Best of Shakespeare Films
by roaming_charges_may_apply | created - 27 Jan 2022 | updated - 07 Feb 2022 | PublicThe Best Film Adaptations of Shakespeare, Based on or About ... not including made for tv productions or filmed theatre ...
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1. Henry V (1989)
PG-13 | 137 min | Biography, Drama, History
In the midst of the Hundred Years War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Simon Shepherd, James Larkin
Votes: 31,665 | Gross: $10.16M
Branagh's directorial debut. A perfect film and Shakespeare adaptation.
2. Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
PG-13 | 111 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Young lovers, and soon to wed, Hero and Claudio conspire to get verbal sparring partners and confirmed singles, Benedick and Beatrice, to wed as well.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Keanu Reeves, Kate Beckinsale
Votes: 52,024 | Gross: $22.55M
Funny, cinematic and joyful with some iconic performances.
3. Richard III (1995)
R | 110 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, War
The classic Shakespearean play about the murderously scheming 15th-century king is reimagined in an alternative setting of 1930s England as clouds of fascism gather.
Director: Richard Loncraine | Stars: Ian McKellen, Annette Bening, Christopher Bowen, Edward Jewesbury
Votes: 15,577 | Gross: $2.60M
Excellent film in a fantasy 1930s setting. Minor textural changes.
4. Macbeth (1971)
R | 140 min | Drama, History
A ruthlessly ambitious Scottish lord seizes the throne with the help of his scheming wife and a trio of witches.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Jon Finch, Francesca Annis, Martin Shaw, Terence Bayler
Votes: 14,979
Polanski directed this film with a clear artistic vision and despite some few cases of stilted performance (and the awkward sound design of the armored sword duel at the end) this remains the most cinematic and probably memorable film adaptation of any Shakespeare play to date.
5. Hamlet (1990)
PG | 135 min | Drama
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, finds out that his uncle Claudius killed his father to obtain the throne, and plans revenge.
Director: Franco Zeffirelli | Stars: Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, Alan Bates, Paul Scofield
Votes: 23,622 | Gross: $20.71M
Zeffirelli delivers as always and Mel Gibson brings the best film "to be or not to be" to date ... Paul Scofield with the most harrowing ghost ever.
6. Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990)
PG | 117 min | Comedy, Drama
Two minor characters from the play 'Hamlet' stumble around unaware of their scripted lives and unable to deviate from them.
Director: Tom Stoppard | Stars: Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, Richard Dreyfuss, Livio Badurina
Votes: 23,864 | Gross: $0.74M
Brilliant, funny and touching.
7. A Midwinter's Tale (1995)
R | 99 min | Comedy
A group of theatre actors plays "Hamlet" in a provincial village, faced with their own temptations, disappointments, and joys.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Michael Maloney, Richard Briers, Hetta Charnley, Joan Collins
Votes: 2,772 | Gross: $0.35M
Branagh delivers again. Golden comedy and touching performances.
8. Romeo and Juliet (1968)
PG | 138 min | Drama, Romance
When two young members of feuding families meet, forbidden love ensues.
Director: Franco Zeffirelli | Stars: Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey, John McEnery, Milo O'Shea
Votes: 34,788 | Gross: $38.90M
A few off notes but this vies for top position in terms of memorable film adaptations with a cinematic scope, clear text work and lush music.
9. King Lear (1970)
GP | 137 min | Drama
King Lear divides his kingdom among his daughters, giving great importance to their protestations of love for him. When Cordelia refuses to idly flatter the old man, he banishes her and turns for support to his remaining daughters.
Director: Peter Brook | Stars: Paul Scofield, Irene Worth, Cyril Cusack, Susan Engel
Votes: 937
Paul Scofield - enough said.
10. Othello (1995)
R | 123 min | Drama, Romance
The Moorish General Othello is manipulated into thinking that his new wife Desdemona has been carrying on an affair with his Lieutenant Michael Cassio, when in reality, it is all part of the scheme of a bitter Ensign named Iago.
Director: Oliver Parker | Stars: Laurence Fishburne, Kenneth Branagh, Irène Jacob, Nathaniel Parker
Votes: 10,180 | Gross: $2.11M
Laurence Fishburne is not as perfectly smooth with the language as everyone else, but his acting is on point... and Branagh kills it as Iago. Superb direction from Oliver Parker who proves yet again here he is a director who knows how to adapt stage to screen.
11. Chimes at Midnight (1965)
Not Rated | 115 min | Comedy, Drama, History
When King Henry IV ascends to the throne, his heir, the Prince of Wales, is befriended by Sir John Falstaff, an old, overweight, fun-loving habitual liar. Through Falstaff's eyes we see the reign of King Henry IV and the rise of Henry V.
Director: Orson Welles | Stars: Orson Welles, Jeanne Moreau, Margaret Rutherford, John Gielgud
Votes: 10,153 | Gross: $0.12M
Orson Welles brilliance and madness. Low budget never felt so rich. The most iconic screen battle til Braveheart!
12. Ran (1985)
R | 160 min | Action, Drama, War
In Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other...and him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryû
Votes: 136,289 | Gross: $4.14M
Kurosawa perfection.
13. Love's Labour's Lost (2000)
PG | 93 min | Romance, Comedy, Musical
An update of the classic Shakespeare story, director Kenneth Branagh shot the film like a classic 1930s musical. It tells the story of four best friends who swear off love.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Alessandro Nivola, Alicia Silverstone, Natascha McElhone, Kenneth Branagh
Votes: 4,906 | Gross: $0.28M
Some of the most fun and memorable stuff ever, along with some of the cringiest weak moments. This film is a mix of great and terrible but the great stuff makes it worth slogging through the rest. Joyous musical numbers.
14. All Is True (2018)
PG-13 | 101 min | Biography, Drama, History
A look at the final days in the life of renowned playwright William Shakespeare.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Nonso Anozie
Votes: 5,447 | Gross: $1.20M
Beautifully directed by Branagh.
15. Otello (1986)
PG | 118 min | Drama, Music
Verdi's famous opera is brought to life in this production. The immortal tale of the noble Moor and his beautiful young wife, and of his lieutenant, whose jealousy and lust for power lead him to commit the ultimate treason.
Director: Franco Zeffirelli | Stars: Plácido Domingo, Katia Ricciarelli, Justino Díaz, Petra Malakova
Votes: 618 | Gross: $0.19M
Zefirelli with the opera version of Othello. Visually and musically lush. Superb direction.
16. Throne of Blood (1957)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
A war-hardened general, egged on by his ambitious wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become lord of Spider's Web Castle.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura
Votes: 55,991
Another Kurosawa golden adaptation.
17. Looking for Richard (1996)
PG-13 | 111 min | Documentary, Drama
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
Director: Al Pacino | Stars: Al Pacino, Alec Baldwin, Kevin Spacey, Frederic Kimball
Votes: 8,572 | Gross: $1.36M
The documentary part is where the gold is here and it is so very golden indeed.
18. Julius Caesar (1953)
Not Rated | 120 min | Drama, History
The growing ambition of Julius Caesar is a source of major concern to his close friend Brutus. Cassius persuades him to participate in his plot to assassinate Caesar but they have both sorely underestimated Mark Antony.
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Stars: Louis Calhern, Marlon Brando, James Mason, John Gielgud
Votes: 12,892
A bit dated but also still timelessly powerful.
19. The Taming of The Shrew (1967)
Approved | 122 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Brutish, fortune-hunting scoundrel Petruchio tames his wealthy, shrewish wife, Katharina.
Director: Franco Zeffirelli | Stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Cyril Cusack, Michael Hordern
Votes: 8,689 | Gross: $8.00M
Not quite as strong as Zeffirelli's other Shakespeare films but full of powerful charisma from Burton and Taylor.
20. Shakespeare in Love (1998)
R | 123 min | Comedy, Drama, History
The world's greatest ever playwright, William Shakespeare, is young, out of ideas and short of cash, but meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays.
Director: John Madden | Stars: Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Tom Wilkinson
Votes: 234,416 | Gross: $100.32M
Pure fun with some good Shakespeare.
21. As You Like It (2006)
PG | 127 min | Drama, Comedy, Romance
A daughter of the powerful Duke must show her courage and inventiveness to be with the man she loves.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Takuya Shimada, Brian Blessed, Richard Clifford, Bryce Dallas Howard
Votes: 3,731
The Japanese setting seems superfluous and actually a major detraction to the film, but everything else is excellent!
22. Othello (1951)
Approved | 90 min | Drama, Romance
The Moorish General Othello is manipulated into thinking that his new wife Desdemona has been carrying on an affair with his Lieutenant Michael Cassio when in reality, it is all part of the scheme of a bitter Ensign named Iago.
Director: Orson Welles | Stars: Orson Welles, Micheál MacLiammóir, Robert Coote, Suzanne Cloutier
Votes: 9,455
Classic Orson Welles!
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