Shakespeare on DVD at GreenCine, annotated

List creator: kaream Created on: December 23, 2007 - 9:04 PM PST Description: It's hard to search for Shakespeare plays, so this list as of 12/07 may help. Alphabetized by main word in title; renamed adaptations such as Throne of Blood are mentioned but not listed. To see GC's own list, click any 'Shakespeare'-as-genre link.

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	movie title	related list	average rating	MPAA rating	watch	rent	buy
	Antony & Cleopatra (1974)
TRAGEDY: Royal Shakespeare Company: Richard Johnson, Janet Suzman; dir John Scoffield. --- {GC returns no entry for ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL.} --- {Note: Since GC listings are constantly changing, this list will gradually go out of date. Also note that Wikipedia has an exhaustive article, 'Shakespeare on screen', with links to specific films.}
	The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra (1981)
TRAGEDY: Bard Productions, a low-budget series. Timothy Dalton, Lynn Redgrave; dir Lawrence Carra. IMDb lists as 1983; this is *not* the 1981 BBC Colin Blakely/Jane Lapotaire/Jonathan Miller version.
	As You Like It (1936)			Not Rated
COMEDY: Elisabeth Bergner, Laurence Olivier; dir Paul Czinner.
	As You Like It (2007)
COMEDY: Bryce Dallas Howard; dir Kenneth Branagh. Reset in 19th C Japan. --- {GC returns no entries for THE COMEDY OF ERRORS; CORIOLANUS; or CYMBELINE -- but see 'Theatre of Blood' re the latter.}
	Hamlet (Criterion Collection) (1948)
TRAGEDY: Laurence Olivier, also dir. --- {For related films also see 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead', 'Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Hamlet', 'Strange Brew', 'Let the Devil Wear Black', 'The Bad Sleep Well', 'Renaissance Man'.}
	Hamlet (1964)			Not Rated
TRAGEDY: Richard Burton; dir John Gielgud. Filmed stage play, street clothes, bare props.
	Hamlet (1964)
TRAGEDY: Russian, w/ subtitles -- aka 'Gamlet'.
	Hamlet (1990)
TRAGEDY: Mel Gibson; dir Franco Zeffirelli.
	Hamlet (1990)
TRAGEDY: Joseph Papp NY Shakespeare Festival: Kevin Kline, also dir. Filmed stage play.
	Hamlet (Special Edition) (Disc 1 of 2) (1996)
	Hamlet (Special Edition) (Disc 2 of 2) (1996)
TRAGEDY: Kenneth Branagh, also dir. Unabridged text.
	Hamlet (2000)
TRAGEDY: Ethan Hawke; dir Michael Almereyda. Reset in contemporary NYC.
	Hamlet (2000)			Not Rated
TRAGEDY: Campbell Scott, also dir.
	Hamlet by Brook / Brook by Brook (2001)			Not Rated
TRAGEDY: Adrian Lester; dir Peter Brook.
	Henry IV (1984)
This is the Pirandello play that's (not) about Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV; it has nothing to do with Shakespeare. GC returns no entries for the Shakespeare pair of plays --- {but see 'My Own Private Idaho'.}
	Henry V (Criterion Collection) (1944)
HISTORY: Laurence Olivier, also dir.
	Henry V (1989)
HISTORY: Kenneth Branagh, also dir. --- {GC returns no entries for the HENRY VI trilogy -- but see 'Theatre of Blood'.}
	Henry VIII (2003)			Not Rated
This is written for TV; it is *not* the Shakespeare play, for which GC shows no entries. (Nor, of course, is 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII', a different TV miniseries.) --- {GC returns no entry for KING JOHN.}
	Julius Caesar (1953)			Not Rated
TRAGEDY: Marlon Brando, James Mason, John Gielgud; dir Joseph L Mankiewicz. --- {Also see 'Theatre of Blood'.}
	Julius Caesar (1970)
TRAGEDY: Charlton Heston, Jason Robards; dir Stuart Burge.
	Julius Caesar (1984)			Not Rated
This is Handel's opera, *not* based on Shakespeare. --- {GC returns no entry for KING JOHN.}
	King Lear (1970)
TRAGEDY: Russian, w/ subtitles. --- {For related films also see 'Ran', 'A Thousand Acres', 'King of Texas'.}
	King Lear (1974)
TRAGEDY: James Earl Jones; dir Edwin Sherin.
	The Tragedy of King Lear (1982)			Not Rated
TRAGEDY: Bard Productions, a low-budget series. Mike Kellin, dir Al Cooke (?).
	King Lear (1984)
TRAGEDY: Laurence Olivier; dir Michael Elliott.
	Love's Labour's Lost (2000)
COMEDY: Alessandro Nivola, Alicia Silverstone; dir Kenneth Branagh. Reset as 1930s musical.
	Macbeth (1971)
TRAGEDY: Jon Finch; dir Roman Polanski. --- {For related films also see 'Throne of Blood', 'Scotland PA'.}
	Macbeth (1978)
TRAGEDY: Royal Shakespeare Company: Ian McKellen; dir Philip Casson. Filmed stage play.
	The Tragedy of Macbeth (1981)			Not Rated
TRAGEDY: Jeremy Brett, Piper Laurie; dir A A Seidelman. Possibly BBC, but almost certainly Bard series -- IMDb doesn't specify. (Both 'complete' series date mostly from early- to mid-'80s).
	Macbeth (1997)
TRAGEDY: Sean Pertwee, Greta Scacchi; dir Michael Bogdanov. Cut down for school use, but receives appreciative reviews.
	Macbeth (2006)
TRAGEDY: A reinterpretation set in contemporary Melbourne.
	Macbeth (1987)			Not Rated
This is Verdi's opera (based on Shakespeare), not the play.
	Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (1992)			Not Rated
This is a movie of Shostakovich's opera; nothing to do with Shakespeare. It's a terrific Czech production (NC-17) excellently lip-synched to the definitive Rostropovich recording, with some minor cuts. Highly recommended -- it doesn't belong on this list since the name won't be confused with Shakespeare, but I couldn't resist including it anyway.
	The Merchant of Venice (2001)			Not Rated
COMEDY: (Yes, THE MERCHANT is officially one of the comedies.) Royal Shakespeare Company: Henry Goodman, Derbhle Crotty; dir Trevor Nunn. Reset in 1930s Germany. --- {Also see 'Theatre of Blood'.} --- {GC returns no entry for MEASURE FOR MEASURE.}
	The Merchant of Venice (2004)
COMEDY: Al Pacino, Lynn Collins; dir Michael Radford. Lots of irrelevant bare breasts to obtain an R rating to juice up the boxoffice, justified by an obscure fact in Venetian history.
	The Merry Wives of Windsor (1970)
COMEDY: Bard Productions, a low-budget series. Leon Charles; dir Jack Manning. --- {Note: Verdi's opera 'Falstaff', not listed at GC, is based primarily on 'Merry Wives', as well as on the histories 'Richard II', 'Henry IV' and 'Henry V'.}
	A Midsummer Night's Dream (1996)
COMEDY: Royal Shakespeare Company: Desmond Barrit, Lindsay Duncan; dir Adrian Noble. Reset in late 20th C. --- {For related films also see 'A Midsummer Night's Rave', 'Dead Poets Society'.}
	A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)
COMEDY: Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer; dir Michael Hoffman. Reset near turn of 20th C.
	Much Ado About Nothing (1974)			Not Rated
COMEDY: Joseph Papp NY Shakespeare Festival: Sam Waterston, Kathleen Widdoes; dir Nick Havinga. Reset in turn of 20th C South.
	Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
COMEDY: Kenneth Branagh, also dir; Emma Thompson. Contemporary but neverland setting.
	Othello (1922)			Not Rated
TRAGEDY: Emil Jannings, Werner Krauss; dir Dimitri Buchowetzki; German/silent. --- {Also see 'Theatre of Blood'.}
	Othello (1952)			Not Rated
TRAGEDY: Orson Welles, also dir; Micheál MacLiammóir as Iago. --- {GC doesn't have the famous 1965 Laurence Olivier (dir Stuart Burge) Othello, out of print and unavailable on DVD; Olivier looks like he's been painted black from head to toe and makes Al Jolson 'Mammy' eyes, delivering all his lines with a hokey and unintelligible 'African' accent.}
	The Tragedy of Othello (1982)
TRAGEDY: Bard Productions, a low-budget series. William Marshall, Ron Moody; dir Franklin Melton.
	Othello (1990)			Not Rated
TRAGEDY: Royal Shakespeare Company: Willard White, Ian McKellen; dir Trevor Nunn. Reset in U.S. Civil War.
	Othello (1995)
TRAGEDY: Laurence Fishburne, Kenneth Branagh; dir Oliver Parker.
	O (Othello) (Disc 1 of 2) (2000)
	O (Othello) (Disc 2 of 2) (2000)
TRAGEDY: A reinterpretation with a high school basketball player.
	Othello (2001)
TRAGEDY: A reinterpretation as modern crime drama. --- {GC returns no entry for PERICLES PRINCE OF TYRE.}
	The Tragedy of King Richard II (1982)			Not Rated
HISTORY, despite its name: Bard Productions, a low-budget series. Paul Shenar; dir William Woodman.
	William Shakespeare's Richard The Second (2001)
HISTORY: Matte Osian, dir John Farrell. Reset in modern military dress.
	Richard III (1912)
HISTORY: Frederick Warde; dir James Keane. See several useful comments about this very early silent film at IMDb. --- {For related films also see 'Looking for Richard', 'Tower of London', 'The Goodbye Girl', 'Theatre of Blood'.}
	Richard III (Criterion Collection) (1955)
HISTORY: Laurence Olivier; also dir.
	Richard III (1995)
HISTORY: Ian McKellen; dir Richard Loncraine. Reset in 1930s.
	Romeo and Juliet (1936)
TRAGEDY: Leslie Howard, Norma Shearer; dir George Cukor. --- {For related films also see 'West Side Story', 'Tromeo and Juliet', 'Romeo Must Die'.}
	Romeo and Juliet (1968)
TRAGEDY: Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey; dir Franco Zeffirelli. Hussey doesn't stress the 'art' and insert a comma after 'thou' like some high school players, but she does stress 'WHEREfor' instead of 'ROmeo' -- this can work, if you're paying attention.
	The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (1983)			Not Rated
TRAGEDY: Bard Productions, a low-budget series. Alex Hyde-White, Blanche Baker; dir William Woodman. IMDb gives date as 1982.
	William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996)
TRAGEDY: Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes; dir Baz Luhrmann. Reset in modern Italy.
	Romeo and Juliet Get Married (2005)
TRAGEDY: a romantic comedy generally based on Shakespeare's story; Brazilian
	Romeo and Juliet (1954)
This is Prokofiev's ballet, not the play -- but closely structured on it.
	The Taming of the Shrew (1967)			Not Rated
COMEDY: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton; dir Franco Zeffirelli. --- {For related films also see 'Kiss Me Kate', '10 Things I Hate About You', 'Deliver Us From Eva'.}
	The Taming of the Shrew (1983)
COMEDY: Bard Productions, a low-budget series. Karen Austin, Franklyn Seales; dir John Allison.
	The Tempest			Not Rated
COMEDY: Bard Productions, a low-budget series. Efrem Zimbalist Jr.; dir William Woodman, 1983. This is GC's only listed version of the play. --- {For a related film also see 'Forbidden Planet'.}
	The Tempest (1979)			Not Rated
Only loosely based on Shakespeare's story.
	The Tempest (1982)
Very loosely based on Shakespeare's story.
	Tempest (1928)			Not Rated
This has nothing to do with Shakespeare.
	Titus (1999)
TRAGEDY: (TITUS ANDRONICUS): Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange; dir Julie Taymor. --- {Also see 'Theatre of Blood'.} --- {GC returns no entries for these TRAGEDIES: TIMON OF ATHENS, or TROILUS AND CRESSIDA -- but see 'Theatre of Blood' re the latter.}
	Twelfth Night (1996)
COMEDY: BBC series: Toby Stephens, Imogen Stubbs; dir Trevor Nunn. Reset in 19th C. --- {For a related film also see 'She's the Man'.}
	Twelfth Night (2003)			Not Rated
COMEDY: Modernized setting with Anglo-Indian cast; dir Tim Supple. --- {GC returns no entries for THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA, THE TWO NOBLE KINSMEN, or THE WINTER'S TALE.}