Shakespeare on Film

A selection of Shakespeare's works adapted for the big screen. Some adaptations are true to the bard's text while other take a more playful approach.
Updated October 2, 2022
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Romeo + Juliet [1996 film]
Baz Luhrmann
Coriolanus [2011 film]
Ralph Fiennes
Hamlet
Olivier, Laurence
DVD
Shakespeare's melancholy Dane is tasked with avenging his father's death by killing his uncle, but finds himself delayed in carrying it out by quirks of circumstance and his own complex, brooding nature.
Much ado about nothing
Branagh, Kenneth.
DVD
Tale of love and jealousy set in Italy.
Hamlet
Barron, David.
DVD
Murder and violence, revenge and intrigue, sex and desire, paranoia and madness. The heady brew of passion and emotion that makes up Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet has intoxicated audiences of all ages. The story of the Prince of Denmark, who seeks revenge for his father's murder at the hands of his...
Macbeth [1948 film]
Orson Welles
Romeo and Juliet
Zeffirelli, Franco.
DVD
A young couple shares love despite prohibitive conflict between their families in this adaptation of Shakespeare's classic play.
10 things I hate about you
Stiles, Julia
DVD
A smart, hip look at dating in the nineties and the extremes some guys will go to just to get the girl they want. A retelling of Shakespeare's play, The Taming of the Shrew.
A modern interpretation of Taming of the Shrew set in an American high school.
Titus [1999 film]
Julie Taymor
An adaptation of the revenge tragedy Titus Andronicus.
West Side Story [1961 film]
Robert Wise
Inspired by Romero & Juliet
The lion king
Allers, Roger.
DVD
Contains new musical number not in the original version and remastered animation.
Inspired by Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Shakespeare In Love [1998 film]
John Madden
DVD
When Will Shakespeare needs passionate inspiration to break a bad case of writer's block, a secret romance with the beautiful Lady Viola starts the words flowing like never before!
A creative imagining of a love affair of Shakespeare's that inspired his play Romero & Juliet.
She's the man
Bynes, Amanda
DVD
A simple case of assumed identity snowballs into a romantic mix-up of epic proportions in director Andy Fickman's contemporary teen take on William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Viola Hastings (Amanda Bynes) has good reason for wanting to conceal her identity upon arriving at Illyria Prep School, and...
Loosely based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and set in a modern day boarding school.
A Thousand Acres [1997 film]
Jocelyn Moorhouse
DVD
A father has decided to divide his thousand-acre farm between his three daughters, until a man comes into the picture and changes the meaning of sisterhood. Based on the novel by Jane Smiley, which was based on 'King Lear' by Shakespeare.
A modern-day retelling of King Lear

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