakespeare movies are enjoyable. I really like
Liz and Dick's Shrew. They had good chemistry and she really
was a magnetic film actress.

There have been several good versions of Midsummer.
I like the 1930's one with James Cagney and Mickey Rooney.
I also like the more recent one with Rupert Everett, Michelle
Pffifer , Christian Bale, etc. Theres a 1960's version with
Diana Rigg.

The BBC filmed the plays in the late 70's with some great
actors and interesting directors. My favorite of those, I think
is As You Like It with Helen Mirren as Rosalind and Angharad
Rees as Celia.

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RE: Shakespeare on Film - 1/6/2013 10:01:40 AM   
FelineFae


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Status: offline 		One more vote for Liz in "The Taming of the Shrew" .

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RE: Shakespeare on Film - 1/6/2013 10:35:37 AM   
Moonhead


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Status: offline 		Kurosawa's Throne of Blood is a magnificent version of Macbeth, which works well in the Japanese setting.
The Polanksi version is pretty great as well, but he's not a good name to drop now...

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RE: Shakespeare on Film - 1/6/2013 10:37:21 AM   
outlier


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Status: offline 		If you can be somewhat flexible about your Shakespeare on film
then you could include the musical Kiss Me Kate by Cole Porter

The major flaw is that some of the original Cole Porter
lyrics were bowdlerized for the movie version.  The cast is
first rate you get hear 2 fine singers in Kathryn Grayson and
Howard Keel and you get two superb dancers Ann Miller
and Bob Fosse as a performer.

Also you get Keenan Wynn doing Brush Up Your Shakespeare.
All in all a witty fun movie.


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RE: Shakespeare on Film - 1/6/2013 10:45:21 AM   
angelikaJ


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Status: offline 		No one has mentioned it but I enjoyed Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing.
It was not perfect, but I liked Branagh as Benedict and Thompson as Beatrice.

I am really looking forward to seeing Joss Whedon's adaptation with Nathan Fillion as Dogberry.
I heard it got good reviews at the Toronto Film Festival and is premiering here in the US in June.


I also liked Scotland, PA with Christopher Walken as McDuff.

edit to add: dc, You have mail/

< Message edited by angelikaJ -- 1/6/2013 10:49:57 AM >

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RE: Shakespeare on Film - 3/24/2013 5:24:40 AM   
Manawyddan


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Status: offline 		I loved both Branagh's adaptations, and look forward to Whedon's.

littlewonder, thank you for mentioning that version of Hamlet with David Tennant ... it's fairly obscure but masterfully done.

Patrick Stewart was also in an interesting version of Macbeth.

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RE: Shakespeare on Film - 3/24/2013 2:47:21 PM   
Moonhead


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quote:

ORIGINAL: outlier

If you can be somewhat flexible about your Shakespeare on film
then you could include the musical Kiss Me Kate by Cole Porter

The major flaw is that some of the original Cole Porter
lyrics were bowdlerized for the movie version.  The cast is
first rate you get hear 2 fine singers in Kathryn Grayson and
Howard Keel and you get two superb dancers Ann Miller
and Bob Fosse as a performer.

Also you get Keenan Wynn doing Brush Up Your Shakespeare.
All in all a witty fun movie.


Well, if we're being flexible, is Forbidden Planet close enough to The Tempest to count?

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RE: Shakespeare on Film - 3/24/2013 4:40:13 PM   
Winterapple


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Status: offline 		It's close enough for me, I love Forbidden Planet.
As the saying goes if you're going to steal, steal big.

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RE: Shakespeare on Film - 3/24/2013 5:00:56 PM   
xssve


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(gotta be careful there...)...

Worth 100 trivia points.



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RE: Shakespeare on Film - 3/24/2013 7:46:24 PM   
MalcolmNathaniel


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Status: offline 		I have never liked the Lawrence Olivier versions. I think he overacts the parts.

I have liked Kenneth Branaugh's versions.

David Tennant and Patrick Stewart doing Hamlet (2009) was abso-fucking-lutely BRILLIANT.

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RE: Shakespeare on Film - 3/26/2013 10:40:00 AM   
threadbare


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Status: offline 		Oh you smart people with good taste.. isn't it warm in here now?
The 1971 Macbeth directed by roman Polanski (and a playboy production) stands out to me. I'll look up any r&j because I've never seen one I totally loved. (the characters I root for are mercurio and tybalt, so it's maybe not my play.)
http://youtu.be/h-XTgC34IQQ 
http://youtu.be/z__X2pf5w-Y 
Lots of Shakespearean companies in dc and the area. And we're lucky with their range from formal to experimental

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RE: Shakespeare on Film - 3/26/2013 11:11:24 AM   
Moonhead


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Status: offline 		This is really bending the rules, but...

What about Theatre Of Blood?
One of those proto slasher films from the '70s, with Vincent price as a disgruntled actor killing off a group of critics in a Shakesperean manner: he gets to deliver huge chunks of the bard and is clearly having a whale of a time. TOB often gets compared to the Doctor Phibes films, but it's far better and a lot less camp. You might even come away from it thinking what a shame it was that Price never got to do any Shakespeare after he got typecast as a horror actor.

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