Each year upon this April month so fair
We celebrate the birth of one great bard.
In school we read his plays, so fine, with care.
Or watched them when the reading got too hard.
Hollywood could not resist his sage words
And cast celebrities to play his parts.
So we flocked to watch Leo, like the birds.
And he and Claire Danes won over our hearts.
But not every film always did the trick.
For some were as ill-conceived as my rhymes.
Sometimes the pictures were not good to pick.
You might as well have gone to Medieval Times.
So here we will review these flicks so poor.
We hope it does not prove to be a bore.
Yes, that is a terrible sonnet. But, was it as terrible as some of Hollywood's attempts to adapt Shakespeare's plays? For every Romeo and Juliet (1968) or even Romeo + Juliet (1996), there's a Romeo and Juliet (2013). You know, the one where Brody from Homeland was Lord Capulet, Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl was Tybalt, and a pre-"Love Myself" Hailee Steinfeld was Juliet.
Shakespeare can be intimidating for filmmakers, with all that verse. Sometimes they just do away with the complicated language and use his stories, which are often elemental in their simplicity. Take, for instance, all those teen movies you loved in the late '90s and early '00s. Other times, movies try to keep all those highfalutin words, but get rid of the stuffy costumes. See Baz Luhrmann's aforementioned Romeo. There is no exact formula for getting Shakespeare right, however; some fail miserably while others succeed.
Here are some examples of both the bad and the good.
Men of Respect (1991)
Macbeth — robbed of its Shakespearean dialect — becomes a rote mob drama in this movie starring John Turturro. Turturro isn’t playing a Scottish warrior aiming for a throne. Instead, he’s mafia hitman, Mike Battaglia.
Damning review: “Talent abounds in Men of Respect, but it seems misdirected, defused, wasted.” — Michael Wilmington, The Los Angeles Times
Macbeth (2006)
Before Sam Worthington starred in Avatar, he also took on the Bard’s murderous striver. This Australian film gave Macbeth an emo haircut, employed all too much shaky camera action, and dressed its witches in schoolgirl uniforms. It strives, painfully, for coolness.
Damning review: “Unfortunately, Romper Stomper director Geoffrey Wright’s take on the play fails to do it justice: both lumpen and flashy, it convinces neither as drama nor as stylistic exercise.” — Ben Walters, Time Out
As You Like It (2007)
Kenneth Branagh is widely regarded as one of Hollywood’s best interpreters of Shakespeare. However, his take on the delightful cross-dressing comedy As You Like It was not very well-received. Branagh decided to stage the action in colonial 19th Century Japan. Curiously, he cast no Japanese actors in the lead roles.
Damning review: “Mr. Branagh has teased out every manly rivalry and preserved every hey-nonny-nonny of the kooks in the Forest of Arden, but slashed passages of the repartee that defines Rosalind.” — Virginia Heffernan, The New York Times
The Tempest (2010)
Helen Mirren as Prospera (rather than Prospero) is an inspired choice. But reviewers concurred that Julie Taymor’s tendency for visual excess got the better of her here. Take for instance, the corny, rock driven sequence when a fiery Ariel (Ben Whishaw) describes creating the titular tempest.
Damning review: “The special effects are intrusive and anything but magical and the text is rather curiously edited.” — Philip French, The Guardian
Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)
It’s Romeo and Juliet — with gnomes and Elton John music! Honestly, this one deserves props for the puns alone, but the happy ending is really disappointing. We're holding out for the dark and gritty Gnomeo & Juliet reboot.
Damning review: “ Gnomeo and Juliet isn't exactly the worst movie to ever get a theatrical release, but it is one of the most mystifying, combining Shakespeare references, slapstick and Elton John's back catalogue in a way nobody ever expected or asked for.” — Katey Rich, CinemaBlend
Romeo and Juliet (2013)
There are two Romeo and Juliet movies worth considering. Franco Zeffirelli’s unimpeachably classic take on the tragic romance, and Baz Luhrmann’s gonzo, Leo DiCaprio-starring interpretation for a new generation. Why, with these in existence, would anyone try to take on this play again? Well, you may want to ask director Carlo Carlei and writer Julian Fellowes. (Yes, the Downton Abbey guy.) They attempted in 2013, casting pretty young things Douglas Booth and Hailee Steinfeld as the lovers. Though the production employed traditional costumes and settings, Fellowes took great liberties with the dialogue. I mean, what’s Romeo and Juliet without “Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?” While the cast was stacked with some accomplished actors, other choices were, well, odd. Chuck Bass as Tybalt anyone?
Damning review: “Shorn of eroticism, intensity or purpose, apart from being the first feature backed by enterprising luxury brand Swarovski, it strikes familiar beats in a manner more strained than inspired.” — Justin Chang, Variety
Cymbeline (2015)
Cymbeline is already one of the Bard’s more obscure plays. Reading the synopsis of this later work you might think it sounds like a mishmash of what came before. It contains secret lovers, a scheming queen, and even a drug that makes it looks like you are dead. So it was unlikely that a movie of Cymbeline was going to be entirely successful, but Michael Almereyda gave it a shot. Working with Ethan Hawke, who also starred in his 2000 Hamlet, Almereyda set it in the world of biker gangs, and used the original text. The result was ponderous, and the lack of trained actors didn’t help. Sorry, Dakota Johnson.
Damning review: “In Michael Almereyda’s new adaptation of Cymbeline, one of William Shakespeare’s more troublesome works, almost nothing seems to click.” — Robbie Collin, The Telegraph
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)
You don't need modern-day special effects to bring the magic of Midsummer to the screen. The stars of yore do that plenty well in Max Reinhardt's version. Olivia de Havilland, Mickey Rooney, and James Cagney may not have been famous as they once were, but you'll see why they were so great. De Havilland is the lovesick (and short) Hermia, Rooney is the impish fairy Puck, and Cagney is hilarious as the player Bottom.
Words of praise: "If this is no masterpiece, it is a brave, beautiful and interesting effort to subdue the most difficult of Shakespeare's works, and it has magical moments when it comes all alive with what you feel when you read the play." — Andre Sennwald, The New York Times
Hamlet (1948)
You have to have at least one Laurence Olivier performance on your list, and it might as well be his Hamlet. Olivier is still the defining Shakespearean screen actor. Yes, it’s in black and white. Yes, it’s long. Go with it. You won’t regret it.
Words of praise: “...the filmed "Hamlet" of Laurence Olivier gives absolute proof that these classics are magnificiently suited to the screen.” — Bosley Crowther, The New York Times
West Side Story (1961)
Plenty of other works have taken inspiration from Romeo and Juliet, but perhaps none has done it better than West Side Story. In fact, the Sharks and the Jets are nearly as iconic as the Montagues and Capulets. Then, Robert Wise transformed the musical into a magnificent film. Sure, Natalie Wood wasn’t really singing, but who cares when you’re crying this much.
Words of praise: “Screen takes on a new dimension in this powerful and sometimes fascinating translation of the Broadway musical to the greater scope of motion pictures.” — Whitney Williams, Variety
Romeo and Juliet (1968)
The Franco Zeffirelli Romeo and Juliet is perhaps the perfect Shakespeare adaptation. It’s traditional, loyal to the text, but still feels innovative and, well, sexy. (Yeah, there’s nudity.) Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting have serious chemistry. If your heart doesn’t swell hearing that theme music, you’re a cold, cold soul.
Words of praise: “It is the sweetest, the most contemporary romance on film this year.” — Renata Adler, The New York Times
Richard III (1995)
This Richard III is ingeniously set in the 1930s, paralleling the rise of the protagonist with the rise of fascism. Ian McKellen is devilish and brilliant as the deformed, historical villain, and the rest of the cast is great as well. You’ve got Kristin Scott Thomas as Lady Anne, Jim Broadbent as Buckingham, and a pre-Tony Stark Robert Downey Jr. as Lord Rivers. It’s stylish and super creepy. Watch it if you love House of Cards.
Words of praise: “That extra measure of repulsive detail scuttles through the entire film, making this "Richard III" not just a seductive telling of Shakespeare's story but also a perversely entertaining one.” — Rogert Ebert
Romeo + Juliet (1996)
Baz Luhrmann went brash for this Romeo + Juliet. (Note the plus sign rather than the “and.”) But it’s gaudiness ended up being inspired rather than insipid. And is there a more perfect Romeo than a young Leonardo DiCaprio? No, we think not. Not that Claire Danes isn’t also a wonderfully expressive Juliet. Sure, it feels like a relic of the '90s, but that’s why we love it, Cardigans tunes and all.
Words of praise: “These babes from the TV woods… fill their classic roles with vital passion, speak the Elizabethan verse with unforced grace, find the spirited comedy of the play without losing its tragic fervor and keep their balance when the audacious Australian director Baz Luhrmann (Strictly Ballroom) hurls them into a whirlwind of hardball action, rowdy humor and rapturous romance.” — Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Okay, so it may not be the most prestigious movie on our list, but this teen flick is beloved for a reason. It takes The Taming of the Shrew and makes Katarina, now Kat (Julia Stiles), a high school feminist. Petruchio becomes Patrick (Heath Ledger). He’s dangerous and dreamy. Sure, they aren’t speaking in verse, but the interpretation actually manages to counteract some of the sexism in Shakespeare's play.
Words of praise: “A spirited feminist who doesn't date and sneers at the conformism and idiocy of teen-age social life, she is a breath of fresh air in the stifling materialistic atmosphere of today's Hollywood teen-age movies.” — Stephen Holden, The New York Times
Coriolanus (2011)
Ralph Fiennes did not choose an easy task for his directorial debut. He made Shakespeare’s violent Roman tragedy Coriolanus. However, he pulled it off with aplomb, and even made a Gerard Butler film that isn’t a joke.
Words of praise: “Not since Schindler’s List has Fiennes’s icy stare been put to better use; his eyes seem all the colder for being set in a razored skull, which wears more blood than hair.” — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker
Much Ado About Nothing (2012)
Watching Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing is like stumbling across a production in a park on a gorgeous summer’s day. Okay, the performances aren't be perfect, but you’re having such a great time it doesn’t matter. Whedon gathered a bunch of his friends and filmed the play at his Los Angeles home, just after he finished shooting the big budget Avengers. Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker have bristling chemistry as the dueling Benedick and Beatrice.
Words of praise: “...this Much Ado About Nothing —while perhaps not an adaptation for the ages in every respect—is as bracingly effervescent as picnic Champagne.” — Dana Stevens, Slate
Macbeth (2015)
Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth, which mostly flew under the radar in 2015, is stark and brutal. But Michael Fassbender — an actor with a impressive amount of fury — is an inspired choice as old Mac, as is Marion Cotillard, as the scheming Lady Macbeth.
Words of praise: “This cinematic Macbeth possesses a terrible beauty, evoking fear, sadness, awe and confusion.” — Michael O’Sullivan, The Washington Post
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
15 Inspirational Stephen Hawking Quotes To Read Today
Margot Robbie Offered Role Of Sharon Tate In New Quentin Tarantino Film
CherryPicks: The Female-Led Review Site That Will End Rotten Tomatoes