Best Shakespeare Adaption

[Daghain]

There have to be a few Shakespeare fans out there. What is your favorite movie adaption of a Shakespeare play?

My all-time favorite is the Burton-Taylor production of Taming of the Shrew. Classic! They have really good chemistry together, and it's very charming.

And though I didn't think I would, I loved the DiCaprio-Danes version of Romeo and Juliet. I thought Baz Luhrman did some really clever things with the story on that one.

[Jean]

I liked Taming of the Shrew, but here are some I really loved (they are very, very, very far from the original; which, as I argued in that other thread, more often than not is what makes an adaptation true to the spirit of the book, or else a good independent work of art)

Ran, by Kurosawa (after King Lear) - that's the very top, and one of my favorite movies ever. The rest of them fall somewhat behind:

Throne of Blood, by Kurosawa (after McBeth)
West-Side Story, by Robbins and Wise

I also loved two adaptations that were meticulously true to the books, both by Grigoriy Kozintzev, a great Russian (Soviet) director: Hamlet (1964) and King Lear (1970). They are really great, I wish you could see them.

(and when I was a teenager, I dreamed to make a Hamlet movie, and was even making drawings of the scenery, and thought over every little thing about how everyone would act and what the main message of every little scene were, and all that... I ever dreamed I was Hamlet a few times, they were weird dreams but even now they seem rather insightful to me)

oh yes, and there's been a number of great movies after Shakespeare comedies, too, made by Russian (Soviet) directors, I've loved them since childhood... my favorite has always been Twelfth Night, it was great; sorry you're not very likely to see it.

[Daghain]

I forgot another one I hate to admit I liked - Hamlet starring - wait for it - Mel Gibson.

Who knew? He did a really great Hamlet, and Helena Bonham-Carter was AWESOME as Ophelia.

The college here in Boulder has an outdoor ampitheater and an annual Shakespeare festival www.coloradoshakes.org - they even have a "Bard Cam" so you can watch what's going on at the theater - it's very cool. They've done some interesting adaptations to the plays - the most memorable being what we like to call "Shaka MacBeth" because it was MacBeth staged in an African theme. The witches were dressed as witchdoctors, they had torches everywhere, and two guys doing background native drums throughout the play. It was over the top.

[Frunobulax]

I'm not a huge Shakespeare fan, and have only seen three adaptations. The original and Baz versions of Romeo and West Side Story (which counts). I'm an admitted fan of the last one, and not a fan of Romeo as a play. I hated Baz's version, which felt overproduced, cheesy, and painfully unhip. The Radiohead songs rocked, though.

[ZoNeSeeK]

Kenneth Brannagh's Much Ado About Nothing

[BlakeMP]

As an English teacher, the Baz adaptation is a seriously mixed bag. On the one hand, it's cut like an MTV video, and if you have particularly stupid children in your class you have to explain to them over and over again that the director changed the original story and that Romeo was not, in fact, packing a glock.

On the other hand, I can't show the (good) Zefferelli version because it has boobies in it, and the kids pay more attention to DiCaprio and Danes anyway.

But the all-time greatest Shakespeare adaptation is The Complete Works of William Shakespeare [Abridged].

[ZoNeSeeK]

I liked Baz' version from the point of view of how the writers translated the relationships and characters, it was interesting and clever, in a way.

On the topic of modernised remakes, did anyone like Cruel Intentions as a remake of Dangerous Liaisons?

[Daghain]

Damn, I haven't seen Cruel Intentions. I need to check that out - it looked interesting.

Blake, I totally understand. As an English major, I can appreciate the way Baz changed it to suit his needs, but I do like a good, traditional staging. I was in college (well, I was TOO OLD to be in college, but I was in college) when Baz's version came out, so I didn't so much relate to DiCaprio/Danes like your typical 20-something would, but I liked it from an aesthetic point of view. And yeah, I get the thing about high-schoolers and boobies. :lol

That just reminded me - I had a hardcore Shakespeare prof who had seen probably every film versions of the plays that existed. The most interesting comment he ever made was about the DiCaprio/Danes film - remember the scene where Juliet's father slaps her and knocks her on the bed? Her robe falls open and she manages to fold it closed as she falls. The prof's opinion was that no fifteen-year-old would do that, which I intend to agree with. He was a cool prof - he liked to pick up on the subtle details. Ask me how I know Romeo has a stutter!

I can't even remember if I've seen the Zefferelli version all the way through or not - looks like I need to have a "Shakespeare weekend" at my house one of these days.

I was kind of bummed when Branagh and Thompson split up - it looked like he might actually get all the Shakespeare plays on film until the divorce. Oh well. I DO love Emma Thompson in any Shakespeare play, though - she is oen of the few people I have seen that can do Shakespeare and make it sound like it is the most natural language in the world - her performance in Much Ado About Nothing was spectacular.

[ZoNeSeeK]

Yep, she is an awesome actor. Have you seen Stranger Than Fiction? If not, get it out

[Daghain]

I don't think I have. The only thing I DIDN'T like her in was Wit. Reason being, I'd seen a production in our local theater by a woman who exactly resembled the character. She did such an incredible job that no one will top her, ever. I wish it had been on tape - it was truly amazing.

[John Blaze]

i think O, starring Mekhi Pfeiffer and Josh Hartnett was a great adaptation, in the spirit of what shakespeare is really about.

[MaraJShakespeare]

I'm quite fond of Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet, Roman Polanski's Macbeth, the recent HBO production of As You Like It, and Taylor/Burton's Taming of the Shrew. I still prefer Zefferelli's Romeo & Juliet over the 1996 version, and I have a DVD of a version of Macbeth starring Ian McKellen and Judi Densch, which I haven't seen yet, but I suspect it's excellent, all things considered. . .

[alinda]

All of these examples are wonderful adaptations.
I am not sure I could pick one.
Of course Jean has mentioned some I havent seen.
majaJ, nice to see you