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All The World's a Stage: Shakespeare in Cinema
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Tags: shakespeare, romeo and juliet, movies, summer blockbusters
Many of Shakespeare's plays have been transformed into successful films over the last fifty years. Some are straightforward representations, and some stretch the boundaries of the text with their modernity. Here are some of the best adaptations of Shakespeare's plays on film; feel free to add some of your own.
| 1. | "Macbeth" (1971) directed by Roman Polanski- Very violent, very dramatic. A must-see. |
| 2. | "Much Ado About Nothing" (1993) directed by Kenneth Branaugh- Emma Thompson shines as Beatrice in this Shakespearean comedy. |
| 3. | "Richard III" (1995) directed by Richard Loncraine- Ian McKellen plays the lead, set in 1930's London. |
| 4. | "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1999) directed by Michael Hoffman. Set in 1900's Italy, the cinematography is gorgeous. |
| 5. | "Kiss Me Kate" (1953)- This play about a troubled couple asked to put together a musical version of "The Taming of the Shrew" is actually an adaptation of that play. |
| 6. | "West Side Story" (1961)- The Sharks and the Jets duke it out in New York's west side. Oh, and there's lots of dancing. |
| 7. | "My Own Private Idaho" (1991) directed by Gus van Sant- River Pheonix shines in this loose adaptation of "Henry IV" |
| 8. | "Romeo + Juliet" (1997) directed by Baz Luhrman- This glittery, modern version stays miracuclously true to the original text. One of the absolute best Shakespeare adaptations, with strong performances by Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio. |
| 9. | "10 Things I Hate About You" (1999) directed by Gil Junger- This fun, clever romantic comedy moves "The Taming of the Shrew" from Elizabethan England to a California high school. |
| 10. | "Hamlet" (2000) directed by Michael Almereyda- CEO's replace kings in this modern take, starring Ethan Hawke. |
| 11. | "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" (1990) directed by Tom Stoppard- not an adaptation of a Shakespeare play, but instead it focuses on two minor characters in "Hamlet", who betray him, and whose story never quite gets told. |
| 12. | "Shakespeare in Love" (1998) directed by John Madden- A beautiful, if not completely accurate, tale of what led Shakespeare to write "Romeo and Juliet" |
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