Film Recently, in the lead-up to the 400th anniversary of the publication of the First Folio, the BBC has broadcast a series of archive Shakespeare productions including a Hamlet double bill on one Sunday night, which would have tested the metal of even his biggest fan (and I speak as someone who once listened to three full-text audio versions in a day).
Sadly it hasn't been the complete canon - showing versions of all 36 plays was probably a big ask in 2023. But this will have been the first opportunity some viewers will have had to see Peter Hall's The Wars of the Roses or Hamlet at Elsinore (incorrectly labelled as part of "The BBC Television Shakespeare" on the iPlayer which was at least a decade and a half later).
Nevertheless, this has provoked me to finally get around to a series of occasional blog posts I've been thinking about for a few years of putting together various Shakespeare collections or "festivals" with productions which share a format or media. Until now, that's always felt pretty tricky because not all of the plays have been available in all the formats or media I've wanted to cover.
We're in a time when most of the plays are at the most accessible they've ever been, between physical formats and streaming services and so I thought it would be fun to finally create such lists in case anyone is interested in watching their way through the plays and would quite like some recommendations. Up first, Cinematic Shakespeare or how I'm going to spend December.
* * * * *
Of all the plays you would think might be the first to survive on film, it wouldn't be King John. But there he is, actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree playing the doomed monarch in poisonous, fearful death, silently intoning Shakespeare's words back in 1899. The Folger Shakespeare Library has a lengthy article about this which explains that it was shot on stage at the Palace Theatre on September 20th, the same night Tree's own stage production began its sun at Her Majesty's Theatre.
Shakespeare has flourished in film since with hundreds of productions across most of the rest of the canon. What we're concerning ourselves with here are those which as projects were originated and shot on film (so no direct stage transfers) or HD in a so-called "classical Hollywood" style with all the visual tricks that entail. The text could be cut or rearranged, but the words coming out of the actor's mouths are Shakespeare's.
Here is my curated list in First Folio order. As you'll see I've tried to pay respect to both theatrical and cinematic history (Ken, Larry, Orson etc). It's also fair to say that some of the choices are by default because they're the only version of the play to fit the criteria. We still await the retro-noir version of Measure for Measure I've had in my head for decades (and just turning the colour off on the BBC 1994 Performance version isn't quite the same). Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.
THE COMEDIES
Propero's Books (1991) After numerous attempts with various directors, John Gielgud finally played the title character of The Tempest in Peter Greenaway's eclectic, avant-garde visually stunning treatment. Greenaway plays with the notion of Prospero as Shakespeare's avatar and the popular belief that in writing the text and the sorcerer's words he was bidding farewell to his life's work. If you are treating this as the opening film of a festival, it's a great introduction.
Two Gentlemen of Verona There have been no cinematic versions.
The Merry Wives of Windsor There have (mostly) been no cinematic versions. See Chimes at Midnight.
Measure for Measure There have been no cinematic versions.
The Comedy of Errors There have been no cinematic versions.
Much Ado About Nothing (1991) There's not much of a contest here, this has Ken and Em at their zenith shot beneath the golden Tuscan sky in a rendering of the play which makes sense of the comedic scenes as well as the tragic. More than most of Branagh's films, this has him clashing Hollywood and UK theatrical royalty together, with Denzel meeting Briersley and BRIAN BLESSED and Ben Elton playing sidekick to Michael Keaton. Also the first major screen role for Kate Beckinsale.
Love's Labour's Lost (2000) Ken's version of this prequel to a lost play drew criticism from some for cutting almost three-quarters of the play and turning the whole thing into a 1930s musical (especially with this being the only film version of the play available) but the result is so adorable I'll forgive everything. The cuts are also immensely clever. In its complete form, LLL can be difficult to follow in places, but through production design and costume, everything here is perfectly clear.
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) The apogee of the 90s Shakespeare film cycle, this Branagh-influenced version returns to a Tuscan setting (still referred to as Greece in the text) and has John Sessions as Philostrate. The magic of the forest is given the full special effects treatment and the whole of the cast is just so gosh-darn adorable, with Michelle Pfeiffer at her imperious best as Titannia and Kevin Kline offering his thoroughly cute Bottom.
The Merchant of Venice (2004) The casting of the Sicilian Italian-American Al Pacino as Shylock looks pretty dated in retrospect, but Michael Radford's production does at least notice that this isn't a particularly funny play, cutting most of the box-checking scenes and highlighting the animosity between the ethnic and religious groups in Venice. It's also notable for its location shooting in Venice and doesn't downplay the homo-erotic aspects of some relationships.
As You Like It (2006) Back to Branagh for his final Shakespeare production on film (so far) which transposes the play to a late 19th-century European colony in Japan after the Meiji Restoration amongst the English traders who were fascinated by the local culture. Future Doctor Who Romola Garai plays Celia, with most of his usual repertory appearing and Kevin Kline joining as Jaques. Theatrically released in the UK, it was produced for HBO back when they did this sort of thing.
The Taming of the Shrew (1967) Taylor and Burton bouncing off the walls of Cineceta and each other. Unlike her husband, Liz hadn't acted Shakespeare before and after much persistence, she was able to lobby director Franco Zeffrelli to redo the first week's shooting at the end once she'd got the hang of the iambic pentameter. Cuts include the induction with Christopher Sly and most of the Lucentio and Bianca subplot. Michael Hordern is delightful as Kate's father
All's Well That Ends Well There have been no cinematic versions.
Twelfth Night (1996) Considering its popularity, it's surprising that Adrian Noble's country house take is the only version of the play on film. It's perfectly fine with a strong cast led by Imogen Stubbs and Helena Bonham Carter with Ben Kingsley as Feste, REG as Aguecheek, Mel Smith as Toby Belch and Nigel Hawthorne as Malvolio. Once again it feels of a piece with Ken's style but he'd already produced a TV version for Channel 4 in 1988 with Briesley in the yellow britches.
The Winter's Tale There have been no cinematic versions (in 1968, Frank Dunlop adapted his Edinburgh Festival stage production but even that isn't available).
THE HISTORIES
King John There have been no cinematic versions (apart from the 1899 version which wouldn't count anyway).
The Hollow Crown (2012-2016) For the tetralogies, you've two choices. The Hollow Crown allows you to follow the whole damn story with shared casts, all of the best actors of the period reading Shakespeare's words in a style which is essentially Game of Thrones without the dragons, with Henry VI is heavily cut and runs across two episodes. Or you can treat some of the plays individually and take a more eclectic approach. See below:
Richard II There have been no other cinematic versions.
Chimes at Midnight (1966) Out of circulation until recently due to licensing issues, Orson Welles's labour of love essentially pulls all of the Falstaff scenes from the various plays including The Merry Wives of Windsor and spins them into a relatively coherent screenplay. The director makes for a rambunctious lead character and the eclectic cast includes Gielgud and Jeane Moreau as Doll Tearsheet.
Henry V (1944) To ease us out of the Welles, it's back to one of the grandparents of Shakespeare on film. Opening in a recreation of an Elizabethan theatre to underscore the artifice of what's ahead, like a backstage musical the stage becomes a near-infinite space across which the battle of Agincourt and everything else in Larry's interpretation takes place. Sacred enough that when Ken wanted to make his version, the effort was branded as precocious.
Richard III (1955) Olivier played Richard on stage, but his film version is a different entity with a new cast and production design. Apparently, it wasn't well received by critics at the time but the opening monologue has become iconic and it's said many actors work hard not to play it like Olivier (Ken parodies this during the audition scene of In The Bleak Midwinter). The late, lamented Network released a wonderfully crisp restoration of this which is worth tracking down.
Henry VIII (1979) Director Kevin Billington, in an effort to shift the play away from its usual presentation as a pageant, shot this on location at Leeds Castle, Penshurst Place and Hever Castle, often in the rooms where the historical action is presumed to take place. As a result, it looks more "cinematic" than a lot of the films on this list not least because everyone looks absolutely freezing, their breath steaming throughout. The DVD transfer is pin-sharp.
THE TRAGEDIES
Troilus and Cressida (1981) There have been no cinematic versions.
Coriolanus (2011) In this modern dress adaptation, director Ralph Feinnes transfers ancient Rome to the Balkans during a pseudo-Yugoslave war, with the actual Jon Snow offering backstory at the beginning in the style of a newscast. Rattles through a cut text in a couple of hours, Fiennes cuts a commanding, bloodthirsty figure as the title character, nevertheless crumbling in the face of Vanessa Redgrave's Volumnia. Mother knows best.
Titus (1999) Like Coriolanus, Julie Taymor's film refuses to accept the play's original setting, instead clashing together designs from various periods of history, from ancient Rome to Mussolini's Italy through the eyes of the contemporary small boy introduced at the beginning who enters the production as young Lucius is really just messing about with toy soldiers. Which doesn't make it any less gruesome, Tony Hopkins serving revenge with Lectorish glee.
William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996) Could it be anything other than Baz Luhrmann? Few productions have convincingly suggested these two could fall in love overnight, but when Leo and Claire furtively gaze at one another through the fish tank you're sold. Also manages to make you forget this is a play you've seen a dozen times before, with the various contrivances absolutely heart-sucking. One for the ages.
Timon of Athens (1981) There have been no cinematic versions.
Julius Caesar (1953) Developed in reaction to Olivier's Henry V, this full-tilt classical Hollywood production re-uses sets from Quo Vadis and was shot in black and white so as not to draw comparison and to suggest contemporary film reels reflecting the still evident fascist movements in Europe. Features James Mason and Gielgud as Brutus and Cassius, Marlon Brando as Mark Anthony and a host of recognisable character actors from that period.
Macbeth (1948) Orson Welles: "I thought I was making what might be a good film, and what, if the 23-day shoot schedule came off, might encourage other filmmakers to tackle difficult subjects at greater speed. Unfortunately, not one critic in any part of the world chose to compliment me on the speed. They thought it was a scandal that it should only take 23 days. Of course, they were right, but I could not write to every one of them and explain that no one would give me any money for a further day's shooting . . . However, I am not ashamed of the limitations of the picture."
Hamlet (1996) Branagh's magnum opus, a four-hour production of a conflated text collecting as much Hamlet as Shakespeare wrote, including some odds and sods from Q1. As with 99% of productions, Ken and his cohorts are too old for their parts (is everyone in court a mature student?) but this is Shakespeare rendered in 70mm with more stars than a Record Breakers Christmas Special. Briersley's spymaster Polonius steals the show.
King Lear (1970) Pitch dark Bergmanesque production from Peter Brook with Paul Schofield's Lear against a blasted wilderness, shot in the wintery dune country of Denmark's Jutland Peninsula. Visually it's absolutely extraordinary, the grain of the 16mm creating the impression that we're watching action filmed in a documentary style in the deep past. Probably in my top three favourite Lears, along with Kurosawa's Ran and the RSC production with Romola Garai amongst others.
Othello (1995) Although there had been earlier indie productions starring Ted Lange and Yaphet Kotto, this was the first mainstream production to feature a black actor in the lead role, the fantastic Laurence Fishburne. It's adapted and directed by Oliver Parker and Ken only plays Iago, but manages to feature some of his usual ensembles, Michael Maloney and Nicholas Farrell. Shot on location in Venice and Cyprus, David Johnson's cinematography gives it an erotic thriller feel.
Antony and Cleopatra (1972) Having yet to have the chance to see this, here's a take from the BFI's old ScreenOnline website: "Emphasising spectacle at the expense of subtlety (even to the point of recycling shots from the 1959 Ben-Hur, in which Heston had starred some thirteen years earlier!), this adaptation shows little feeling for the emotions at the core of the story, and is torpedoed by the lack of chemistry between Heston and South African actress Hildegard Neil, who is arguably miscast as Cleopatra."
Cymbeline There have been no cinematic versions.
Up next:
Shakespeare Adaptations.
