Polanski’s mcbeth
I love Taymor’s “Titus.”
Then of course there’s the Kurosawa adaptations: “Throne of Blood” and “Ran”
Branagh’s adaptation of “As You Like It” is a bit of guilty pleasure of mine, I just love the beautiful setting and Bryce Dallas Howard looks gorgeous in it. I actually found Olivier’s adaptations to be a bit stale, although I liked his narration for the ’68 “Romeo and Juliet”.
But I suppose Welles’ “Othello” would be my favorite, with Kurosawa’s Ran as a close second (if that counts).
Branagh’s and Olivier’s Hamlet and Branagh’s Henry V. Also, Stoppard’s Rosenkrantz and Gildenstern are Dead.
All of Kurasawa’s Shakespeare adaptations “Throne of Blood” (Macbeth), “Ran” (King Lear). Julie Taymor’s “Titus”, Gus Van Sant’s “My Own Private Idaho” (loosely based on Henry IV, Part 1). “Scotland, Pa.” while not great is humorous & is an adaption of “Macbeth”.
Chronological order … Richard III by Olivier, Throne of Blood (based on Macbeth) by Kurosawa, and Polanski’s Macbeth.
anything with Lord Olivier… Hamlet, Richard III, Henry V, King Lear
good call curtis about Private Idaho… one of Phoenix’s best.
I actually like Godard’s King Lear, Kozintsev’s Hamlet, Michael Almereyda’s Hamlet, William Reilly’s Men of Respect (gangster version of Macbeth), Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing, and Zeffirelli’s Hamlet (Mel Gibson and all).
Chimes at Midnight… Welles
Macbeth… Polanski
Ran… Kurosawa
Othello… Welles
Henry V.. Olivier
Throne of Blood… Kurosawa
Hamlet… Olivier
Ran-Kurosawa
Othello-Welles
King Lear-Kozintsev(he also did a Hamlet which I haven’t yet seen)
Henry V-Olivier
A midsummer nights dream-the one with James Cagney
Throne of Blood
Macbeth-Welles
Romeo and Juliet-with John Barrymore
Olivier’s Hamlet
Merchant of Venice with Pacino
I did not care for Polanski’s Macbeth, and I hated Taymor’s Titus.
and how could I forget Chimes at Midnight?
King Lear with Paul Scofield
Romeo & Juliet with Olivia Hussey
My Own Private Idaho
Chimes at Midnight. The Bad Sleep Well. Ran. Konig Lear. Mankiewicz’s Julius Caesar. Welles’ Macbeth. Welles’ Othello.
On a technical level Tarr’s Macbeth is one of the most impressive, and is the only adaptation I’ve seen that truly feels like a play, and not a film adaptation of a play.
The best are probably Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood, the Olivier adaptations, and Welles’ Macbeth, but I’ve not seen Chimes, or Othello.
I did enjoy Branagh’s Hamlet, but it wasn’t great… good, but not great.
both of Kozintsev’s films are excellent.
I’d also have to go with CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT, which just cries out for a decent restoration. I’m also kinda partial to Welles’ OTHELLO and MACBETH, which along with CHIMES would make an excellent addition to the Eclipse series.
Branagh’s HENRY V was excellent.
I’m never very taken by modernizations of Shakespeare. Kinda strange.
Branagh’s Hamlet & Taymor’s Titus are both fantastic.
Olivier’s films are too damn stuffy for me. I’ll take Welles’ any day. Still have to see Kozintsev’s stuff.
All the Welles adaptations are worth seeing, especially Chimes At Midnight.
I just saw Chimes at Midnight and it’s amazing, definitely the best Shakespeare I’ve seen. It’s an adaptation of 3 different plays, telling the story of Falstaff. My usual quibbles obtain — you don’t get all of the poetry, but when you do, the actors are so good they bring out all of those rich double and triple meanings that Shakespeare was such a master of. Gielgud alone is worth price of admission. But it’s also a very well-told cinematic film. Welles nailed it here.
Peter Hall’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream from 1968.
Olivier’s Hamlet
Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood
and, for good measure, the MST3K where they do that German Hamlet with Maximilian Schell:
“Hamlet will return in Thunderball”
Taymor’s Titus was great
Sue me, but I like Branaugh’s Hamlet and Henry V
and The Bad Sleep Well by Kurosawa was awesome.
Branaugh’s Hamlet
Polanski’s MacBeth
Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood and Ran
and I will watch Chimes at Midnight (I had never heard of it).
Olivier’s Hamlet…with that really sad Jean Simmons Ophelia…and I really liked J. Taymor’s Titus
And I think Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo & Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew and even his Hamlet are all terrific.
As far as derivations…I tried to get through Godard’s King Lear and just couldn’t despite the colorful cast. I did like Mazursky’s Tempest, with a great, ferocious performance by Cassavetes and a really bizarre one by Raul “My Bonny Johnny dance in my pants!” Julia
I’m considering picking up some adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays. I’m interested in films that use the actual dialogue, not versions based on the plays. Also, I prefer the entire plays versus abridged versions. I don’t mind adaptations that put the plays in modern settings. Any other recommendations?
Americans and the British are terrible at Shakespeare adaptations.
Grigori Kozintsev’s King Lear is brilliant. As well as Kurosawa’s adaptations mentioned. I’m still waiting for a Julius Caesar one.
I’m going to look for the Kozintsev one.
The British are terrible at adapting Shakespeare? The language in Shakespeare is everything—at least for me—so I prefer the films in English—and the Brits are the best at delivering the lines, at least in general. The main reason I want to pick up some adaptations is because I want to be able to see performances of the actual plays.
FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956), an adaptation of “The Tempest,” is my favorite.
I love the “Hamlet” parody in THE LAST ACTION HERO, where the kid dreams of his favorite action star (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) taking on the role. “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark…and Hamlet is taking out the garbage!”
My faves:
Othello (Welles)
Throne of Blood (Kurosawa)
King Lear (Kozintsev)
Chimes at Midnight (Welles)
I wouldn’t say the Brits are crap at Shakespeare, the acting, delivery are usually good enough. Olivier’s Hamlet and Henry V, Branagh’s Henry V among the better ones. Anthony Hopkins is excellent in Titus.
But really for Shakespeare it’s a case of All’s Welles that Ends Welles
Kenji, you might be interested in Peter Brook’s version of King Lear and sorry Malik but Brook’s insight is largely superior to the catatonic Ran, equal to Kozintsev’s Lear.
And as much as I love Olivier’s Hamlet, it can’t hold a candle to Gamlet.
I haven’t seen many, but most have disappointed me. Throne of Blood, Welles’ Macbeth and Tarr’s Macbath don’t live up to their reputations for me, and though I do really like Welles’ Othello I wouldn’t quite call it great.
That said I do love West Side Story.
Jay Leighty
If there’s another thread on this, please link to it. Some personal favorites: Welles Othello, Michael Radford’s Merchant of Venice, Ran and Olivier’s Hamlet.