[caitlin1214]

Filmmakers have long mined the riches of The Bard to create some of the most lasting and universal stories in the movie history. With his 38 collected tragedies, comedies, and historical epics, Shakespeare remains one of Hollywood's most prolific screenwriters - after all, his works have been turned into films many times over, adapted splendidly by the likes of Franco Zefferelli (Romeo and Juliet), Baz Lurhmann (William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet), Kenneth Branagh (Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, Love's Labour's Lost, As You Like It), Orson Welles (Othello) and Akira Kurosawa (Ran).

But which Shakespearean adapatations fared the best with the critics? Find out below in our countdown of the 30 Best Shakespeare Movies of all time. As The Bard himself might say, "To thine own Tomatometer be true..."

• Each critic from our discrete list gets one vote, all weighted equally.
• A movie must have 20 or more rated reviews to be considered.
• Reviews without ratings are not counted toward the results.
• Because reviews are continually added, manually and otherwise, we have a cutoff date at which new reviews are not counted. The current cut off date is 7/14/2008.
• We use a weighted formula (Bayesian) to account for variation in the number of reviews per movie. The winners are determined by the rankings, designated as the "adjusted score," after applying said formula:

  (r ÷ (r+m)) × t + (m ÷ (r+m)) × a, with "r" representing the number of rated reviews, "m" the minimum number of reviews needed for a movie to qualify, "t" the Tomatometer score, and "a" the average Tomatometer of all the qualifying movies

• In the event of a tie, the following, in order, will be used to break the tie: the user tomatometer percent, the total number of cream of the crop reviews, and the number of fresh cream of the crop reviews.

(Rotten Tomatoes)

[caitlin1214]

Hamlet (2000)
55%

Critics Consensus: Stiff performances fail to produce any tension onscreen.
Synopsis: Ethan Hawke stars in this modern update of Shakespeare's classic play. He portrays a young filmmaker in New York City who struggles to gain power of his deceased father's company, even as the new boss (Kyle MacLachlan) manages to take total control of the proceedings.
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Julia Stiles, Kyle MacLachlan
Directed By: Michael Almereyda


Consider it a primer for Kenneth Branagh's four and a half hour Hamlet opus.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews




10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
57%

Critics Consensus: Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger add strong performances to an unexpectedly clever script, elevating 10 Things (slightly) above typical teen fare.
Synopsis: The story of high school newcomer Cameron James, and his pursuit of Bianca, the girl of his dreams. His plans are thwarted when he finds out he cannot date Bianca until her older sister, the social outcast Kat, has a has a boyfriend. A witty high school re-telling of THE TAMING OF THE SHREW.
Starring: Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Directed By: Gil Junger


As satirical as it is romantic, this is one teen film that is wise enough to span generations in its appeal.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times




Scotland, PA (2002)
59%

Critics Consensus: Though it's not as good as it could have been, Scotland PA shows cleverness at utilizing its premise.
Synopsis: Yahtzee, chicken nuggets, weed-smoking clairvoyant hippies, Shakespearean refrains, and jamming rock songs by Bad Company are some of the key elements of director Billy Morrissette's ode to MACBETH and early 1970s small town America.
Starring: James LeGros, Maura Tierney, Christopher Walken
Directed By: Billy Morrissette


A slyly macabre fantasia that works on its own demented terms.
Steven Farber, Movieline.




O (2001)
63%

Critics Consensus: Though well-intentioned and serious in its exploration of teen violence, O is an uneven experiment that doesn't quite succeed.
Synopsis: A contemporary retelling of Othello, Shakespeare's timeless tale of treachery and jealousy, O will perhaps introduce a new audience to the genius of William Shakespeare and some of his most intriguing and tragic characters.
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Mekhi Phifer, Julia Stiles
Directed By: Tim Blake Nelson



It's highly enjoyable and well acted, with the Iago figure better motivated than in the original play, no single line of which has been retained except for the odd echo.
Philip French, Observer (UK)





A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)
68%

Critics Consensus: Faultless production and shining performances display the Bard's talent propitiously.
Synopsis: Michael Hoffman's film adaptation of Shakespeare's magical comedy of a love-tangled quadrangle shimmers with sumptuous cinematography and a truly stellar cast that includes Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Stanley Tucci, Rupert Everett, Calista Flockhart, and Sam Rockwell.
Starring: Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett
Directed By: Michael Hoffman


Hoffman charts a middle course, and travels it quite well -- his version is neither as elaborately baroque as Max Reinhardt's 1935 film treatment nor as starkly sexual as Peter Brooks's celebrated 1970 staging.
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

[caitlin1214]

Titus (1999)
68%

Critics Consensus: The movie stretches too long to be entertaining despite a strong cast.
Synopsis: Based on Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus (one of the Bard's lesser-known and most gruesome works), director Taymor (Broadway's The Lion King) brings this adaptation to life with dazzling imagery and haunting immediacy.
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange, Harry J. Lennix
Directed By: Julie Taymor


Along with everything else, the acting styles here clash, though the dissonance serves the drama's bellicose theme.
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail





Othello (1995)
68%

Critics Consensus: Perhaps less than the sum of its parts, Othello is still highly entertaining, and features excellent performances from Laurence Fishburne and Kenneth Branagh.
Synopsis: An intense adaptation of Shakespeare's classic tragedy about the Moorish general who "loved not wisely, but too well" -- and so is duped by his evil aide into thinking that his wife has been unfaithful. As war between Venetians and the Turks rages in the 16th century, Othello weds the beautiful Desdemona and promotes Cassio over his longtime assistant, Iago.
Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Kenneth Branagh, Irène Jacob
Directed By: Oliver Parker


An entertaining, respectful adaptation that plays like an erotic thriller with Elizabethan language.
Michael Dequina, Mr. Brown's Movies





Prospero's Books (1991)
67%

Critics Consensus: There is no middle ground for viewers of Peter Greenaway's work, but for his fans, Prospero's Books is reliably daring.
Synopsis: The story of the former Duke of Milan, Prospero, exiled with his daughter Miranda to a tiny island. There, with the help of mystical books brought with him in his flight, the magician Prospero summons incredible powers in vengeance against his enemies.
Starring: John Gielgud, Michael Clark, Isabelle Pasco
Directed By: Peter Greenaway


The product of a feverish, overflowing imagination, this almost impossibly dense take on The Tempest displays both the director's audacious brilliance and lewd extravagance at full tilt.
Variety Staff, Variety





William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (2004)
70%

Critics Consensus: A respectable if uneven take on the Bard's The Merchant of Venice.
Synopsis: One of the immortal bard's most frequently performed works gets a first-rate cinematic treatment here, via director Michael Radford (IL POSTINO). Al Pacino is virtually unrecognizable as Shylock, bringing an old-world and clearly inspiring the rest of the cast to match his intensity.
Starring: Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Joseph Fiennes
Directed By: Michael Radford


This is Al Pacino's show, and thankfully his Shylock is absorbing enough to carry the day.
Wally Hammond, Time Out





William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet (1996)
70%

Critics Consensus: Baz Luhrmann's visual aesthetic is as divisive as it is fresh and inventive.
Synopsis: This ambitious undertaking, adapting William Shakespeare's classic tale of star-crossed lovers and setting the story in a glossy music-video style in 1990s Florida. Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes play the famous lovers kept apart by rival industrialist families.
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, Miriam Margolyes
Directed By: Baz Luhrmann


A psychedelic assault on the senses; a trip of unparalleled originality.
Jeanne Aufmuth, Palo Alto Weekly

[lilian]

I've been trying to find Prospero's Books for a long time (to rent), but I haven't been able to track it down.

Also, I can't believe Richard III isn't on this list. That is by far the best Shakespeare movie IMO.

[caitlin1214]

Twelfth Night (1996)
70%

Critics Consensus: Director Trevor Nunn makes some questionable choices, but his stellar cast -- which includes Helena Bonham-Carter, Ben Kingsley, and Nigel Hawthorne -- more than rises to the material.
Synopsis: Trevor Nunn's version of William Shakespeare's classic comedy revolves around Viola, a young woman who disguises herself as a man to work as a page in the court of Count Orsino. Orsino is hopelessly in love with a woman named Olivia, and soon Viola finds herself hopelessly in love with Orsino.
Starring: Helena Bonham-Carter, Ben Kingsley, Nigel Hawthorne
Directed By: Trevor Nunn


British director Nunn doesn’t always take advantage of the play’s comic possibilities. But he creates absorbing, original moments -- in the unlikeliest of places.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post





Strange Brew (1983)
70%

Critics Consensus: Strange Brew is not without its rough patches, but it earns points just for having the chutzpah to attempt a booze-fueled take on Hamlet.
Synopsis: SCTV's Bob and Doug Mackenzie (Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas) star as two wacky beer guzzling "hosers" who set out on a zany plot to score a free case of brew. They meet the beautiful Pam (Lynne Griffin) and decide to help save her recently acquired brewery from the diabolical Brewmeister Smith (Max von Sydow--THE EXORCIST)
Starring: Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Max Von Sydow
Directed By: Dave Thomas, Rick Moranis


Brilliant. Stupid...but brilliant.
Widget Walls, Needcoffee.com





Hamlet (1990)
71%


Critics Consensus: It may lack some of the depth and complexity of the play, but Mel Gibson and Franco Zeffirelli make a surprisingly successful team.
Synopsis: Director Franco Zeffirelli and star Mel Gibson combine their talents for this full-blooded adaptation of the classic tragedy. The movie is a concise, trimmed version of the play, as Hamlet returns to Elsinore to finds his mother married to his uncle and his dead father's ghost demanding vengeance.
Starring: Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, Alan Bates
Directed By: Franco Zeffirelli

[Mel Gibson] is by far the best part of Mr. Zeffirelli's sometimes slick but always lucid and beautifully cinematic version of the play.
Caryn James, New York Times





The Taming of the Shrew (1967)
85%

Critics Consensus: It may not be reverent enough for purists, but This Taming of the Shrew is too funny -- and fun -- for the rest of us to resist.
Synopsis: Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor bring gusto and ferocity to their roles as Katherine and Petruchio in this quintessential battle of the sexes, a vibrant adaptation of the classic Shakespeare play. When young student Lucentio (Michael York) wanders into the town of Padua, he promptly falls for the beautiful Bianca (Natasha Pyne), but before Bianca's father will let her be courted, he insists her wild, angry, older sister, Katherine (Taylor) be married.
Starring: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Vernon Dobtcheff
Directed By: Franco Zeffirelli


Zeffirelli can't bring himself quite to the realm of radical Shakespeare. However, the film is a great vehicle for the two most famous stars of its era.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)





Macbeth (1971)
86%

Critics Consensus: Roman Polanski's Macbeth is unsettling and uneven, but also undeniably compelling.
Synopsis: William Shakespeare's immortal play about a Scottish warrior (Jon Finch) whose wife's lust for power transforms him into inhuman monster is given it's rawest, most brutal screen treatment in this version by Roman Polanski (ROSEMARY'S BABY, CHINATOWN). Filmed in suitably bleak locales and imbued with nudity not usually seen in the works of Shakespeare--along with realistically gory murders--this MACBETH is singular and sensational, but is not for the young or faint of heart.
Starring: Jon Finch, Nicholas Selby, Francesca Annis
Directed By: Roman Polanski


Shakespeare's bloodiest play gets a chilling existentialist update from Roman Polanski
Rob Vaux, Flipside Movie Emporium

[caitlin1214]

My Own Private Idaho (1992)

85%

Critics Consensus: A tantalizing glimpse of a talented director and his stars all at the top of their respective games, Gus Van Sant's loose reworking of Henry IV is smart, sad and audacious.
Synopsis: Semi-documentary footage of Seattle street hustling mixes with highly theatrical Shakespearean speech in this very loose adaptation of "Henry IV." In Seattle, Mike, a male prostitute and narcoleptic, meets Scott, who is Scott, who is rebelling against his wealthy family by working the streets.
Starring: River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, William S. Burroughs
Directed By: Gus Van Sant

One of Van Sant's best films, a richly dense, poetic evocation of friendhsip that retells Shakespeare's Henry IV in an original and intriguing way; River Phoenix gives his most riveting performance.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.com





Macbeth (Restored Version) (1948)

90%

Critics Consensus: This haunting, eccentric Macbeth may be hampered by budget constraints, but Orson Welles delivers both behind and in front of the camera.
Synopsis: A dark, moody screen version of the classic tragedy about a presumptuous Scottish prince's quest for power through patricide--in keeping with both the play's spirit and Welles' vision. As with his other masterpieces, Welles effectively mixes the use of shadow and oblique camera angles to achieve the ominous sense of a land in peril.
Starring: Orson Welles, Jeanette Nolan, Dan O'Herlihy
Directed By: Orson Welles


Wonder-Boy Welles has an imaginative way with a camera.
TIME Magazine





Othello - The Lost Masterpiece (1952)

90%

Critics Consensus: This ragged take on Othello may take liberties with the source material, but Orson Welles' genius never fails to impress.
Synopsis: Long believed lost, this is the newly restored masterpiece of Orson Welles' 1952 classic based on the famous William Shakespeare play. Also includes a special introduction by his daughter Beatrice Welles-Smith.
Starring: Orson Welles, Micheal MacLiammoir, Suzanne Cloutier
Directed By: Orson Welles


Othello has been filmed numerous times, but never with such extraordinary visual grace and power.
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune





Hamlet (1948)

92%


Critics Consensus: A well-executed labor of love from star and director Laurence Olivier, Hamlet not only proved that Shakespeare could be successfully adapted to the big screen, it paved the way for further cinematic interpretations.
Synopsis: Before Kenneth Branagh, before Mel Gibson, Laurence Olivier gave the definitive portrayal of "the man who could not make up his mind." In 15th-century Denmark, young Prince Hamlet is racked by torment and indecision after seeing a vision of his deceased father. The late king's ghost informs his son Hamlet that Claudius, Hamlet's uncle, was responsible for murdering the king. When the murderer married Hamlet's mother--the king's widow--scarcely two months after his funeral, he also took the throne that was his brother's.
Starring: Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Basil Sydney
Directed By: Laurence Olivier


Olivier's classic and personalised version of the troubled Prince of Denmark is still highly atmospheric and intriguing.
David Parkinson, Empire Magazine




Much Ado About Nothing (1993)

90%

Critics Consensus: Kenneth Branagh's love for the material is contagious in this exuberant adaptation.
Synopsis: When gallant Don Pedro (Denzel Washington), his nefarious brother Don John (Keanu Reeves), and close confidantes Claudio (Robert Sean Leonard) and Benedick (Kenneth Branagh) ride thunderously into the Sicilian village of Messina, romance, gaiety, and suspicion abound.
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington
Directed By: Kenneth Branagh


A lively and colorful adaptation of Shakespeare's play; Thompson and Branagh are especially fun to watch.
Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

[caitlin1214]

Forbidden Planet (1956)
94%

Critics Consensus: Shakespeare gets the deluxe space treatment in Forbidden Planet, an adaptation of The Tempest with impressive sets and seamless special effects.
Synopsis: Shakespeare's THE TEMPEST is transformed in this landmark science-fiction film. Spacemen travel to a planet ruled by Dr. Edward Morbius (Walter Pidgeon), who has built a kingdom with his daughter and obedient robot Robby. The good doctor is plagued by his mad quest for knowledge through his "brain booster" machine, and by Freudian "monsters from the id" as his daughter discovers other men and learns to kiss.
Starring: Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen
Directed By: Fred M. Wilcox



Offers some of the most amusing creatures conceived since the Keystone cops.
Bosley Crowther, New York Times






Henry V (1944)
100%

Critics Consensus: A patriotic booster, Laurence Olivier's directorial debut and star turn as Henry V result in a sharply realized and resonant take on Shakespeare's deeply British warrior king.
Synopsis: Laurence Olivier brings to vivid life Shakespeare's King Henry V, the epitome of the ideal Christian king. After a youth misspent in frivolity and common diversions, Prince Hal ascends the throne only to find himself on on the brink of war with France over land and title disputes.
Starring: Laurence Olivier, Robert Newton, Leslie Banks
Directed By: Laurence Olivier





A bold, clear reading of Shakespeare's play and an exhilarating piece of wartime propaganda.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian (UK)





The Lion King (1994)
92%


Critics Consensus: Richly drawn and beautifully animated, The Lion King stands among Disney's pantheon of classic family films.
Synopsis: Wild Africa is the setting for this animated tale of a young lion cub whose evil uncle usurps his father's crown and lets hyenas overrun the kingdom (borrowing elements of both Hamlet and Richard III). Dodging danger and and befriending some oddball characters, the cub wanders until the day he's ready to return.
Starring: Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones
Directed By: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff


A crown jewel of modern Disney animation.
Glenn Abel, Hollywood Reporter





Romeo and Juliet (1968)
97%

Critics Consensus: The solid leads and arresting visuals make a case for Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet as the definitive cinematic adaptation of the play.
Synopsis: Director Franco Zeffirelli's penchant for period love stories find its perfect outlet in this classic Shakespeare tragedy, and many consider it the best filmed version of the story. As the title characters, fifteen year old Olivia Hussey and seventeen year old Leonard Whiting bring a touching amount of spontaneity and innocence to their roles, which works in the favor of the film, if not always the text.
Starring: Olivia Hussey, Leonard Whiting, Milo O'Shea
Directed By: Franco Zeffirelli


Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet is a lovely, sensitive, friendly popularization of the play
Renata Adler, New York Times





Richard III (1995)
95%

Critics Consensus: This re-imagining of Shakespeare's Crookback King relocates the story in 1930 and features an indelible star turn for Ian McKellen as the monstrous and magnetic King Richard.
Synopsis: This unique adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Richard III" switches the story's setting from the 1480s to the 1930s and imagines what a fascist coup in England might have been like. Despite the change in milieu, the story remains the same.
Starring: Ian McKellen, Annette Bening, Jim Broadbent
Directed By: Richard Loncraine


A sure-fire crowd-pleaser among recent Shakespeare movies.
Godfrey Cheshire, Variety

[caitlin1214]

West Side Story (1961)
94%

Critics Consensus: Buoyed by Robert Wise's dazzling direction, Leonard Bernstein's score, and Stephen Sondheim's lyrics, West Side Story remains perhaps the most iconic of all the Shakespeare adaptations to visit the big screen.
Synopsis: Considered one of the most popular musicals of all time, WEST SIDE STORY earned director Robert Wise an Oscar for Best Director as well as nine other Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Realistically portrayed characters and their surroundings and expert editing complementing innovative dance sequences mark this highly stylized modern-day Romeo and Juliet tale.
Starring: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno
Directed By: Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins


An energetic and vibrant musical that modernizes the Romeo and Juliet story ably and with great passion.
Wesley Lovell, Oscar Guy





Throne of Blood (1957)
97%

Critics Consensus: A career high point for Akira Kurosawa -- and one of the best film adaptations of a Shakespeare play.
Synopsis: Akira Kurosawa's stunning reconception of Shakespeare's MACBETH is a dark samurai drama, set in feudal Japan. As the film begins, two soldiers--Washizu (Toshirô Mifune) and Miki (Minoru Chiaki)--find themselves lost in a dense forest during a powerful thunderstorm. Seemingly unable to leave the woods, they encounter a ghostly old woman who predicts that Washizu will soon rise to power. At the goading of his ruthless wife, Asaji (Isuzu Yamada), Washizu embarks on a murderously ambitious path and quickly fulfills the prophecy.
Starring: Toshirô Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Minoru Chiaki
Directed By: Akira Kurosawa



Akira Kurosawa's remarkable 1957 restaging of Macbeth in samurai and expressionist terms is unquestionably one of his finest works -- charged with energy, imagination, and, in keeping with the subject, sheer horror.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader





Hamlet (1996)
94%


Critics Consensus: Kenneth Branagh's sprawling, finely textured adaptation of Shakespeare's masterpiece lives up to its source material, using strong performances and a sharp cinematic focus to create a powerfully resonant film that wastes none of its 246 minutes.
Synopsis: Director Kenneth Branagh returns to Shakespeare following his ground-breaking HENRY V and whimsical production of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. This classic tale tells the story of Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh), the prince of Denmark, a man suffering from grief at the death of his father, the king. His mother (Julie Christie) has quickly married Claudius (Derek Jacobi), Hamlet's uncle, who now reigns as the new king.
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Charlton Heston, Derek Jacobi
Directed By: Kenneth Branagh


Branagh has one-upped Olivier again by making his Hamlet a bold spectacle: big and loud and colorful.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid





Ran (1985)
96%

Critics Consensus: Akira Kurosawa's sprawling, epic take on King Lear should be required viewing for fans of westerns, war movies, or period films in general.
Synopsis: For his 27th film, the "sensei" of Japanese cinema, Akira Kurosawa, transposes Shakespeare's KING LEAR to feudal Japan. RAN, which translates as "chaos" or "turmoil," is the tragic tale of Lord Hidetora, a warlord who
Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu
Directed By: Akira Kurosawa


For aficionados of the war movie, the western, and the period action epic, Ran is necessary viewing.

Amy Taubin, Village Voice





Henry V (1989)
100%

Critics Consensus: Pehaps Kenneth Branagh's most fully realized Shakespeare adaptation, Henry V is an energetic, passionate, and wonderfully acted film.
Synopsis: Kenneth Branagh makes his directorial debut and also plays the title role in HENRY V, a film that began a resurgence of interest in films of Shakespeare's plays. Henry is a young king seeking a way to make his mark on on history.
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Ian Holm
Directed By: Kenneth Branagh



A stirring, gritty and enjoyable pic which offers a plethora of fine performances from some of the U.K.'s brightest talents.
Variety Staff, Variety

[caitlin1214]

Shakespeare 2.0: The bard on the big (and small) screen
By Susan King, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Traditional or not traditional? That is the question when directors mount productions of William Shakespeare's plays.

Over the decades, theater, movies and even television versions of the Bard's plays have defied convention, some turning them into musicals, samurai action thrillers, films noir and modern-day dramas. Go back as far as MGM's all-star "The Hollywood Revue of 1929," and you'll find Norma Shearer and John Gilbert performing the balcony love scene from "Romeo and Juliet" in the slang of the day, including pig Latin.

The new comedy "Hamlet 2," opening today, isn't quite "Hamlet" but rather a raucous farce about an Arizona high school teacher (Steve Coogan) who puts on a sequel to the great tragedy in hopes of saving his career.

With that in mind, let's brush up on some of the more creative takes on Shakespeare


(latimes.com)

[caitlin1214]

"Kiss Me Kate, " 1953

George Sidney directed this high-flying -- and 3-D -- MGM musical version of the hit Cole Porter Broadway sensation about a formerly married theatrical couple (Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel) who reunite for a new musical version of Shakespeare's bawdy comedy "The Taming of the Shrew." Songs include "Too Darn Hot," "I Hate Men" and "Brush Up Your Shakespeare."



"Moonlighting's" "Atomic Shakespeare," 1986

Glenn Gordon Caron's 1980s detective series, starring Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis as wisecracking gumshoes, was always stretching the boundaries of traditional entertainment. One of the best episodes of the ABC show was this insanely funny spoof of "The Taming of the Shrew" complete with Willis performing the Rascals' classic "Good Lovin.' " Caron was inspired to do the episode after seeing Meryl Streep and Raul Julia in the 1978 Central Park performance of "Shrew."



"10 Things I Hate About You" 1999

High school is the setting for this entertaining little teen romantic comedy version of "The Taming of the Shrew" starring Heath Ledger in his first American feature as outsider Patrick Verona who is paid to take out Kat (Julia Stiles), the ill-tempered older sister of the beautiful Bianca (Larisa Oleynik).



"Richard III," 1995

Ian McKellen -- one of the most acclaimed Shakespearean actors of the last 50 years -- gives one of his best performances in this film adaptation of the Bard's historical drama about the murderous hunchbacked monarch. As directed by Richard Loncraine and based on the stage production for the Royal National Theatre, this "Richard" is set apart from others because the action takes place in a fascist-leaning England of the 1930s.



"West Side Story," 1957

Composers Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein changed the face, and tone, of Broadway musicals with their score for the Tony-winning update of the Bard's romantic tragedy "Romeo and Juliet." They, with Jerome Robbins and Arthur Laurents, updated the action to the contemporary gang life of Manhattan and transformed the lovers into Puerto Rican and white. The 1961 movie version won 10 Oscars, including best film, best director (Robert Wise and Robbins), supporting actor (George Chakiris) and actress (Rita Moreno).

[caitlin1214]

"William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet," 1996

Innovative Aussie director Baz Luhrmann took on the romantic tale in this flashy, hip-hop adaptation starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes as the star-crossed lovers. The action takes place in a glitzy and hip Verona Beach, where the rivals are Ted Montague and Fulgencio Capulet.



"Hamlet," 2000

Michael Almereyda takes the Bard's epic tale of revenge and murder and transfers it to the high-tech world of modern New York in this acclaimed drama starring Ethan Hawke as Hamlet, Sam Shepard as the Ghost and Bill Murray as Polonius.



Akira Kurosawa

During his illustrious career, the Japanese director created three of his greatest achievements based on Shakespeare's works: 1957's enthralling "Throne of Blood" (pictured) is a samurai-retelling of "Macbeth"; 1960's gripping film noir "The Bad Sleep Well" borrows from the pages of "Hamlet"; and his last epic, 1985's "Ran," for which he received an Oscar nomination for best director, sets the tragedy "King Lear" in feudal Japan.



Kenneth Branagh

The Irishman came to fame in 1989 as star and director of a lavish adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henry V." Since then, he's brought "Much Ado About Nothing" (pictured) and "Hamlet" to the screen. In 2000, he transformed "Love's Labour's Lost" into a 1930s-style musical featuring Cole Porter songs. But unlike Branagh's previous three Bard films, critics and audiences alike brushed off this Shakespeare. The director garnered better results with his 2007 adaptation of "As You Like It." Branagh set the tale of drama, mistaken identity, love and comedy in 19th century Japan.

[missmustard]

It's too bad "Titus" got such a low percentage and bad reviews. This is by far one of my favourite Shakespeare movies, along with "A Midsummer Night's Dream&qu