SHAKESPEARE FANS ASSEMBLE
May 22, 2012 at 11:24 pm | Posted in Shakespeare at the Movies | Leave a commentShakespeare in The Park? Doth mother know you weareth her drapes?
I am sure most of you know where that quote came from. No, it wasn’t in any of Shakespeare’s plays! It comes from a little film you might have heard of called The Avengers. It only had the biggest opening weekend results of all time!
Anyways, I just thought that I would share with all of you the casts’ Shakespeare connection!
Robert Downey Jr.- Tony Stark/Iron Man
Robert Downey Jr. has appeared in Richard III, a film version of the play with a modern twist released in 1995.
Gwyneth Paltrow- Pepper Potts
One of Gwyneth’s most famous roles was that of Viola in the Shakespeare In Love. It was released in 1998, and gave Gwyneth her first Oscar for Best Actress!
Tom Hiddleston- Loki
Tom Hiddleston is the cast member with the most Shakespeare related experience. He has appeared in stage versions of Cymbeline, Othello, and Twelfth Night. He is currently working on two made for TV movie versions of Henry IV and Henry V, which will be released later this year!
Joss Whedon- Director
You don’t have to be an actor to work on Shakespeare related projects! Joss Whedon is currently working on a modern retelling of Much Ado About Nothing, being responsible for writing the screenplay! This project is due to be released sometime later this year.
Take a look at your favorite actors’ body of work, and see if you can find a Shakespeare influence! Leave me a message with your findings!
Shakespeare at the Movies: Romeo and Juliet Through the Ages
August 18, 2011 at 9:00 am | Posted in Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare at the Movies | Leave a commentAs one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, Romeo and Juliet has been re-imagined many times, and there are several great movie adaptations to choose from. Romeo and Juliet is not this blogger’s favourite Shakespeare play, but sometimes a good adaptation can make me forget that and revel in the youth and tragedy of the thing. It’s also a play near and dear to our heart because of our mainstage production this past year (which had a modernized setting but featured Shakespeare’s original words).
Let’s discuss a few of the very best film versions!
1) Romeo and Juliet, 1968, dir. Franco Zeffirelli
This Academy-Award-winning film stars Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting as our doomed lovers. It is a very faithful adaptation for the most part – set in 15th century Renaissance Italy, starring actors who were almost as young as the characters in the play (15 and 17), using Shakespeare’s original dialogue. The only changes are fairly small; the film has a different final scene than the play, several scenes were eliminated, and so on. These are all fairly standard changes when going from play (or book) to film, as some things simply work better on the stage (Juliet’s dramatic final monologue, for example) than in a movie (where she simply says one line and stabs herself).
This movie does a lot of things right – the ages of its stars in particular. Shakespeare meant for Romeo and Juliet to be young, headstrong and – let’s face it – a little bit stupid (or perhaps blind with love), and the youth and physicality of the play really hits home when you see Hussey and Whiting together. Shakespeare’s original dialogue also sparkles, and Zeffirelli was good at cutting out scenes that might have made the movie drag on.
Bottom line: this is the version to watch to get the most faithful adaptation – it’s probably pretty close to the story as Shakespeare intended it to be seen.
2) William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, 1996, dir. Baz Luhrmann
Many devoted Shakespeare fans don’t like this movie, but your blogger is not one of them. It’s Shakespeare for a new era, directed by visionary Australian Baz Luhrmann (check out Moulin Rouge! and Strictly Ballroom as well – the three movies combine into his trilogy of films about theatre and the arts). The movie features superstar Leonardo DiCaprio (just one year before he sank with the Titanic), and Claire Danes, who was then known for her TV show My So-Called Life.
It’s a modernization of the play set in Verona Beach, California, with the Capulets and Montagues portrayed as business rivals. However, Luhrmann chose to use (most of) Shakespeare’s original dialogue, which gives the movie a very unique feel when combined with the ultra-modern set. The cinematography in this movie is stunning – Romeo and Juliet first see each other through a fish tank, as just one example. Romeo and his pals Mercutio and Benvolio are portrayed as bored teens looking to blow off some steam and cut loose. Danes and DiCaprio have tons of chemistry and the entire movie has a sort of punk feel, which in this blogger’s opinion really captures the youthful essence of the play.
However, the movie garnered mixed reviews from critics at the time. In its own way, it’s just as faithful to the plot as Zeffirelli’s version, but with some interesting additions. The prologue and epilogue are interpreted as newscasts, while the rival gangs have gunfights instead of swordfights. It also happens to have a great mid-90s soundtrack. This version of the play is not for everyone, but it’s definitely doing something new and interesting with Shakespeare’s text, and we think he’d approve.
Bottom line: do not skip reading the play and watch this instead. Watch it after you’ve read the play! And be amazed at how much Leo and Claire have grown up.
3) Gnomeo & Juliet, 2011, dir. Kelly Asbury
This is a version of the play starring garden gnomes voiced by James McAvoy and Emily Blunt. In 3D. What’s not to love?
Though we can’t know for sure if Shakespeare even knew what garden gnomes were, we think he would probably appreciate the creativity of this adaptation. It’s a kid-friendly story, and gnomes are adorable. Enough said.
4) Romeo and Juliet, 2012, dir. Carlo Carlei
It seems like every generation has their own version of R&J, and here comes a brand-new one. Next year Hailee Steinfeld and Douglas Booth will star in this film, which is being shot on location in Italy. Steinfeld is currently 14, which means she’s just as young as Shakespeare’s Juliet, while Booth is a bit older. The question is whether or not this film will capture the magic of the play while still having something new to say as an adaptation. It seems quite similar to the very traditional Zeffirelli film, but only time will tell.
Shakespeare at the Movies: She’s the Man
August 11, 2011 at 9:00 am | Posted in Shakespeare at the Movies | Leave a commentIt’s time to talk about one of your blogger’s favourite Shakespeare adaptations: She’s the Man! Yes, that’s right, I love this silly movie, and more than that, I think it’s a pretty darn good adaptation of a Shakespeare play. It’s also great when movies based on Shakespeare are more literal adaptations – featuring Shakespeare’s witty dialogue, the original settings and character names. But Shakespeare’s plots have also proved to be interesting in modern settings with updated dialogue.
She’s the Man is a 2006 movie starring Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum, Laura Ramsey and Vinnie Jones, featuring the hilarious David Cross (Tobias from TV’s Arrested Development) as the school principal. The plot revolves around Viola, Amanda Bynes’ character, and her attempt to be taken seriously as a great soccer player. When the girls’ team at her school is cut, she decides to disguise herself as her twin brother Sebastian (who conveniently takes off for London to play with his band) and join the boys’ team at his boarding school, proving that she can play just as well as the boys can. But she ends up falling for her new roommate Duke, even as he asks her to help him win the heart of their classmate Olivia. Meanwhile, their weirdo classmate Malcolm is determined to win Olivia’s affections. Comedy – and romance – ensues!
The movie is based on Shakespeare’s delightful play Twelfth Night, a romantic comedy of mistaken identities. The action begins when a brother and sister are involved in a shipwreck. Viola washes up alone on a beach, and assuming that her brother Sebastian has drowned, disguises herself as a boy in order to work as a page for Duke Orsino and figure out what to do. But she ends up falling for the Duke, even as he uses her to woo his lady love Olivia. There’s also a subplot involving a slightly crazed servant, Malvolio, who is convinced that Olivia loves him. You can guess what happens next – a lot of crazy stuff!
So you can see that She’s the Man is a pretty faithful adaptation in terms of plot alone. But I think that the movie gets a lot of other stuff right, too. As a playwright, Shakespeare understood the value of good supporting characters. Many of his plays are focused on intense, doomed, or very charismatic lead characters – Macbeth, Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, etc. But the supporting characters are just as important and often add that all-important humour to the story. In Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are funny while also being important to the plot, just as the Nurse gives Romeo & Juliet a lot of humour to balance out that sad ending.
She’s the Man also features weird and hilarious supporting characters. There’s David Cross’ nutty principal, who tries to get involved in the action and ends up causing a lot of trouble; Viola’s band of friends, who help her with her transformation into Sebastian; Monique, Sebastian’s stuck-up girlfriend; and last but not least, the male classmates Viola meets as she pretends to be Sebastian. Like Shakespeare’s original play, the movie knows that having a rich cast of odd supporting players is key to the success of a story.
The dialogue in She’s the Man, while not quite as sparkling as Shakespeare’s original text, is also pretty funny. And I think Shakespeare would have loved a lot of the physical comedy moments – soccer wipe-outs, Amanda Bynes’ character learning how to walk like a boy, etc. He definitely enjoyed his silly and over-the-top humour. The movie didn’t originally get very good reviews, but just remember that many of Shakespeare’s plays – even performed with original dialogue, sets and stage directions – are very silly and feature a lot of crude humour about bodily functions and more. I really think She’s the Man captures the spirit of Twelfth Night. And I don’t know anyone who doesn’t find the movie funny!
Here’s the original movie trailer, embedded for your viewing pleasure!
Shakespeare at the Movies: The Lion King
July 19, 2011 at 9:00 am | Posted in Shakespeare at the Movies | 1 Comment
Did you know that The Lion King is partly based on Shakespeare’s play Hamlet? Well, now you do! The Disney movie, first released in 1994 and followed by several sequels and an award-winning Broadway musical, was influenced by a few different stories, including two from the Bible and the West African historical tale Epic of Sundiata. But those of you who’ve read Hamlet in school or seen the play may recognize most of The Lion King as a pretty good adaptation of Hamlet – starring talking animals, of course, and with a happy ending.
In the Disney movie, Simba is obviously the Hamlet character, a young prince who would rather play around than take his duties as King-to-Be more seriously. But once he’s tricked into believing that he’s responsible for his father’s death, he becomes conflicted and guilt-ridden, and flees the kingdom in order to get away from his past. Meanwhile, uncle Scar (the real murderer) takes Simba’s rightful throne.
There are similar elements in Hamlet: Hamlet’s uncle Claudius kills his father and steals the throne, while Hamlet feels angry and sad about his father’s death. Once he sees his father’s ghost, he becomes consumed with the idea of revenge and even starts to go a little mad – or at least pretends to.
Simba, too, becomes bent on revenge after running into his old pal Nala – Ophelia, in Shakespeare’s play! I won’t give away the ending of either, but let’s just say that Hamlet doesn’t end quite as happily as The Lion King.
There are common themes in each version of the story: family feuds, revenge, power dynamics, trusting one’s own instincts. And let’s not forget the loveable Timon and Pumbaa, a more rascally version of Hamlet’s wayward friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
If you’ve seen The Lion King, did you realize right away that it was based on Hamlet? Which ending do you prefer – the sad but symmetrical one of the play, or the happier one of the movie?
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