I’m a sucker for movies based on performances or adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays. Unfortunately, while the perforances tend to be solid, the adaptations—at least the ones that I’ve seen—have been good, but not great. What I really want to see, though, is a brilliant re-imagining (Richard III (1995) didn’t do it for me) which is why I’m cautiously excited about the new film version of Coriolanus.
This looks awesome. Could it end up being the best of the non-performance films?
A couple of years ago, the critic aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes put together a list of the 30 Greatest Shakespeare Movies. Which ones are your favorites?
1. Henry V (1989) — Dir. Kenneth Branagh; Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Ian Holm; 100%
2. Ran (1985) — Dir: Akira Kurosawa; Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Tereo; 96%
3. Hamlet (1996) — Dir: Kenneth Branagh; Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi; 96%
4. Throne of Blood (1957) — Dir: Akira Kurosawa; Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada; Macbeth; 97%
5. West Side Story (1961) — Dir: Rob’t Wise/Jerome Robbins; Natalie Wood, Rich’d Beymer; R & J’t; 94%
6. Richard III (1995) — Dir: Richard Loncraine; Ian McKellen, Annette Benning; 95%
7. Romeo & Juliet (1968) — Dir: Franco Zeffirelli; Olivia Hussing, Leonard Whiting; 97%
8. The Lion King (1994) — Dir: Roger Allers/Rob Minkoff; Jeremy Irons; Hamlet/Henry III; 92%
9. Henry V (1944) — Dir: Laurence Olivier; Laurence Olivier, Robert Newton; 100%
10. Forbidden Planet (1956) — Dir: Fred M. Wilcox; Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis; The Tempest; 94%
11. Much Ado About Nothing (1993) — Dir: Kenneth Branagh; Denzel Washington, Emma Thompson; 90%
12. Hamlet (1948) — Dir: Laurence Olivier; Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons; 92%
13. Othello (1952) — Dir: Orson Welles; Orson Welles, Michael MacLiammoir; 90%
14. Macbeth (1948) — Dir: Orson Welles; Orson Welles, Jeanette Nolan; 90%
15. My Own Private Idaho (1992) — Dir: Gus Van Sant; Keanu Reeves, River Phoenix; Henry IV; 85%
16. Macbeth (1971) — Dir: Roman Polanski; Jon Finch, Nicholas Selby; 86%
17. The Taming of the Shrew (1967) — Dir: Franco Zeffirelli; Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton; 85%
18. Hamlet (1990) — Dir: Franco Zeffirelli; Mel Gibson, Glenn Close; 71%
19. Strange Brew (1983) — Dir: Dave Thomas/Rick Moranis; Dave Thomas, Rick Moranis; Hamlet; 70%
20. Twelfth Night (1996) — Dir: Trevor Nunn; Helena Bonham-Carter, Ben Kingsley; 70%
21. Romeo & Juliet (1996) — Dir: Baz Luhrmann; Leo DiCaprio, Claire Danes; 70%
22. The Merchant of Venice (2004) — Dir: Michael Radford; Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Joseph Fiennes; 70%
23. Prospero’s Books (1991) — Dir: Peter Greenaway; John Gielgud, Micheal Clark; The Tempest; 67%
24. Othello (1995) — Dir: Oliver Parker; Laurence Fishburne, Kenneth Branagh; 68%
25. Titus (1999) — Dir: Julie Taymor; Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange; Titus Andronicus; 68%
26. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1999) — Dir: Michael Hoffman; Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer; 68%
27. O (2001) — Dir: Tim Blake Nelson; Josh Hartnett, Mekhi Phifer, Julia Stiles; Othello; 63%
28. Scotland, PA (2002) — Dir: Billy Morrissette; James LeGros, Maura Tierney; (Macbeth); 59%
29. 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) — Dir: Gil Junger; Heath Ledger, Jul. Stiles; Taming o.t. Shrew; 57%
30. Hamlet (2000) — Dir: Micheal Mareyeda; Ethan Hawke, Julia Stiles; 55%
August 11th, 2011 | 1:54 pm
Much Ado is fantastically fun, my wife’s favorite.
In my mind, Ran surely the best of the dramas, and so well done you barely need the subtitles to follow it. Henry V very very close, and wouldn’t quibble with anyone who put it at the top.
My sentimental favorite is Twelfth Night, my teen daughter’s favorite–and only Shakespeare movie she has ever had the patience to watch all the way through. And more than once. At #19, it’s a bit underrated.
I also need to see Richard III.
August 11th, 2011 | 2:03 pm
I liked Much Ado too. I still haven’t seen Ran or Twelfth Night, and I should probably give Richard III another chance.
August 11th, 2011 | 3:20 pm
Gerard Butler in a kill, kill, kill movie?
Oh, the humanity…
Your fans, Gerard, your fans…
I won’t be able to sleep tonight ;-)
Gladiator was one cheaply written, cheesy, mediocre, modern non-sense dressed up as something Roman. Ugh.
August 11th, 2011 | 3:37 pm
I’m glad to see The Lion King on there! I’ve noticed its inspiration from Hamlet, but I didn’t know there was a connection to the other play mentioned. Are you sure that’s supposed to be Henry III and not Richard III?
August 11th, 2011 | 4:06 pm
My husband loves “Forbidden Planet”. I like the mid-century aesthetics, and never made the connection with The Tempest.
August 11th, 2011 | 4:34 pm
My favorite, really, is Twelfth Night. I agree it should be ranked higher.
August 11th, 2011 | 4:38 pm
Any list that includes McKellen’s meretricious Richard III and excludes the stupendous, grotesque Olivier version is already flawed.
However, the list excludes one of the potentially greatest of all Shakespeare films, Orson Welles’ “Chimes at Midnight” (1958), featuring Welles, Jeanne Moreau, Gielgud, Margaret Rutherford; and taken from plays featuring Falstaff, mainly Henry IV and Henry V. The scene of the death of Falstaff is probably the most moving ever filmed.
August 11th, 2011 | 4:39 pm
Sorry, that should be 1965, not 1958.
August 11th, 2011 | 4:51 pm
I’d give the laurel to Branagh’s Henry V, too.
Much Ado did very well, even with the re-arranging (since re-arranging is, well, traditional). It’s worth watching just for Michael Keaton’s performance alone.
Count me as one who prefers Mel Gibson’s Hamlet over Branagh’s: I am not a Gibson fan, and I am a Branagh fan, but Zeferrelli’s version is much better than I expected. Much.
But I would distinguish between movies that are “inspired by” versus movies that are very predominately in the words of Shakespeare’s text. There’s a huge difference.
What’s more interesting to contemplate is which Shakespeare plays have NOT been well-captured on film. And why (not).
August 11th, 2011 | 6:39 pm
Branagh’s Henry first and Olivier’s ninth?
I’d take Tower of London, with Rathbone as Richard III, Vincent Price as the Duke of Clarence, and Karloff’s Mord the executioner (now how could Shakespeare have forgotten him?) over any number of these–but not, of course, over Olivier’s Richard, with Ralph Richardson’s magnificent Buckingham.
August 11th, 2011 | 8:56 pm
I like Branagh’s work very much, and am grateful to him for making Shakespeare palatable to modern audiences, but I don’t know if I agree to ranking him above Kurosawa. His subtlety, cinematography, and his interpretations of the characters make him (overall) the superior artist in Shakespearean cinema. Granted, Kurosawa has only done two, and Branagh’s done at least four (and done them very well) – but where his representations were more flamboyant (Hamlet, Benedick, etc.), Kurosawa’s were more refined and sympathetic.
August 11th, 2011 | 10:18 pm
I was working my way from 30 to 1 and getting worked up and indignant each time Ran was overlooked only to be very pleasantly surprised at its placement.
Joe Carter, you really haven’t seen Ran. It must be seen on HD big screen.
August 12th, 2011 | 12:35 am
How could they miss “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead”
carl
August 12th, 2011 | 1:04 am
[...] What Are the Greatest Shakespeare Movies? – Joe Carter, First Things/First Thoughts [...]
August 12th, 2011 | 5:29 am
I’d go with no.22, the Merchant of Venice, mainly because of Al Pacino’s superb rendition of Shylock, which makes the public see him as a tragic hero, despite his compulsive need for revenge. The play also depicts the antisemitism of the age, but also shows how well Shakespeare understood the humanity of the Jews. I think #22 is rather low, this movie deserves better.
August 12th, 2011 | 5:40 am
I don’t think this “Coriolanus” has any business tagging itself as “by William Shakespeare”. This Coriolanus is as much Shakespeare’s as Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet was.
August 12th, 2011 | 7:32 am
Did not see Nicol Williamsons’s “Hamlet” (1970s?) on the list. It was a good one.
August 12th, 2011 | 9:48 am
The best Hamlet I ever saw was the recent Royal Shakespeare Company’s with David Tennant and Patrick Stewart.
August 12th, 2011 | 10:18 am
Branagh’s Much Ado is my favorite film ever. I can’t wait to experience the Kurosawa offerings on the list. The best Hamlet I’ve seen was a filmed stage version starring a young Kevin Kline – amazing! I’d love to track it down, but have no details; can anyone help?
August 12th, 2011 | 11:05 am
Olivier’s amazing performance in “Richard III” deserves to be in the top five!
August 12th, 2011 | 11:49 am
One should always be wary of these “Ten Best” lists or “100 Best” lists because they are almost always created by people with an attention span of a flash cube. In other words, if it wasn’t made after 1990 then it has no meaning for them. For these people, 1970 is the Jurrasic period and prior to that…well, forget it.
But for those who look at the WHOLE history of Shakespearean films (and can even appreciate “Forbidden Planet”) the best one ever made is, of course, Olivier’s RICHARD III. From any perspective you would like to use – script, music, photography, pacing, acting, editing, set design, etc. – this film outshines them all and then some.
So while this “Best of Shakespeare” list was amusing (and sad) to see it holds very little interest for those with cinematic taste.
Oh, and Olivier’s “Hamlet”, Welles’ “Macbeth” and “Othello” are vastly superior to nearly everything on that list. But those films were made by people who weren’t on a mission to “re-imagine” (aka, bastardize) Shakespeare.
August 12th, 2011 | 11:57 am
“The Lion King” just does NOT belong there.
Even if you’re going to include “adaptations,” compare something like West Side Story. WSS tracks the themes and even fairly specific plot elements of Romeo and Juliet quite closely.
In The Lion King, you’ve got, “Hey! A jealous relative trying to off the Crown Prince! Hey! A kid haunted by his father’s death and conflicted about his own responsibility! Just like Shakespeare!”
Taking something that has universal themes that Shakespeare also used, but uses them far more loosely and includes warthogs singing about eating bugs and the strange and unrealistic machinations of hyenas that has NO Shakespearean parallel (unless Shenzi is supposed to be Fortinbras, puh-leeze), is just not a “Shakespeare adaptation.” It’s a kid’s movie that puts a twist on a theme we’ve heard before in literature.
August 12th, 2011 | 12:19 pm
Isn’t that guy in the movie the same one who played Voldemort? Only this time he has a nose. Cool.
August 12th, 2011 | 2:33 pm
I really enjoyed the Baz Lurhman Romeo + Juliet, but I just enjoy little twisty things like that.
Another adaptation I’ve seen, which was interesting, but I can’t judge if it was really “good” or not is “Men on Honor” (I think that is the title) which is Macbeth told as a tale of Mafia guys.
What really surprised me is they have the new Midsummer’s Night’s Dream, but not the old one, from the 30s. I love that movie, I think it is beautiful and magical and funny as anything. I haven’t seen the new one, but I find it hard to believe it would be an improvement.
August 12th, 2011 | 3:20 pm
No one’s even *mentioned* Julie Taymor’s “Titus”? Artistic license, surely, but Anthony Hopkins’ interpretation of the title character (Titus Andronicus) is too good to be ignored….
August 12th, 2011 | 5:47 pm
Ah, yes, the classic Midsummer Night’s Dream from 1935.
With some terrific performances :
-Mickey Rooney as Puck (Mickey Rooney is still making movies, and and a few years ago nudged out Lillian Gish for the longest career in film)
-Jimmy Cagney as Bottom
-Joe E Brown as Flute
We’ll omit discussion of Dick Powell.
From the Times review in ’35:
“It is an illuminating fact that the photoplay achieves perfection in the clowns, those pragmatic louts who have no belief in the revels of the fairy people in the enchanted wood between dusk and dawn. Joe E. Brown as Flute the Bellows-mender gives the best performance in the show. It is a privilege to roar with laughter when he is rehearsing for the rude masque or playing the timid Thisbe to James Cagney’s Pyramus. Hugh Herbert and Frank McHugh are uproarious as his fellow tradesmen.
The special achievement of the Messrs. Reinhardt and Dieterle is their ability to recite the complex fable with clarity. In the craftsmanship of its story telling, the film is enormously skillful in executing a narrative counterpoint for the four distinct situations: Theseus’s efforts to woo his captive bride-to-be, Oberon’s campaign to win the serving boy away from Titania, the struggle of the low comedians to prepare their tragical history of Pyramus and Thisbe, and the tangled romances of Hermia, Demetrius, Helena and Lysander. Mr. Dieterle has managed the tale admirably, projecting the speeches easily in his close-ups and at the same time subtly escaping the visual monotony which is so often the price of excess in the close-up.
Mickey Rooney’s remarkable performance as Puck is one of the major delights of the work. As the merry wanderer of the night, he is a mischievous and joyous sprite, a snub-nosed elf who laughs with shrill delight as the foolish mortals blunder through Oberon’s fairy domain. In the other important rôles the film is uneven in performance and suggests flaws in Mr. Reinhardt’s reading of the play. As Bottom, the lack-wit weaver whom Puck maliciously endows with an ass’s head, James Cagney is too dynamic an actor to play the torpid and obstinate dullard. While he is excellent in the scenes in the wood, in the “Pyramus and Thisbe” masque he belabors the slapstick of his part beyond endurance.
The distraught lovers are a study in scrambled moods. While the two maidens, Jean Muir and Olivia de Havilland, immerse themselves in excesses of tearful passion, their consorts, Dick Powell and Ross Alexander, prance about in an excess of good humor and delight in informing the audience what hilarious fellows they are. Victor Jory’s Oberon is highly impressive, but his earnest sobriety scarcely seems appropriate to the fairy king whose antic love potions cause all the trouble. Ian Hunter makes a winning Theseus and Verree Teasdale has a queenly bearing as Hippolyte. But Mickey Rooney and Joe E. Brown are the bright particular stars of the photoplay. They keep it awake and hammer it into liveliness.
It is difficult to measure “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” critically because the infant cinema has had no time to build a Shakespearean tradition. Whatever its flaws, it is a work of high ambitions and unflagging interest, and it provides a stimulating evening in the cinema. It is a credit to Warner Brothers and to the motion picture industry.”
August 12th, 2011 | 8:57 pm
“Ran” is not just the greatest Shakespeare adaptation, it is one of the greatest movies ever made.
I myself haven’t seen the classic Olivier and Welles films, although this is a good reminder that I need to add them to my “get from the library soon” list. I have to admit that after I saw Branagh’s “Henry V” I wanted to leave the theater and go kill some Frenchmen. He was amazing in that film.
Finally, I too am partial to “Titus” mainly because Hopkins’ performance is remarkable. I also liked Taymor’s crazy sets.
August 13th, 2011 | 7:35 am
Olivia “Hussing” should be Olivia Hussey in #7 Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet.
August 13th, 2011 | 2:41 pm
They’re doing King Lear too, Pacino as Lear.
August 14th, 2011 | 8:59 am
The only good thing about Branagh’s Hamlet is that I saw it on my first date with now husband of 14 years. Just awful, and way too long.
August 14th, 2011 | 10:46 am
The 2010 Macbeth starring Patrick Stewart is quite good.
August 15th, 2011 | 9:26 am
[...] William and cinema. I do recall really liking the John Cleese Taming of the Shrew (which isn’t on the list). [...]
August 15th, 2011 | 1:12 pm
Ran deserves its place near the top of the list, though I’m strongly inclined to put it first. I haven’t seen the Olivier Richard III, though, and it sounds like I need to.
August 16th, 2011 | 11:17 am
Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing is my favourite Shakespeare adaptation; I’ve watched it many times, with unflagging pleasure. I suppose I have a taste for tastelessness, because the 1995 Richard III (with Ian McKellan) and the 2000 Hamlet (with Ethan Hawke) are also favourites.
The 1999 Midsummer Night’s Dream, listed at No.26 on this list, is the worst Shakespearean film I have seen. It looked as though it had been made on a budget of roughly $35, and (worse, obviously) it had none of the magic of the play. I did not know of the 1935 version, but I will try to find it.
August 16th, 2011 | 4:07 pm
Orson Welles Othello says it all.
August 18th, 2011 | 3:17 pm
[...] week Joe Carter drew attention to a list of great Shakespearean films compiled by the folks at Rotten Tomatoes. I consider myself [...]
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