Shakespeare on Film/TV
by Reel-addicted | created - 18 May 2014 | updated - 23 Jun 2014 | PublicNoteworthy film adaptations of plays or films inspired by Shakespeare and his work. A couple of documentaries included as well.
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1. Macbeth (1979 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 145 min | Drama
Macbeth (Ian McKellen) is a daring member of the Scottish military, who receives a revelation from three menacing sorceresses that he will someday become the King of Scotland. This ... See full summary »
Directors: Philip Casson, Trevor Nunn | Stars: Ian McKellen, Judi Dench, John Bown, Susan Dury
Votes: 915
2. Henry V (1989)
PG-13 | 137 min | Biography, Drama, History
In the midst of the Hundred Years War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Simon Shepherd, James Larkin
Votes: 31,647 | Gross: $10.16M
3. Henry IV: Part 1 (2012)
Not Rated | 166 min | Drama
The first installment of what is widely acknowledged to be Shakespeare's greatest historical saga, Henry IV, Part I is an epic tale of power, treachery and war, exploring the complexity of ... See full summary »
Director: Adam Lee Hamilton | Stars: Jack Baldwin, Aimée-Lou Cameron, Ian Horgan, Saul Matlock
Votes: 22
Globe Theatre Production with Roger Allam --part 2 as well
4. King Lear (1983 TV Movie)
158 min | Drama
Aging King Lear invites disaster when he abdicates to his two disloyal and obsequious daughters while rejecting the one who truly loves him.
Director: Michael Elliott | Stars: Colin Blakely, Leo McKern, Robert Lindsay, Laurence Olivier
Votes: 866
5. Richard III (1955)
Not Rated | 161 min | Biography, Drama, History
Shakespeare's powerful tale of the wicked deformed King and his conquests, both on the battlefield and in the boudoir.
Director: Laurence Olivier | Stars: Laurence Olivier, Cedric Hardwicke, Nicholas Hannen, Ralph Richardson
Votes: 5,221
6. Othello (1995)
R | 123 min | Drama, Romance
The Moorish General Othello is manipulated into thinking that his new wife Desdemona has been carrying on an affair with his Lieutenant Michael Cassio, when in reality, it is all part of the scheme of a bitter Ensign named Iago.
Director: Oliver Parker | Stars: Laurence Fishburne, Kenneth Branagh, Irène Jacob, Nathaniel Parker
Votes: 10,173 | Gross: $2.11M
7. Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
PG-13 | 111 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Young lovers, and soon to wed, Hero and Claudio conspire to get verbal sparring partners and confirmed singles, Benedick and Beatrice, to wed as well.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Keanu Reeves, Kate Beckinsale
Votes: 51,971 | Gross: $22.55M
Kenneth Branagh & Emma Thompson
8. Hamlet at Elsinore (1964 TV Movie)
170 min | Drama
Hamlet suspects his uncle has murdered his father to claim the throne of Denmark and the hand of Hamlet's mother, but the Prince cannot decide whether or not he should take vengeance.
Director: Philip Saville | Stars: Christopher Plummer, Robert Shaw, Alec Clunes, Michael Caine
Votes: 245
Christopher Plummer
9. Twelfth Night (1996)
PG | 134 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Shakespeare's comedy of gender confusion, in which a girl disguises herself as a man to be near the count she adores, only to be pursued by the woman he loves.
Director: Trevor Nunn | Stars: Helena Bonham Carter, Richard E. Grant, Imogen Stubbs, Steven Mackintosh
Votes: 6,404 | Gross: $0.59M
10. A Midwinter's Tale (1995)
R | 99 min | Comedy
A group of theatre actors plays "Hamlet" in a provincial village, faced with their own temptations, disappointments, and joys.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Michael Maloney, Richard Briers, Hetta Charnley, Joan Collins
Votes: 2,770 | Gross: $0.35M
A sweet little film about an amateur production of HAMLET directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Michael Maloney, Richard Briers, Nicholas Farrell, and John Sessions.
11. Throne of Blood (1957)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
A war-hardened general, egged on by his ambitious wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become lord of Spider's Web Castle.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura
Votes: 55,917
MACBETH
12. Ran (1985)
R | 160 min | Action, Drama, War
In Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other...and him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryû
Votes: 136,125 | Gross: $4.14M
Re-working of KING LEAR
13. Coriolanus (2011)
R | 123 min | Drama, Thriller, War
A banished hero of Rome allies with a sworn enemy to take his revenge on the city.
Director: Ralph Fiennes | Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Brian Cox, Lubna Azabal
Votes: 33,513 | Gross: $0.76M
14. Macbeth (1971)
R | 140 min | Drama, History
A ruthlessly ambitious Scottish lord seizes the throne with the help of his scheming wife and a trio of witches.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Jon Finch, Francesca Annis, Martin Shaw, Terence Bayler
Votes: 14,962
15. Shakespeare in Love (1998)
R | 123 min | Comedy, Drama, History
The world's greatest ever playwright, William Shakespeare, is young, out of ideas and short of cash, but meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays.
Director: John Madden | Stars: Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Tom Wilkinson
Votes: 234,280 | Gross: $100.32M
16. Hamlet (1996)
PG-13 | 242 min | Drama
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother remarrying the murderer, his uncle. Meanwhile, war is brewing.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Julie Christie, Derek Jacobi, Kate Winslet
Votes: 40,047 | Gross: $4.41M
17. Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990)
PG | 117 min | Comedy, Drama
Two minor characters from the play 'Hamlet' stumble around unaware of their scripted lives and unable to deviate from them.
Director: Tom Stoppard | Stars: Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, Richard Dreyfuss, Livio Badurina
Votes: 23,844 | Gross: $0.74M
18. The Dresser (1983)
PG | 118 min | Drama
Personal assistant Norman struggles to get deteriorating veteran actor Sir through a difficult performance of King Lear.
Director: Peter Yates | Stars: Albert Finney, Tom Courtenay, Edward Fox, Zena Walker
Votes: 5,697 | Gross: $5.31M
19. Playing Shakespeare (1982)
Documentary
John Barton holds a master class in how to play Shakespeare, using members of the RSC doing scenes, sonnets, and commentary as prime examples.
Stars: John Barton, David Suchet, Lisa Harrow, Alan Howard
Votes: 223
How to act Shakespeare featuring Judi Dench, Ian McKellan, Roger Rees, Patrick Stewart, David Suchet, Sinead Cusack, Alan Howard, Michael Pennington, and more... TERRIFIC!!
20. Much Ado About Nothing (I) (2012)
PG-13 | 109 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A modern retelling of Shakespeare's classic comedy about two pairs of lovers with different takes on romance and a way with words.
Director: Joss Whedon | Stars: Alexis Denisof, Amy Acker, Fran Kranz, Jillian Morgese
Votes: 17,086 | Gross: $4.33M
21. The Merchant of Venice (2004)
R | 131 min | Drama, Romance
In 16th century Venice, when a merchant must default on a large loan from an abused Jewish moneylender for a friend with romantic ambitions, the bitterly vengeful creditor demands a gruesome payment instead.
Director: Michael Radford | Stars: Al Pacino, Joseph Fiennes, Lynn Collins, Jeremy Irons
Votes: 38,242 | Gross: $3.77M
22. To Be or Not to Be (1942)
Passed | 99 min | Comedy, Romance, War
During the German occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.
Director: Ernst Lubitsch | Stars: Carole Lombard, Jack Benny, Robert Stack, Felix Bressart
Votes: 42,992
23. Titus (1999)
R | 162 min | Drama, History, Thriller
Titus returns victorious from war, only to plant the seeds of future turmoil for himself and his family.
Director: Julie Taymor | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange, Osheen Jones, Dario D'Ambrosi
Votes: 21,459 | Gross: $1.92M
24. Shakespeare Uncovered (2012– )
55 min | Documentary
Various actors discuss Shakespeare plays. Each episode is presented by one actor and, in most cases, the actor discusses one play. However, some episodes cover more than one play. For ... See full summary »
Stars: Simon Russell Beale, Ethan Hawke, Harriet Walter, Vanessa Redgrave
Votes: 274
25. Discovering Hamlet (1990 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 53 min | Drama, Documentary
A unique, behind-the-scenes look at Shakespeare's great play. In 1988, rising star Kenneth Branagh played the Prince of Denmark for the first time. His guide through four weeks of ... See full summary »
Director: Mark Olshaker | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Richard Clifford, Richard Easton, Derek Jacobi
Votes: 74
26. Othello (1965)
Unrated | 165 min | Drama
General Othello's marriage is destroyed when vengeful Ensign Iago convinces him that his new wife has been unfaithful.
Director: Stuart Burge | Stars: Laurence Olivier, Frank Finlay, Robert Lang, Anthony Nicholls
Votes: 1,642
27.
The BBC Television Shakespeare (1978–1985)
Episode:
Richard II
(1978)
158 min
The incompetent King Richard II is deposed by Henry Bolingbroke and undergoes a crisis of identity once he is no longer King.
Director: David Giles | Stars: Derek Jacobi, John Gielgud, Jon Finch, Wendy Hiller
Votes: 323
Sir Derek Jacobi as Richard II, Sir John Gielgud as Gaunt, Jon Finch as Bolingbroke
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