RT's "Greatest Shakespeare Movies"

Annals of the Homestarmy

Tuesday, September 23. 2008

Posted by Ancient of Days in Oddities

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RT's "Greatest Shakespeare Movies"

In response to a query of mine some time ago, MG sent me this link to Rotten Tomatoes, which ranks a bunch of film adaptations of Shakespeare. While I would like to see a bunch of these (the first four grab the eye), it did not contain the one that currently sits atop my "Want to See" list - a film called The King is Alive, a film done according to the Dogme 95 rules.

Here's the list, with some notes and the name of the original Shakespeare work, where appropriate.

Kenneth Branagh's "Henry V" (1989)

Akira Kurosawa's "Ran" [King Lear] (1985)

Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet" (1996)

Akira Kurosawa's "Throne of Blood" [Macbeth] (1957)

"West Side Story" [Romeo and Juliet] (1961)

"Richard III" (1995) - Stars Ian McKellen in title role

"Romeo and Juliet" (1968) - I think this is the version everyone watches in High School

Disney's "The Lion King" [Hamlet/Richard III??] (1994) - RT lists it as "borrowing elements of both Hamlet and Richard III" - seems a stretch to me

"Henry V" (1944) - Sir Laurence Olivier's directorial debut; what is it with people doing Henry V where they have to both direct and star?

"Forbidden Planet" [The Tempest??] (1956)

"Much Ado About Nothing" (1993) - A personal favorite; Has Branagh, Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, Keanu Reeves, Michael Keaton...very well done, very funny play

"Hamlet" (1948) - Sir Laurence Olivier again

"Othello - The Lost Masterpiece" (1952) - Orson Welles

"Macbeth (Restored Version)" (1948)

"My Own Private Idaho" [Henry IV] (1992) - River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, William S. Burroughs

"Macbeth" (1971) - I should watch this one; I haven't seen enough of Roman Polanski's work

"The Taming of the Shrew" (1967) - Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton; This is the first Shakespeare film I can remember enjoying

"Hamlet" (1990) - Mel Gibson and Glenn Close - I actually like this more than RT does, based on where they've ranked it

"Strange Brew" (1983) [Hamlet??] - As with Lion King, I think this association is a stretch

"Twelfth Night" (1996) - This might be the one the indomitable Daboo is recommending?

"William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet" (1996) - Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes; I really didn't care for this one myself, perhaps my least favorite Shakespeare film ever

"William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice" (2004) - Never even HEARD of this one, but with Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons, I'm willing to give it a shot

"Prospero's Books" [The Tempest] (1991) - Never heard of it, might try it

"Othello" (1995) - I have no idea what this is doing at #24; this belongs in the top 10 of Shakespeare films IMO

"Titus" (1999) - Honestly, I never realized this was a Shakespeare film - I've walked past it many times, but (for some reason) that shot of Anthony Hopkins on the cover looks like the Dad from "Eight is Enough" to me, so I seriously considered it

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1999) - I can't recall watching it, but I was never a huge fan of this particular play

"O" [Othello] (2001) - "A contemporary retelling of Othello" - basketball instead of war, high school instead of the military. The mediocre Julia Stiles and the ever-inconsistent Josh Hartnett star. Never saw it, probably won't.

"Scotland, PA" [Macbeth] (2002) - Sounds pretty good, plus it has Christopher Walken - you know, for the kids

"10 Things I Hate About You" [Taming of the Shrew] (1999) - More Julia Stiles; it wasn't horrible, more like "eminently forgettable"

"Hamlet" (2000) - Ethan Hawke and Julia Stiles (again?!); never watched this one, it got some pretty bad reviews

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joN. on :

what i'm most unsure of is ran. i'm pretty sure that kurosawa himself has said that he never read king lear and any similarity is a total coincidence.

strange brew, though, is no stretch. the backstory is TOTAL hamlet although it's from the point-of-view of dopey bystanders.

Ancient of Days on :

I had never heard that before - I thought it was commonly accepted that "Ran" == "King Lear". Do you have a reference for the Kurosawa quote?

I guess I don't remember "Strange Brew" very well - I can't make a connection in my mind between the ballroom dancing and "Hamlet".

joN. on :

can't find a quote about 'ran.' i must've heard someone say it who didn't know what they were talking about (kind of like i just did). the closest thing i can find is imdb that says that when he began writing, it had nothing to do with king lear, but drew on it ten years later just before he started filming.

i think obviously you're getting 'strange brew' mixed up with 'strictly ballroom.' remember, strange brew is where the two guys get jobs at ELSINORE brewery where the woman named PAM is supposed to take over the brewery, but her UNCLE killed her FATHER and married her MOTHER in order to maintain operations. the image of her FATHER reveals the plot by speaking to her through the arcade game in the brewery break room.

Ancient of Days on :

You're right, I was thinking of "Strictly Ballroom" - turns out, I've not actually seen "Strange Brew".

Radar on :

Who is Shakespeare?

Daboo on :

The story of Titus Andronicus is SOOO freaky. You should watch that one. What with the cannibalism.

Ancient of Days on :

After my initial disappointment that no one responded to the "Eight is Enough" reference, MG pointed out that most of you are probably too young to remember it.

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