There have been many, many screen versions of Shakespeare’s plays – please follow the links below to my lists on Letterboxd to find a range of straight adaptations and versions inspired by the Bard’s work.
Such a rich store of films, television and recordings from the RSC, the National Theatre, the Globe, and Digital Theatre exist to prove the Bard remains relevant 400 years after his passing.
Shakespeare – The Tragedies (http://boxd.it/8yDy), covering 11 of the 37 plays: Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Macbeth, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Timon of Athens, Titus Andronicus, Troilus and Cressida.
Five to try:
- Antony and Cleopatra (1974, dir Jon Scoffield, with Richard Johnson and Janet Suzman). This will be released by Network Distributing later this year.
- The Bad Sleep Well (1960, dir Akira Kurosawa). A Japanese loose version of Hamlet.
- Macbeth on the Estate (1997, dir Penny Woolcock, with James Frain).
- Othello (1990, dir Trevor Nunn, with Willard White and Ian McKellen).
- Romeo and Juliet (1984, from the Royal Ballet, with Wayne Eagling and Alessandra Ferri, to Kenneth Macmillan’s choreography).
Shakespeare – The Comedies (http://boxd.it/8yDS), covering 12 of the 37 plays: All’s Well That Ends Well, The Comedy of Errors, As You Like It, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Measure for Measure, Merry Wives of Windsor, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing.
Five to try:
- The Comedy of Errors (1976, dir Trevor Nunn, with Judi Dench, with music by Guy Woolfenden).
- McLintock! (1963, dir Andrew V. McLaglen, with John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara). A Western inspired by The Taming of the Shrew.
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935, dir Max Reinhardt and William Dieterle). A Hollywood fantasy with Mickey Rooney as Puck.
- Much Ado About Nothing (2012, dir Joss Whedon).
- The Merchant of Venice (1972, dir Cedric Messina, with Frank Finlay as Shylock and Maggie Smith as Portia).
Shakespeare – The Histories (http://boxd.it/8yEc), covering 10 of the 37 plays: Richard II, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2, Henry V, Henry VI Part 1, Henry VI Part 2, Henry VI Part 3, Richard III, Henry VIII, King John.
Five to try:
- Richard III (1995, dir Richard Loncraine, with Ian McKellen). Set in the Nazi era with a modern feel.
- Henry V (1944, dir by and starring Laurence Olivier). A stirring version made during the Second World War.
- King John (1984, dir David Giles, with Leonard Rossiter, for the BBC Shakespeare).
- Henry VIII (2010, dir Mark Rosenblatt, for Globe on Screen, with Dominic Rowan).
- Richard II (1978, dir David Giles, with Derek Jacobi, for the BBC Shakespeare).
Shakespeare – The Romances (http://boxd.it/8yEw), covering 4 of the 37 plays: Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter’s Tale, The Tempest.
Five to try:
- Prospero’s Books (1991, dir Peter Greenaway, with John Gielgud). Inspired by The Tempest.
- The Winter’s Tale (1999, dir Gregory Doran, with Antony Sher, for the RSC).
- The Tempest (1908, dir Percy Stow).
- Cymbeline (2013, dir Michael Almereyda, with Ethan Hawke). With an urban gang setting.
- The Winter’s Tale (1910, dir Thanhouser).