Rentals
Shakespeare on Film
All the world's a cinema! How a century and more of filmmakers have raided, remade and refashioned the bard.
Shakespeare arrived in moving pictures before they could even talk. The master's work lent an air of gravitas, respectability and permanence to a young medium. As film grew bigger and more ambitious, so filmmakers were drawn to Shakespeare's endless bounty of resonant plots and epic conflicts, his mastery of psychology and character. Shakespeare's universal, elemental themes survive any translation, any reinterpretation. His plays have been filmed in Russian, in Japanese, in Hindi and dozens of other languages. They have appeared as musicals, as westerns, as sci-fi. Kurosawa transported the 'Scottish Play' to feudal Japan. Laurence Olivier's 1944 Henry V may tell of war with France, but its audience would have had in mind a more contemporary enemy. Even four centuries after his death, Shakespeare plays still speak to our times as well as his. Play on!
MacbethMacbeth
Drama 2015 113 minsDirector: Justin Kurzel
Fassbender is ferocious as the Scottish king in Justin Kurzel’s red-blooded and viscerally atmospheric Shakespeare adaptation.
BillBill
Comedy 2015 94 minsDirector: Richard Bracewell
The Horrible Histories team’s take on Shakespeare’s ‘lost years’, following the hopeless lute player as he leaves his home to follow his dream.
CoriolanusCoriolanus
Drama 2012 123 minsDirector: Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes stars and directs in the brutal Shakespeare adaptation about a fallen hero who hungers for bloody revenge against his city.
Play On! Shakespeare in Silent FilmPlay On! Shakespeare in Silent Film
Anthology 2016 63 minsSilentDirector: Bryony Dixon and Jane Giles
This celebration of silent Shakespeare interweaves a delightful selection of thrilling, iconic and humorous scenes from 24 newly digitised films.
Richard IIIRichard III
Drama 1996 104 minsDirector: Richard Loncraine
Ian McKellen and Richard Loncraine’s bold restaging transplants Shakespeare’s play to an imagined 1930s fascist Britain.
Peg of Old DruryPeg of Old Drury
Biopic 1936 71 minsDirector: Herbert Wilcox
Anna Neagle is on luminous form in this exuberant account of celebrated actress Peg Woffington's rise to fame in Georgian London's Theatreland.
Mercutio's DreamingMercutio's Dreaming
Comedy 2011 16 minsDirector: Jennifer Lim and Daniel York
The travails of a British-Chinese, would-be Shakespearean actor, in an industry that sees him only as an 'Oriental'.
The Angelic ConversationThe Angelic Conversation
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1985 81 minsDirector: Derek Jarman
The Angelic Conversation sees Derek Jarman conjure an evocative and radical visualisation of Shakespeare’s love poems. With narration by Judi Dench and music by Coil.
Romeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet
Drama 1954 145 minsDirector: Renato Castellani
Laurence Harvey and Susan Shentall are the star-crossed lovers in the ravishingly filmed 1954 adaptation.
Romeo of the SpiritsRomeo of the Spirits
Drama 1976 20 minsDirector: Nikolas L. Janis
A homeless ex-actor's remembrance of lines from Shakespeare reflects his own desperate situation on the hostile streets of London.
Shakespeare in LoveShakespeare in Love
Comedy 1998 124 minsDirector: John Madden
A creatively stymied bard finds love and inspiration in the form of one of his players, a cross-dressing actress, in the impeccably crafted, Oscar-winning period romance.
China GirlChina Girl
Gangster 1987 87 minsDirector: Abel Ferrara
Abel Ferrara creates a modern day Romeo & Juliet in gritty New York City, centring on the doomed relationship between an Italian boy and Chinese girl.
Food of LoveFood of Love
Drama 1997 109 minsDirector: Stephen Poliakoff
Richard E. Grant leads a dramatic reunion as friends and lovers gather to perform Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night in Stephen Poliakoff’s romantic comedy.
All Night LongAll Night Long
Drama 1962 91 minsDirector: Basil Dearden
Othello is transposed to the 1960s Soho jazz scene as a malevolent drummer sows mistrust between husband-and-wife jazz luminaries.
HamletHamlet
Drama 1976 66 minsDirector: Celestino Coronado
The line "the counterfeit presentment of two brothers" inspires a radical rethink of Hamlet, starring identical twins.
The BanquetThe Banquet
2006 125 minsDirector: Feng Xiaogang
Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) stars is this lavish wuxia based on elements from Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Ibsen’s Ghosts.
You Made Me Love YouYou Made Me Love You
Comedy 1933 70 minsDirector: Monty Banks
A loose adaption of The Taming of the Shrew, with Thelma Todd as a spoilt heiress who can’t stand her suitor.
Men Are Not GodsMen Are Not Gods
Comedy 1936 83 minsDirector: Walter Reisch
A theatre critic's secretary is caught up in a love triangle involving the stars of a production of Othello.
National Youth TheatreNational Youth Theatre
1966 29 minsDirector: John Bloom and John Crome
Inside a youth production of Coriolanus in the run-up to its West End debut
Music BoxMusic Box
1957 26 minsDirector: Douglas Hurn
Stage comedy legends The Crazy Gang perform an uproarious extract from A Midsummer Night's Dream in this 1957 TV variety show.
Midsummer Night's DreamMidsummer Night's Dream
Fantasy 1964 110 minsDirector: Joan Kemp-Welch
Delightful TV version of the Bard's most fantastic romantic comedy starring Benny Hill, Anna Massey and Peter Wyngarde
The TempestThe Tempest
Drama 1980 96 minsDirector: Derek Jarman
Derek Jarman’s brooding and darkly symbolic third feature is considered by some to be the most evocative Shakespeare adaptation ever to reach the screen.
William Shakespeare/Martha GrahamWilliam Shakespeare/Martha Graham
1967 18 minsDirector: John Phillips
Two reports from This Week – The Arts on adaptations of Shakespeare, including scenes from Joan Littlewood’s MacBird, and choreographer Martha Graham.
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