So, Roland Emmerich.  Word is that he has a new film coming out about Shakespeare and how he was a fraud.  Personally, I find the revelation that critics are not overwhelmingly calling his newest a steaming pile far more groundbreaking than a crackpot theory that has not only been roundly debunked, but reeks of offensive class snobbery (“Why, it’s impossible to believe that a mere grammar school graduate could have written the plays and poems attributed to Shakespeare. Wouldn’t it make more sense to suppose that William Shakespeare was only the stand-in for a better educated author?”*).  Whatever…I guess just because there’s no truth to it doesn’t mean it can’t be entertaining.  I mean, look at JFK.

Anyway, we at The Awards Circuit actually respect history and the contributions of William Shakespeare.  Luckily, so do a lot of other filmmakers, so to counteract his desecration by the man who once tried to convince us that alien technology is compatible with Macintosh, here are the top ten films inspired by the Bard of Avon, but first…

Honorable Mention: Chimes at Midnight

The legendary filmmaker Orson Welles went on record as saying that of all the films he ever made (which, in case you forgot, include Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons), this was the one he was most proud of.  Shakespeare’s recurring supporting character Sir John Falstaff gets a starring role here as Welles takes him and his companion Prince Hal on a journey through Richard II, Henry V, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2, which includes a supposedly highly influential recreation of the Battle of Shrewsbury.  So why isn’t this near or at the top of my list?  To my infinite frustration, I haven’t seen it yet, and it’s somewhat difficult to obtain in the United States due to legal complications regarding distribution.  Since it is so beloved, I figured it was only fair to at least give Chimes at Midnight a mention before moving on to the best Shakespeare films I have seen.  If any of our readers have been lucky enough to behold this acclaimed film, by all means sound off on it.

10. Richard III (1995 adaptation)

That snapshot of Ian McKellen speaks volumes about Richard Loncraine’s reimagining of the Machiavellian king in an alternate version of Britain in the 1930s, as he is the film’s greatest strength and at times most frustrating weakness.  McKellen chews on every malicious verse and relishes every opportunity to underline just how vile his eponymous character really is and so does Loncraine’s direction.  He’s not the only one enjoying himself; Maggie Smith and Jim Broadbent also dive into their juiciest scenes with zeal.  While such a smirking, amoral kick makes this film more frivolous relative to your typical Shakespeare tragedy, it and McKellen’s performance are undeniably a lot of fun despite themselves.

9. Much Ado About Nothing

Second only to Twelfth Night as my favorite Shakespeare comedy, this joyous adaptation features then-couple Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson in their most charming performances.  They’re hands-down the best part of the film, but certainly not the only reason to love it.  Boasting gorgeous locales and people, great verbal barbs and witticisms, Much Ado is the kind of light romantic comedy that anyone can enjoy, not just literature snobs.  Sure, Keanu Reeves (big surprise) and Michael Keaton are badly miscast, and some scenes play a bit flip, but the overall effect is so infectiously high-spirited it’s impossible not to get swept up in it.

8. Titus

Titus Andronicus is one of Shakespeare’s trashiest plays.  Its unrelenting barbarism borders on self-parody; one critic joked that Mel Brooks would have been best suited to adapt it to film…instead it was Julie Taymor who stepped up.  In her directorial debut, she made the audacious decision to create an anachronistic setting: chariots exist alongside cars, crossbows are used with guns, etcetera, and are blended together with over-the-top costumes and sets that have come to define her aesthetic.  The result is jarring at first, but reveals itself as a potent commentary on the timelessness of violence and tyranny.  It’s an experience she sadly has not equaled since.

7. Prospero’s Books

Probably the most “artsy” film based on a Shakespeare play that I’ve seen, Peter Greenaway’s Prospero’s Books eschews traditional narrative in favor of a hallucinatory rumination on the prized tomes of Prospero, the protagonist of The Tempest.  At the center of it all is John Gielgud, excellent as Prospero-as-Greenaway-as-Shakespeare conjuring extravagant, bizarre and erotic visions narrated with his indelibly theatrical voice.  Almost exhaustingly dense, Greenaway’s exploration of the creative process, the possibilities (and self-indulgence) of imagination and, in a way, the twilight of Gielgud’s career is definitely not for everyone.  For the more adventurous filmmaker, however, it’s one hell of a trip.

6. My Own Private Idaho

If one had no knowledge of Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2, Gus Van Sant’s odd little road movie (or is it a romantic comedy?) about two drifters would at first seem to be more inspired by the works of William Burroughs than William Shakespeare.  Yet the bold tonal shift from dreamlike indie to theatrical artifice, against all odds, actually works.  Despite its near-overdose of idiosyncrasy and themes, Van Sant’s care for two misfit characters just looking to belong is effectively played straight.  A large share of its success also goes to River Phoenix’s outstanding performance as the narcoleptic street hustler Mike Waters.

5. Shakespeare in Love

Yeah, yeah, Shakespeare in Love wasn’t the best film of 1998, blah blah yada yada.  Now, can we please do away with pointless Oscar griping and appreciate this rich and delightful romantic comedy for what it is?  There is so much to enjoy here, from its sumptuous visuals to the radiant leads Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes.  But most of all, Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard’s screenplay threads together tons of clever references to Shakespeare’s works and turns of phrase while unexpectedly growing funnier and more emotionally affecting as it goes on.  It is the all-too-rare kind of romantic comedy that stirs both the heart and mind.

4. Henry V (1944 adaptation)

Laurence Olivier’s legacy as an actor has not aged as well as his contemporaries, as he is often seen as a stagey, mechanical performer by today’s standards.  While I do not necessarily disagree with such criticisms, it is a shame that he is not recognized often enough for his contributions as a director, bringing numerous successful adaptations of Shakespeare to the big screen.  The best of these was his first.  With cinematic ambition unprecedented for a stage adaptation, Olivier’s rousing, shamelessly patriotic film was justly hailed as an incredible achievement and a touchstone of the play on screen for decades…

3. Henry V (1989 adaptation)

…and yet against all odds, Kenneth Branagh managed to create a better version 45 years later.  Abandoning the pomp of Olivier’s wartime epic, his oft-acknowledged spiritual successor summons a bloodier, darker account of the Battle of Agincourt.  Branagh’s portrayal of the titular king is also an improvement; he draws the focus away from his grand political machinations in the original and instead explores the internal conflicts of his steely-eyed Henry.  The contrast between Olivier’s pageantry and the toughness of Branagh’s vision is a testament to the openness of Shakespeare’s writings to different interpretations, but I prefer the grittier depiction.

2. West Side Story

Look, I’m no fool.  I get that the film’s connections to Romeo and Juliet are tenuous at best, and that its “message” was probably naïve and simplistic even back in 1961.  No argument there.  But I dare you to find a more dazzling blend of song, dance and performance in a single film (well, besides maybe Singin’ in the Rain).  Forget thematic complexity or nuance, West Side Story is just pure grand entertainment.  There’s not a dull step or rhythm of this old-fashioned musical with, yes, a cheesy reimagining of Shakespeare’s doomed romance, but played tenderly enough to be genuinely moving.  The film also features what might be the most exciting performance to ever win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress – Rita Moreno as the fiery Anita.

1. Ran

Akira Kurosawa’s last epic was a film that had been in the making for nearly ten years before its release in 1985.  He spent most of that time crafting each of his intended shots as hand-painted storyboards.  When principal photography had finally begun, he had gone almost completely blind and his assistants relied on his storyboards to help him set up each of his shots.  Perhaps this explains why Ran is one of the most visually elegant films ever made; every sequence a masterwork of color and composition.  If its painterly beauty wasn’t enough, Kurosawa’s adaptation of King Lear actually manages to weave a more complex and powerful story than Shakespeare’s tragedy, drawing out a wider array of sobering insights from the despair of a cruel warrior king who through foolish vanity plants the seeds of his own destruction.  The violence is uncompromising, the sets and Oscar-winning costumes have rarely been equaled, the battle sequences are superbly choreographed and breathtaking in their epic scope, but never does Kurosawa lose track of the intimate human heartbreak at the center of it all.  The cast assembled here is also one of his finest.  While they all give memorable performances, Mieko Harada in particular stands out as the vicious Lady Kaede.  Ran is not just the most accomplished representation of Shakespeare in cinema, but is also one of the best films I have ever seen.

So there you have it, my favorite Shakespeare films.  There are certainly many others though, including an upcoming version of the very underrated tragedy Coriolanus, marking the über-awesome Ralph Fiennes’ directorial debut.  Beyond what looks like a unique “modern” setting and strong early reviews, Vanessa Redgrave has been touted as a serious Best Supporting Actress contender.  We’ll definitely keep an eye on it as it nears stateside release at the end of the year, and who knows, it might just give some of the films in my top ten a run for their money…

What are your favorite movies based on the works of Shakespeare?  Do you buy into the Oxfordian Theory?  Let us know on the forum!

* I wasn’t mocking, by the way.  That was an actual quote from lesson plans that Sony Pictures is trying to distribute to schools across the country to coincide with the release of Anonymous.  And we wonder why American education is in the toilet…

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