'Shakespeare On Film' Festival at Magic Lantern Video & Book Store

        English poet and playwright William Shakespeare is believed born 23 April 1564 (based on a baptismal record of 26 April) in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. His father John was a successful local tradesman; his mother Mary Arden was of the gentry. Will married Anne Hathaway on 28 November 1582 – he was 18, she was 26 and 3 months pregnant. His first child, Susanna, was baptised at Stratford on 26 May 1583; twin children – son Hamnet & daughter Judith – were baptised on 2 February 1585; Hamnet died in 1596.
        Will's early writing career is undocumented, but his first authenticated plays are dated to 1590. Scholars argue over the details, but Will wrote about thirty-eight plays, about 154 sonnets, and a variety of other poems. Will was a popular actor and playwright (then often a collaborative job) in London, known to have moved to Bishopsgate area of London in 1598. He was member and part-owner of the theater company The Lord Chamberlain's Men (named for its patron), which evolved after the death of Elizabeth I into The King's Men (named for patron King James I).
        Will and the Lord Chamberlain's Men operated at the Curtain Theater [est. 1577] in Shoreditch, London from 1597 to 1599, when they moved to the newly-built Globe Theater in Southwark, London. (Archeological remains of the Curtain Theater were discovered in June 2012: see news story.) The theater company owned the Globe Theater: built in 1599, destroyed by fire in 1613 (ignited from a cannon-blast during a play), rebuilt in 1614, closed by edict in 1642, torn down in 1644.

A successful career in the theater provided funds enough for Will to own a house in Blackfriars, London and the second-largest house in Stratford. He seems to have retired to Stratford in 1613, where he died on 23 April 1616. He was buried in the chancel of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon; his widow died in 1623.

William Shakespeare was popular and successful in his lifetime, but the closing of all theaters in Britain in 1642 left playwrights & actors of the time in obscurity. Will's reputation was restored in the XIXth Century, largely by touring acting companies & actors such as Thomas Keene, so that Will is now generally considered the greatest writer in the English language. He is also considered the English national poet, often referred to as the 'Bard of Avon'.
While a few of Shakespeare's plays were published earlier, the basis for most texts is the posthumous First Folio of 1623. (The precise wording and spelling and punctuation of works of the time are often uncertain.) All but two of his sonnets were published in 1609.

In modern times, Shakespeare's plays remain the most-often produced stage works around the world. Projects exist to re-publish complete [perhaps definitive] texts – Arden, Oxford, Folger Library editions, and the Arkangel audio recordings – and to film all the plays – a joint effort of A.B.C. & the B.B.C. Most of Shakespeare's works are available as online etexts, of varying quality.

"ShakespeaRe-Told" TV miniseries [B.B.C. Nov 2005]

Four 90-minute modern interpretations of Shakespeare plays, for those who like Shakespeare Lite:
B.B.C. Worldwide widescreen color DVD set [7/2007] 2 disks for $17.99
full credits at IMDb • official movie site
"Much Ado About Nothing" { IMDb } Tensions mount in the TV studio when a take-charge news anchorwoman's co-anchor is replaced with a man from her past. Directed by Brian Percival; adapted by David Nicholls; starring Sarah Parish, Damian Lewis, Tom Ellis & Billie Piper; won B.A.F.T.A. TV Award for Best Director
"Macbeth" { IMDb } A chef and his restaurant-hostess wife resort to murder to take ownership of a high-class Glaswegian restaurant. Directed by Mark Brozel; adapted by Peter Moffat; starring James McAvoy, Joseph Millson, Vincent Regan, Richard Armitage & Jo-Anne Stockham
"The Taming of The Shrew" { IMDb } An overly-ambitious M.P. agrees to marry a titled Earl in order to advance toward her goal of becoming party leader. Directed by David Richards; adapted by Sally Wainwright; starring Shirley Henderson, Rufus Sewell, Jaime Murray, David Mitchell, Simon Chandler, Federico Zanni, Santiago Cabrera, Stephen Tompkinson, Twiggy Lawson & Alex Giannini
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" { IMDb } An engagement celebration goes awry when the girl declares her love for somebody else; the quarreling faeries of the garden decide to correct matters by using love potions, but the magical elixers are mis-directed. Directed by Ed Fraiman; adapted by Peter Bowker; starring Bill Paterson, Imelda Staunton, Lennie James, Sharon Small, Dean Lennox Kelly, Johnny Vegas, Rupert Evans, Michelle Bonnard, William Ash, Zoe Tapper, Simon Day & Mina Anwar

"Shakespearean Tragedy (A Comedy)" animated short [Israel July 2010]
Very well made Claymation-style animated short film about Will Shakespeare and writer’s block
by 24-year-old student Anna Cohen of Emuna College in Jerusalem
watch [5:31] free online at YouTube

"10 Things I Hate About You" [Disney/Touchstone March 1999] /tt0147800/
starring Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles

"The Merchant of Venice"
[A.B.C/I.T.V. tv movie 1973]

Set in Victorian England. Adapted & directed by John Sichel; starring Laurence Olivier, Anthony Nicholls, Jeremy Brett, Joan Plowright, Louise Purnell & Michael Jayston
Live-Artisan color VHS [5/96] out of stock/used
full credits at IMDb
"The Merchant of Venice" [Royal National Theater filmed play 2001]
Set in England before World War II. Directed by Trevor Nunn; starring David Bamber, Henry Goodman, Raymond Coulthard, Derbhle Crotty, Peter De Jersey, Andrew French, Gabrielle Jourdan & Alexander Hanson
Image Ent. widescreen color DVD [5/2004] for $22.99
full credits at IMDb

"A Midsummer Night's Dream"
[Warner Bros. Oct 1935]
Co-directed by William Dieterle & Max Reinhardt; starring James Cagney, Joe E. Brown, Dick Powell,
Mickey Rooney, Victor Jory, Ian Hunter, Verree Teasdale, Olivia de Havilland, Frank McHugh,
Arthur Treacher, Billy Barty & Anita Louise; Oscar nominations for Best Picture & Best Assistant Director,
won Oscars for Best Cinematography & Best Editing
full credits at IMDb

"Pyramus & Thisbe" skit from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' [ITV UK, ABC USA 1964]
segment from the TV special "Around The Beatles" honoring Shakespeare's 400th birthday;
starring John, Paul, George & Ringo, with Trevor Peacock • credits at IMDb
watch [8:04] free online at YouTube

"Romeo and Juliet" [M.G.M. Sept 1936]
Directed by George Cukor; starring Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, John Barrymore, Edna May Oliver,
Basil Rathbone, C. Aubrey Smith, Andy Devine, Henry Kolker, Robert Warwick & Reginald Denny;
Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actress (NS), Best Supporting Actor (BR), Best Art Direction
full credits at IMDb

sequel "Gnomeo and Juliet 2: Sherlock Gnomes"

[Starz Animation 2013? release]
Announced 3/2012: Elton John is signed for the sequel, which will find Gnomeo and Juliet teaming up
with 'the greatest ornamental detective' to solve a crime or something.

"Romeo and Juliet In Yiddish" [indep July 2011]

A witty and bittersweet film about the Chabads and the Satmars, two rival sects of ultra-Orthodox Jews who face off over their children producing a Yiddish-language version of Shakespeare's play.
Co-produced, written & directed by Eve Annenberg; starring Lazer Weiss, Melissa Weisz, Mendy Zafir, Bubbles Yoeli Weiss, Josef Yossi Friedman, Eve Annenberg, Isaac Schoenfeld. Yelena Shmulenson, Solman Wiser & Luzer Twersky
DVD/Blu-ray not yet available
full credits at IMDb • watch official trailer on YouTube

"Romeo & Juliet" [2012?]

Announced 6/2011: Adaptation of Shakespeare's play by Julian Fellowes, to be directed by Carlo Carlei; starring
Hailee Steinfeld, Douglas Booth, Holly Hunter, Paul Giamatti, Ed Westwick & Kodi Smit-McPhee • latest info at IMDb

"Rosaline" [Fox 2000 2013?]

Announced 7/2011: Adaptation of a yet-to-be-published novel [Simon Pulse Spring 2012] by newcomer
Rebecca Serle, to be directed by Michael Sucsy. The story is adapted from Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet"
and centers on 17-year-old Rosaline Capulet, who is in love with her best friend, Rob Monteg, who is stolen
away by Rosaline’s beautiful cousin, Juliet; Rob eventually wants to win Rosie back, but she already has her eye
on somebody else • latest info at IMDb

"The Life and Death of King John" [BBC-TV Nov 1984]

A performance of the 1598 stageplay by Wm. Shakespeare; directed by David Giles; starring Leonard Rossiter, Mary Morris, George Costigan, Charles Kay, Jonathan Coy, Luc Owen, Gorden Kaye & Claire Bloom
not available on DVD; full credits at IMDb

"Much Ado About Nothing" [1984 TV] filmed play, produced by Joseph Papp /tt0087752/

"Much Ado About Nothing" [festival circuit 2012, LionsGate June 2013?]

Joss Whedon's 2012 Much Ado About Nothing movie

A modern version of Shakespeare’s play that was filmed in black and white in only 12 days, entirely on location in Santa Monica, California; Co-produced by Joss Whedon & wife Kai Cole & others; written & directed by Joss Whedon; starring Amy Acker, Emma Bates, Spencer Treat Clark, Alexis Denisof, Reed Diamond, Nathan Fillion, Clark Gregg, Ashley Johnson, Nick Kocher, Fran Kranz, Tom Lenk, Riki Lindhome, Sean Maher, Brian McElhaney, Paul M. Meston, Jillian Morgese, Romy Rosemont, Joshua Zar
DVD/Blu-ray not yet available • full credits at IMDb • official movie site

"Caesar Must Die (Cesare Deve Morire)" [Italy 2012?]

Written by the Taviani Brothers with Fabio Cavalli; film documents a staging of Shakespeare’s "Julius Caesar"
inside Rome’s high-security Rebibbia prison; featuring a cast of actual inmates, with Cosimo Rega, Salvatore
Striano, Giovanni Arcuri & Antonio Frasca; won the Golden Bear for Best Film at 62nd Berlin International
Film Festival • full credits at IMDb

"As You Like It" [Fox Nov 1936] /tt0027311/
In this first film version of Shakespeare's classic pastoral comedy, Sir Laurence Olivier stars as Orlando while Elisabeth Bergner is Rosalind
http://www.amazon.com/As-You-Like-Henry-Ainley/dp/6305470332/
watch [1:36:24] free online at Internet Archive

"Viola" [Argentina/Cinema Guild 2013?]

Viola 2013 movie by Matías Piñeiro of Argentina

The basic story is 'a riff on' Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night", which is also the play-within-the-movie; limited theatrical release to be followed by release on DVD & VOD Written & directed by Matías Piñeiro; starring María Villar, Agustina Muñoz, Elisa Carricajo, Romina Paula, Gabi Saidón, Laura Paredes, Julia Martínez Rubio, Esteban Bigliardi, Julián Tello, Pablo Sigal, Alberto Ajaka
DVD/Blu-ray not yet available • full credits at IMDb

The Henry Plays
Henry VI, part 1 [circa 1591]
Henry VI, part 2 [circa 1590]
Henry VI, part 3 [circa 1591]
Henry IV, part 1 [1596]
Henry IV, part 2 [circa 1597-99]
Henry V [1599]

"Richard II" [NBC Universal TV / WNET-TV / BBC2 2012?]
Adapted & directed by Rupert Goold, starring Patrick Stewart /tt1978517/

	"Shakespeare On Film" [1977] by Jack J. Jorgens Univ Press of America 8¾x6 pb [4/91] for $47.00 IN Univ Press pb [11/79] out of print/used
	"Filming Shakespeare's Plays: The Adaptations of Laurence Olivier, Orson Welles, Peter Brook & Akira Kurosawa" [1988] by Anthony Davies Cambridge Univ Press 9x6 pb [6/90] out of print/used Cambridge Univ Press hardcover [9/88] out of print/used Magic Lantern's Orson Welles [1915-85] Page Magic Lantern's Akira Kurosawa [1910-88] Page
	"Shakespeare On Screen: An International Filmography & Videography, 1899-1989" [1991] by Kenneth S. Rothwell & Annabelle Henkin Melzer Neal-Schuman Publrs 11¼x8¾ hardcover [2/91] out of print/used
	"Shakespeare and The Moving Image: The Plays On Film & Television" [1994] Edited by Anthony Davies & Stanley Wells Cambridge Univ Press 9x6 pb [10/94] for $27.99 Cambridge Univ Press 9½x6¼ hardcover [10/94] out of print/used
	"Shakespeare, The Movie: Popularizing The Plays on Film, TV, and Video" [1997] Edited by Lynda E. Boose & Richard Burt Routledge 9x6¼ pb [11/97] for $39.95 Routledge library hardcover [11/97] out of print/used
	"Shakespeare On Film: Contemporary Critical Essays" [1998] Edited by Robert Shaughnessy Palgrave Macmillan 8½x5½ pb [11/98] for $35.00 Palgrave Macmillan 8¾x5¾ hardcover [11/98] for $96.99
	"Orson Welles, Shakespeare, and Popular Culture" [1999] by Michael Anderegg Columbia Univ Press 9x6 pb [1/99] for $25.00 Columbia Univ Press 9½x6½ hardcover [1/99] for $77.50 Magic Lantern's Orson Welles [1915-85] Page
	"A History of Shakespeare On Screen: A Century of Film & Television" [1999] by Kenneth S. Rothwell Cambridge Univ Press 9x6 2nd edition pb [10/2004] for $29.99 Cambridge Univ Press 9¼x6¼ hardcover [10/2004] for $75.00
	"Shakespeare In Ihe Movies: From Ihe Silent Era To Shakespeare In Love" [2000] by Douglas Brode Berkley Trade 9x5¾ pb [11/2001] for $19.00 Oxford Univ Press 9¼x6½ hardcover [4/2000] for $44.00
	"Interpreting Shakespeare On Screen" [2000] by Deborah Cartmell Palgrave Macmillan 8½x6¼ pb [9/2000] for $35.00 Palgrave Macmillan 8¾x5½ hardcover [9/2000] for $99.25
	"The Cambridge Companion To Shakespeare On Film" [2000] Edited by Russell Jackson Cambridge Univ Press 9x6 pb [10/2000] for $24.99 Cambridge Univ Press 9x5¾ hardcover [10/2000] for $75.00
	"Shakespeare In The Cinema" [2001] by Stephen M. Buhler S.U.N.Y. Press 9x6 pb [2/2007] for $21.95 S.U.N.Y. Press 9x6¼ hardcover [12/2001] for $59.50
	"Shakespeare On Film" [2005] by Judith Buchanan Longman 9¼x6½ pb [9/2005] for $14.00
	"A Concise Companion To Shakespeare On Screen" [2006] by Diana E. Henderson Blackwell Publng 9x5¾ pb [1/2006] for $30.95 Blackwell Publng 9x6 hardcover [1/2006] out of print/used
	"Shakespeare For Screenwriters: Timeless Writing Tips From The Master of Drama" [2013] by J.M. Evenson (who teaches at Pepperdine University in Malibu) Kindle Edition from Michael Wiese Prodns [10/2013] for $11.49 Michael Wiese Prodns 9x6 pb [8/2013] for $16.06

	"Shakespeare: The Animated Tales" [BBC2-TV 1992-94] Twelve half-hour episodes, in many styles: "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "As You Like It", "Hamlet", "Julius Caesar", "Macbeth", "Othello", "Richard III", "Romeo & Juliet", "Taming of The Shrew", "The Tempest", "Twelfth Night" & "The Winter's Tale" Ambrose color DVD [7/2004] 4 discs for $71.99 full credits at IMDb
	"Silent Shakespeare" [2000 compilation] Image Ent. silent tinted & b&w DVD [6/2000] for $26.99 Image Ent. silent tinted & b&w VHS [1/2002] out of stock/rare includes digital restorations by the British Film Institute of "King John" [Britain 1899 fragment] starring Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree; "The Tempest" [Britain 1908 short]; "A Midsummer Night's Dream" [USA 1909]; "King Lear" [Italy 1910], "Twelfth Night" [USA 1910 short]; "The Merchant of Venice" [Italy 1910 short]; & "Richard III" [Britain 1911] starring Sir Frank Benson
	"The Reduced Shakespeare Company: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)" [P.B.S. 2000] The Reduced Shakespeare Company is comprised of three actors – Adam Long, Reed Martin & Austin Tichenor – who perform 37 of Shakespeare's works in under two hours. Produced & directed by Paul Kafno Acorn Media color DVD [5/2003] for $19.99 Acorn Media color VHS [7/2001] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb • official website
	"William Shakespeare: A Life of Drama" [A&E Biography 2004] A&E color DVD [8/2004] for $21.99 not listed at IMDb
	"In Search of Shakespeare" [P.B.S. miniseries Feb 2004] Written by Michael Wood; directed by David Wallace P.B.S. color DVD [2/2004] for $35.99 P.B.S. color VHS [2/2004] 2 tapes out of stock/used full credits at IMDb • P.B.S. official website
	"Olivier's Shakespeare" [2006 compilation] Criterion DVD [8/2006] 3 disks for $71.99 includes "Henry V" [1944], "Hamlet" [1948] & "Richard III" [1955]
	"Shakespeare Collection DVD Box Set" [2007 compilation] Warner Home Video b&w/color DVD set [8/2007] 5 disks for $53.99 includes "A Midsummer Night's Dream" [1935] with James Cagney; 2-disk "Romeo and Juliet" [1936] starring Norma Shearer; "Othello" [1965] starring Laurence Olivier; and "Hamlet" [1996] by Kenneth Branagh

Magic Lantern Video & Book Store'Shakespeare On Film' Festival

Magic Lantern Video & Book Store
'Shakespeare On Film' Festival