Shakespeare Movie Club
Each month, watch a Shakespeare movie, rotating between comedy, history and tragedy. Only straight adaptations, based on the plays allowed. Either adapted for film like Joel Coen's Tragedy of Macbeth or recordings from stage productions like those from the BBC, RSC or the like. More liberal adaptations like 10 Things I Hate About You or She's the Man will be considered for extra credit. I mostly started this because I used to watch Shakespeare all the time and somehow got out of the habit so I'm trying to restart it.
Posts for this club should be tagged: shakespearemovie_club.
August 19
The Hollow Crown: Richard II Season 1, Episode 1
KING RICHARD is called upon to settle a dispute between his cousin HENRY BOLINGBROKE and THOMAS MOWBRAY. RICHARD calls for a duel but then halts it just before swords clash. Both men are banished from the realm. RICHARD visits JOHN OF GAUNT, BOLINGBROKE’s Father, who, in the throes of death, reprimands the King. After seizing GAUNT’s money and lands, RICHARD leaves for wars against the rebels in Ireland. BOLINGBROKE returns to claim back his inheritance. Supported by his allies, NORTHUMBERLAND and the DUKE OF YORK, BOLINGBROKE takes RICHARD prisoner and lays claim to the throne. [more inside]
August 15
Shakespeare Movie Club September Pick - Romeo and Juliet
So many versions, so many choices! Which version to watch? [more inside]
July 25
August Movie Pick The Hollow Crown Richard II
We all knew one of these would come up. I love Ben Whishaw so I'm picking Richard II. Everyone agrees it's the best of the "Hollow Crown". [more inside]
Movie: A Midsummer Night's Dream
The lovely Hermia is to wed Demetrius, but she truly cares for Lysander. Hermia’s friend, Helena, is in love with Demetrius, while other romantic entanglements abound in the woods, with married fairy rulers Titania and Oberon toying with various lovers and each other.
Starring Kevin Kline, Calista Flockhart, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett, Stanley Tucci, Anna Friel, Christian Bale (again!), Dominic West (again!), David Straitharn and various other actors. [more inside]
July 5
Movie: Hamlet
Winner of four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor. June's pick for the Shakespeare Movie Club. Starring Lawrence Olivier, Eileen Herlie, Basil Sydney, Felix Aylmer, Jean Simmons, Norman Wooland and many others. Directed by Olivier and adapted to a short 2h34m by Olivier and Alan Dent. [more inside]
July Shakespeare Movie Pick
I went back and forth on which to select, but settled on the 1999 version of A Midsummer Night's Dream [more inside]
May 26
June Shakespeare Movie Pick
June pick will be Hamlet (1948) starring and directed by Olivier himself. [more inside]
May 24
Movie: Henry V
A 1989 British historical drama film written and directed by Kenneth Branagh in his feature directorial debut, based on William Shakespeare's history play of the same name. It stars Branagh in the title role of King Henry V of England, with Paul Scofield, Derek Jacobi, Ian Holm, Brian Blessed, Emma Thompson, Alec McCowen, Judi Dench, Robbie Coltrane, and Christian Bale in supporting roles. Nominated for 3 Academy Awards, but only won for Costume. [more inside]
April 28
Movie: Anyone But You
After an amazing first date, Bea and Ben's fiery attraction turns ice cold, until they find themselves unexpectedly reunited at a destination wedding in Australia. So they do what any two mature adults would do: pretend to be a couple. [more inside]
April 27
May Shakespeare Movie Pick - Henry V
But which version? Olivier or Branagh? [more inside]
April 1
Movie: Twelfth Night
'Better a witty fool, than a foolish wit.' Filled with a cast of unforgettable characters, Twelfth Night combines cruelty with high comedy and the pangs of unrequited love with some of the subtlest poetry and most exquisite songs Shakespeare ever wrote. The Globe revisits its award-winning Twelfth Night of 2002 with an all-male Original Practices production, exploring clothing, music, dance and settings possible in the Globe of around 1601. Mark Rylance reprises his performance of Olivia in Twelfth Night, 10 years after its original premiere at Middle Temple Hall and The Globe.
This production was also on Broadway where Rylance won a Tony for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play in 2014.
Shakespeare Movie Club pick for April. [more inside]
March 17
April Movie Pick
I'm thinking Twelfth Night, so that Midsummer Night's Dream can be done in July. Or As You Like It? [more inside]
Movie: Julius Caesar
Film version of the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2012 production of Shakespeare's fast-moving thriller. A vivid story about a struggle for democracy, Julius Caesar is also a love story between two men united by an explosive act of political violence. The setting is a modern African state in which the tyrant Caesar is about to seize power. Cassius persuades Brutus to join the conspirators plotting an assassination. Featuring a distinguished cast of black actors, filmed on location and in Stratford-Upon-Avon. [more inside]
Movie: Richard III
A murderous lust for the British throne sees Richard III descend into madness. Though the setting is transposed to the 1930s, England is torn by civil war, split between the rivaling houses of York and Lancaster. Richard aspires to a fascist dictatorship, but must first remove the obstacles to his ascension, among them his brother, his nephews and his brother's wife. When the Duke of Buckingham deserts him, Richard's plans are compromised. [more inside]
Movie: Much Ado About Nothing
In this Shakespearean farce, Hero and her groom-to-be, Claudio, team up with Claudio's commanding officer, Don Pedro, the week before their wedding to hatch a matchmaking scheme. Their targets are sharp-witted duo Benedick and Beatrice -- a tough task indeed, considering their corresponding distaste for love and each other. Meanwhile, meddling Don John plots to ruin the wedding.
Was the January Pick for my Shakespeare Movie Club. [more inside]
Catch up on movies
I've already started on this and decided to share in case anyone wanted to join me. [more inside]