William Shakespeare’s plays are nearly all based on myths, history, and other stories that he brought to life with his fantastic words—there are 410 adaptations on film and television of his works. A lot of film adaptations of his work attempt to re-contextualize these plays into the contemporary moment, while others focus on doing the plays as written in the “original” time period. There are merits to both methods, but it’s not really about the set design—it all depends on the strength of the actors. There are movies set in modern times where an actor might deliver Shakespeare speeches in a deadly dull fashion, and movies set in Shakespearean times where the dull scenes are brought to life by excellent acting and cinematography. Although I’m a bit of a Shakespeare purist (in terms of the language, not the all-male cast element), I think some of the best Shakespearean film adaptations just give Shakespeare a “story by” credit and go in a completely different direction. The ‘90s and early 2000s were a big time for these kinds of adaptations that use Shakespeare as a launching pad, from Disney to raunchy teen comedies. There are plenty of interpretations for every kind of fan. These films are perfect for a nostalgic watch night or a missing-theatre sort of night.
Original Language Shakespeare Adaptations
Shakespeare as a Starting Point
Shakespeare Regenerated
There are so many Shakespeare adaptations that you could do lists ranking the adaptations of individual plays and occupy yourself for months. What is frustrating about cinematic Shakespeare adaptations is that they’re still pretty white and heterosexual. Experimental theatre tends to push the gendered and racial boundaries of Shakespeare. It’s pretty easy for a small theatre company to put on a diverse, prop-spare production of a Shakespeare play, since they’re all in the public domain and don’t require licensing fees. Like my dad always says, constraint is the soul of creativity, which is why so many theatrical Shakespeare productions are fun. The movies are helping ease the lack of theatre. Shakespeare movies are a different beast and do require a fair amount of reimagining to work as movies instead of just filmed plays, and there are so many great ones to choose from. Although I didn’t include Kenneth Branagh on this particular list, all of his Shakespeare adaptations are extremely well done. Now that William Shakespeare has received the COVID-19 vaccine, who knows will Shakespeare adaptations will go? I imagine there will be a Shakespeare adaptation set in a house or quarantine pod where all of the actors slowly degenerate into madness while speaking the Bard’s famous words. If you still have the Shakespeare itch, dive into his many amazing puns and a whole series of articles about great Shakespeare retellings.
