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COMEDIES

and Laurence Olivier in the 1936 film version of Shakespeare's As You Like It .]]

All's Well That Ends Well

:''See main article All's Well That Ends Well
  • BBC Television Shakespeare All's Well That Ends Well (TV, UK, 1980 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.


As You Like It

:''See main article As You Like It

: Elisabeth Bergner as Rosalind
: Laurence Olivier as Orlando
  • BBC Television Shakespeare As You Like It (TV, UK, 1979 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.


: Emma Croft as Rosalind
: James Fox as Jacques
: Griff Rhys Jones as Touchstone

: Sylvestra Le Touzel as the voice of Rosalind

: Bryce Dallas Howard as Rosalind
: David Oyelowo as Orlando


The Comedy of Errors

See main article The Comedy Of Errors


Performances

  • BBC Television Shakespeare The Comedy of Errors (TV, UK, 1983 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.



Adaptations



Cymbeline

See main article Cymbeline



Love's Labour's Lost

's 2000 film version of Love's Labour's Lost .]]
See main article Love's Labour's Lost

  • BBC Television Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost (TV, UK, 1985 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.


: Alicia Silverstone as the Princess
:music by Cole Porter , Irving Berlin , and others


Measure For Measure

See main article Measure For Measure

  • BBC Television Shakespeare Measure For Measure (TV, UK, 1978 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.


The Merchant of Venice

See main article The Merchant Of Venice


: Joan Plowright as Portia
: Jeremy Brett as Bassanio
  • BBC Television Shakespeare The Merchant of Venice (TV, UK, 1980 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.

  • The Merchant of Venice (UK, 2003 )

  • :Film of Royal National Theatre’s stage version

: Trevor Nunn director
: Henry Goodman as Shylock
: Derbhle Crotty as Portia

: Al Pacino as Shylock
: Lynn Collins as Portia
: Jeremy Irons as Antonio

The Merry Wives of Windsor

See main article The Merry Wives Of Windsor


Performances

  • BBC Television Shakespeare The Merry Wives of Windsor (TV, UK, 1982 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.


: Leon Charles as Falstaff

Adaptations


: Keith Baxter as Hal
: John Gielgud as Henry IV
  • See also Falstaff (opera) by Verdi , since it and all films derived from it are adaptations of the Falstaff plays, in particular The Merry Wives of Windsor.



A Midsummer Night's Dream

See main article A Midsummer Night's Dream


Performances


: Olivia De Havilland as Titania
: James Cagney as Bottom
: Mickey Rooney as Puck

: Judi Dench as Titania
: Paul Rogers as Bottom
: Diana Rigg as Helena
: David Warner as Lysander
: Ian Holm as Puck
  • BBC Television Shakespeare A Midsummer Night's Dream (TV, UK, 1981 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.


: Suzanne Bertish as the voice of Titania
: Bernard Hill as the voice of Bottom

: Lindsay Duncan as Titania
: Desmond Barrit as Bottom

: Michelle Pfeiffer as Titania
: Kevin Kline as Bottom
: Rupert Everett as Oberon
: Calista Flockhart as Helena
: Stanley Tucci as Puck
  • Midsummer (USA, 1999) sets the ''Dream'' story against a surreal backdrop of techno clubs and ancient symbols.

  • : James Kerwin screenplay and director

: Travis Schuldt as Demetrius



Adaptations


: Mia Farrow as Ariel


: Lennie James as Oberon
: Johnny Vegas as Bottom


Much Ado About Nothing

See main article Much Ado About Nothing


Performances

  • BBC Television Shakespeare Much Ado About Nothing (TV, UK, 1984 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.


: Emma Thompson as Beatrice
: Denzel Washington as Don Pedro
: Robert Sean Leonard as Claudio
: Kate Beckinsale as Hero
: Michael Keaton as Dogberry
: Keanu Reeves as Don John

Adaptations


: Damian Lewis as Benedick
: Billie Piper as Hero
: Martin Jarvis as Leonard (the Leonato character)


Pericles

See main article Pericles, Prince Of Tyre

  • BBC Television Shakespeare Pericles, Prince of Tyre (TV, UK, 1984 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.



The Taming of the Shrew

See main article The Taming Of The Shrew


Performances


: Douglas Fairbanks as Petruchio

: Elizabeth Taylor as Katherine
: Richard Burton as Petruchio
  • BBC Television Shakespeare The Taming of the Shrew (TV, UK, 1980 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.

: John Cleese as Petruchio

: Karen Austin as Katherine
: Franklin Seales as Petruchio

: Amanda Root as the voice of Katherine
: Nigel Le Vaillant as the voice of Petruchio

Adaptations




: Rufus Sewell as Petruchio



The Tempest

See main article The Tempest (play)


Performances


: Maurice Evans as Prospero
: Richard Burton as Caliban
: Lee Remick as Miranda
: Roddy McDowall as Ariel

: Heathcote Williams as Prospero
: Toyah Willcox as Miranda
:"Stormy Weather" sung by Elisabeth Welch


: Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Prospero

: John Gielgud as Prospero

: Timothy West as the voice of Prospero


Adaptations


: Walter Pidgeon as Dr. Mobius
: Anne Francis as Alataria
: Leslie Nielsen as the captain

: John Cassavetes as Phillip Dimitrious
: Molly Ringwald as Miranda
: Susan Sarandon as Aretha
: Raul Julia as Kalibanos

: Peter Fonda as Gideon Prosper


Twelfth Night

See main article Twelfth Night (play) and its section Film And Television Adaptions


Performances


: Joan Plowright as Viola and Sebastian
: Alec Guinness as Malvolio
: Ralph Richardson as Sir Toby Belch
: Tommy Steele as an unusually prominent Feste
  • BBC Television Shakespeare Twelfth Night (TV, UK, 1980 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.


: Richard Briers as Malvolio
: Caroline Langrishe as Olivia
:music by 's ''One Upon A Long Ago''.)

: Fiona Shaw
: Hugh Grant
: William Rushton as the voice of Sir Toby Belch

: Imogen Stubbs as Viola
: Helena Bonham Carter as Olivia
: Nigel Hawthorne as Malvolio
: Mel Smith as Sir Toby Belch
: Richard E. Grant as Sir Andrew Aguecheek
: Ben Kingsley as Feste

Adaptations


: Amanda Bynes as Viola
: Channing Tatum as Duke Orsino
: Laura Ramsey as Olivia


The Two Gentlemen of Verona

See main article The Two Gentlemen Of Verona

  • BBC Television Shakespeare The Two Gentlemen of Verona (TV, UK, 1984 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.


The Winter's Tale

See main article The Winter's Tale


Performances

  • BBC Television Shakespeare The Winter's Tale (TV, UK, 1980 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.


: Anton Lesser
: Jenny Agutter

: Antony Sher as Leontes


Adaptations



TRAGEDIES


Antony and Cleopatra

See main article Antony And Cleopatra


Performances


: Janet Suzman as Cleopatra
: Richard Johnson as Antony
: Patrick Stewart as Enobarbus (TRIVIA: This was his first film role.)
  • BBC Television Shakespeare Antony and Cleopatra (TV, UK, 1981 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.


Adaptations


: Kenneth Williams as Caesar
: Sid James as Mark Antony
: Amanda Barrie as Cleopatra


Coriolanus

See main article Coriolanus (play)




Hamlet

See main article Hamlet , and the section Hamlet In Cinema And TV .


Performances

as Hamlet in Grigori Kozintsev 's 1963 film.]]


: Jean Simmons as Ophelia

: Maximilian Schell as Hamlet

: Innokenti Smoktunovsky as Hamlet
  • Hamlet (filmed Broadway play, 1964 )

  • :Sir John Gielgud director and voice of the ghost of Hamlet's father

: Richard Burton as Hamlet
: Alfred Drake as Claudius
: Hume Cronyn as Polonius

: Nicol Williamson as Hamlet
: Marianne Faithfull as Ophelia
: Anthony Hopkins as Claudius


: Pirkka-Pekka Petelius as Hamlet

: Mel Gibson as Hamlet
: Helena Bonham Carter as Ophelia
: Glenn Close as Gertrude
: Ian Holm as Polonius

: Kevin Kline co-director and as Hamlet

: Nicholas Farrell as the voice of Hamlet
  • Hamlet (UK, 1996 ) the first version of the complete, uncut play ever filmed - an almost literally “all star cast” included

  • : Kenneth Branagh director and as Hamlet

: Kate Winslet as Ophelia
: Derek Jacobi as Claudius
: Richard Briers as Polonius

: Blair Brown as Gertrude

: Ethan Hawke as Hamlet
: Julia Stiles as Ophelia
: Bill Murray as Polonius

: William Houston as Hamlet


Adaptations

  • The Bad Sleep Well (aka ''Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru'') (Japan, 1960) is an adaptation of the Hamlet story set in corporate Japan.

  • : Akira Kurosawa director

: Toshirô Mifune as Koichi Nishi
  • Strange Brew (Canada, 1983), a comedy. Something is rotten in the Elsinore Brewery.

  • : Dave Thomas co-director and as Doug McKenzie

: Rick Moranis co-director and as Bob McKenzie

: Gary Oldman as Rozencrantz (or Guildenstern)
: Tim Roth as Guildenstern (or Rozencrantz)
: Richard Dreyfuss as the Player King
  • Renaissance Man (USA, 1994 ) is the story of an unemployed advertising executive teaching “Hamlet” to a group of underachieving trainee soldiers.

  • : Penny Marshall director

: Danny DeVito as Bill

: Matthew Broderick as the voice of Simba (the Hamlet character)
: James Earl Jones as the voice of Mufasa (the Old Hamlet character)
: Jeremy Irons as the voice of Scar (the Claudius character)

: Michael Maloney as Joe
: Julia Sawalha as Nina


Julius Caesar

See main article Julius Caesar (play)


Performances


: Harold Tasker as Caesar
: Charlton Heston as Mark Antony

: James Mason as Brutus
: John Gielgud as Cassius
: Marlon Brando as Mark Antony

: Jason Robards as Brutus
: John Gielgud as Caesar
  • BBC Television Shakespeare Julius Caesar (TV, UK, 1979 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.


: Joss Ackland as the voice of Julius Caesar


Adaptations


: Kenneth Williams as Caesar
: Sid James as Mark Antony
: Amanda Barrie as Cleopatra


King Lear

:''See main article King Lear and its section on Film Adaptations .

Performances


: Orson Welles as Lear

: Paul Scofield as Lear

: Jüri Järvet as Lear

: Raul Julia as Edmund
: Rene Auberjonois as Edgar
: Rosalind Cash as Goneril
: Douglass Watson as Kent
  • King Lear (TV, UK, 1976 )

  • :TRIVIA: no-one is credited as the director of this show.

: Patrick Magee as Lear


: Laurence Olivier as Lear

: Ian Holm as Lear
: Timothy West as Gloucester

: Hildegard Neil as Fool


Adaptations


: Woody Allen as Mr. Alien
: Burgess Meredith as Don Learo
: Molly Ringwald as Cordelia


: Jason Robards as Larry Cook
: Jessica Lange as Ginny
: Michelle Pfeiffer as Rose
: Jennifer Jason Leigh as Caroline

: Patrick Stewart as John Lear


Macbeth

See main article Macbeth


Performances


: Jeanette Nolan as Lady Macbeth

: Jon Finch as Macbeth
: Francesca Annis as Lady Macbeth

: Ian McKellen as Macbeth
: Judi Dench as Lady Macbeth

: Jeremy Brett as Macbeth
: Piper Laurie as Lady Macbeth


: Jason Connery as Macbeth
: Helen Baxendale as Lady Macbeth

: Sean Pertwee as Macbeth
: Greta Scacchi as Lady Macbeth

: Brian Cox as the voice of Macbeth
: Zoe Wanamaker as the voice of Lady Macbeth

: Antony Sher as Macbeth
: Harriet Walter as Lady Macbeth


Adaptations


: Paul Douglas as Joe MacBeth
: Ruth Roman as Lily Macbeth

: Toshiro Mifune
: Isuzu Yamada

: John Turturro as Mike Battaglia
: Katherine Borowitz as Ruthie Battaglia


: Keeley Hawes as Ella (the Lady Macbeth character)


Othello

See main article Othello


Performances


: Emil Jannings as Othello

: Micheal MacLiammoir as Iago
: Suzanne Cloutier as Desdemona

: Sergei Bondarchuk as Othello
: Irina Skobtseva as Desdemona
: Andrei Popov as Iago

: Laurence Olivier as Othello
: Frank Finlay as Iago
: Maggie Smith as Desdemona

: Anthony Hopkins as Othello

: Willard White (the opera singer) as Othello
: Imogen Stubbs as Desdemona
: Ian McKellen as Iago

: Colin McFarlane as the voice of Othello
: Gerald McSorley as the voice of Iago
: Sian Thomas as the voice of Desdemona

: Laurence Fishburne as Othello
: Kenneth Branagh as Iago
: Irene Jacob as Desdemona


Adaptations

  • A Double Life (USA, 1947) is a film noir adaptation of the Othello story, in which an actor playing the moor takes on frightening aspects of his character's personality.

  • : George Cukor director

: Ronald Colman as Anthony John

: Suresh Gopi as Kannan Perumalayan (the Othello character)

: Mekhi Phifer as Odin James
: Josh Hartnett as Hugo
: Julia Stiles as Desi


Romeo and Juliet

See main article Romeo And Juliet


Performances


: Florence Lawrence as Juliet
: Paul Panzer as Romeo

: Norma Shearer as Juliet
: Leslie Howard as Romeo

: Susan Shentall as Juliet
: Laurence Harvey as Romeo

: Olivia Hussey as Juliet
: Leonard Whiting as Romeo
  • BBC Television Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet (TV, UK, 1978 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.


: Blanche Baker as Juliet
: Alex Hyde-White as Romeo

: Ann Hasson as Juliet
: Christopher Neame as Romeo

: Felicity Kendall as narrator
: Clare Holman as the voice of Juliet
: Linus Roache as the voice of Romeo

: Claire Danes as Juliet
: Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo


Adaptations


: Natalie Wood as Maria
  • Tromeo And Juliet (USA, 1996) is a "trash" adaptation, tagged: ''Body Piercing, Kinky Sex, Dismemberment. The Things That Made Shakespeare Great.''

  • : Lloyd Kaufman director

: Jane Jensen as Juliet Capulet
: Will Keenan as Tromeo Que

: Jet Li as Han
: Aaliyah as Trish O’Day
  • See also Shakespeare In Love (entry below, and at its own page) which dramatises the writing and first performance of Romeo and Juliet.



Timon of Athens

See main article Timon Of Athens

  • BBC Television Shakespeare Timon of Athens (TV, UK, 1981 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series. (TRIVIA: It is thought that this is the only filmed or televised version of this play.)



Titus Andronicus

See main article Titus Andronicus

  • BBC Television Shakespeare Titus Andronicus (TV, UK, 1985 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.


: Robert Reece as Titus Andronicus
: Candy K. Sweet as Tamora

: Anthony Hopkins as Titus Andronicus
: Jessica Lange as Tamora
: Alan Cumming as Saturninus


Troilus and Cressida

See main article Troilus And Cressida

  • BBC Television Shakespeare Troilus and Cressida (TV, UK, 1981 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.



HISTORIES


Henry IV Part 1

See main article Henry IV, Part 1


Performances


: Tom Fleming as Henry IV
: Robert Hardy as Hal
: Frank Pettingell as Falstaff
: Sean Connery as Hotspur

  • BBC Television Shakespeare Henry IV Part I (TV, UK, 1979 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.



: Keith Baxter as Hal
: John Gielgud as Henry IV

: River Phoenix as Mike Waters
: Keanu Reeves as Scott Favor


Henry IV Part 2

See main article Henry IV, Part 2


Performances


: Tom Fleming as Henry IV
: Robert Hardy as Hal
: Frank Pettingell as Falstaff

  • BBC Television Shakespeare Henry IV Part II (TV, UK, 1979 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.



: Keith Baxter as Hal
: John Gielgud as Henry IV


Henry V

in his 1944 film version of Henry V .]], Ian Holm , Brian Blessed and Kenneth Branagh in Branagh's 1989 film version of Henry V .]]
See main article Henry V (play)


Performances



: Robert Hardy as Henry V



: Ian Holm as Fluellen
: Brian Blessed as Exeter
: Emma Thompson as Katherine


: Keith Baxter as Hal
: John Gielgud as Henry IV


Henry VI Part 1

See main article Henry VI, Part 1


: Terry Scully as Henry VI
: Eileen Atkins as Joan

: David Warner as Henry VI
  • BBC Television Shakespeare Henry VI Part I (TV, UK, 1983 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.



Henry VI Part 2

See main article Henry VI, Part 2


: Terry Scully as Henry VI

: David Warner as Henry VI
: Ian Holm as Richard
  • BBC Television Shakespeare Henry VI Part II (TV, UK, 1983 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.



Henry VI Part 3

See main article Henry VI, Part 3


: Terry Scully as Henry VI
: Julian Glover as Edward
: Paul Daneman as Richard

: David Warner as Henry VI
: Ian Holm as Richard Duke of Gloucester
  • BBC Television Shakespeare Henry VI Part III (TV, UK, 1983 )

  • :Released in the USA as part of the "Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" series.



Henry VIII

See main article Henry VIII (play)



King John

See main article King John




Richard II

See main article Richard II (play)


Performances


: David William as Richard II
: Tom Fleming as Bolingbroke



: Matte Osian as Richard

Adaptations


: Keith Baxter as Hal
: John Gielgud as Henry IV


Richard III

See main article Richard III (play)


Performances


: John Gielgud as Clarence
: Ralph Richardson as Buckingham
: Claire Bloom as Lady Anne

: Julian Glover as Edward IV
: Paul Daneman as Richard III
: Jerome Willis as Richmond

: Ian Holm as Richard III



: Antony Sher as the voice of Richard

: Ian McKellen as Richard
: Annette Bening as Elizabeth
: Nigel Hawthorne as Clarence
: Kristin Scott Thomas as Lady Anne


Adaptations


: Basil Rathbone as Richard
: Boris Karloff as Mord (an executioner)


OTHER


Life and times of Shakespeare

  • Shakespeare In Love is a fictional love story about Shakespeare’s romance with a noblewoman, at the time of writing Romeo and Juliet.

  • : John Madden director

: Mark Norman and Tom Stoppard screenwriters
: Joseph Fiennes as Will Shakespeare
: Gwyneth Paltrow as Viola De Lesseps
: Colin Firth as Lord Wessex
: Judi Dench as Queen Elizabeth I


Acting Shakespeare



: Felicity Kendal as Lizzie
: Shashi Kapoor as Sanju
: Madhur Jaffrey (later famous as a TV chef) as Manjula


: Michael Maloney as Joe
: Julia Sawalha as Nina


Television series

''NOTE: "ShakespeaRe-Told", “The Animated Shakespeare” and “BBC Television Shakespeare” series have been covered above, under the respective play performed in each episode.
  • Playing Shakespeare (TV, UK, 1983-1984) began as two consecutive episodes of the UK arts series The South Bank Show , and developed into a nine-part series of its own. It features director John Barton , then a leading light of the Royal Shakespeare Company, putting a host of actors through their paces. Many of those actors are now household names, including Judi Dench , Michael Pennington , Patrick Stewart , Ben Kingsley , David Suchet and Ian McKellen . The episodes were:

  • The South Bank Show: Speaking Shakespearean Verse

  • The South Bank Show: Preparing to Perform Shakespeare

  • 1. The Two Traditions

  • 2. Using the Verse

  • 3. Language and Character

  • 4. Set Speeches and Soliloquies

  • 5. Irony and Ambiguity

  • 6. Passion and Coolness

  • 7. Rehearsing the Text

  • 8. Exploring a Character

  • 9. Poetry and Hidden Poetry

  • Three further episodes were filmed but never edited or screened. They were to be called “Using the Prose”, “Using the Sonnets” and “Contemporary Shakespeare”. Their text can be read in the book “Playing Shakespeare” by John Barton .



Academic

  • The “Themes of Shakespeare” series contains straight-to-video short documentaries, each considering the theme of a particular play. The contributors are Professor Stanley Wells , and Dr. Robert Smallwood of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

  • Two lecture series given by professor Peter Saccio were filmed and are commercially available on DVD.



Miscellaneous



FURTHER READING

  • "WALKING SHADOWS: Shakespeare in the National Film and Television Archive" Ed. Luke McKernan and Olwen Terris, (BFI Publishing, 1994) is a detailed listing of performances, adaptations and allusions to Shakespeare in film and on television.

  • "Shakespeare in the Movies: From the Silent Era to Today" Douglas Brode (Oxford University Press, 2001).



EXTERNAL LINKS