Favorite Shakespearean movie?

[Zardoz!]

OK, what's the best movie based on Shakespeare, or at least your favorite?

I'll say the surrealist version of "Titus andronicus", titled "Titus" starring Anthony Hopkins in one of the few roles where he had to be crazier than hannibal lecter.

As for a runner up, I'm tempted to say "Theater of Blood" just because it was Vincent Price at his best but am not sure it could be called a shakespearean movie...

[Tripe]

I rather liked McKellen's Richard III

Oh and King of Texas with Patrick Sewart, John Turturro's Men of Respect and Baz Luhrman's Romeo + Juliet

As for straigh forward adaptations

Branagh's Henry V and Much ado... are pretty good as is Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet though I mostly like that one because I was 13 when I first saw it and Olivia Hussey was/is HAWT!!!

Also Bruce Robinson was in it (he plays Benvolio) and the attention paid to him by Zeffirelli was the foundation of the Uncle Monty and Marwood scenes in Withnail and I

[mrbasehart]

I haven't really seen many "straight" adaptations of old Willy's work, but I did like Richard III and the recent Merchant of Venice. 

As for the transposed ones: Kurosawa's Throne of Blood is easily my favourite version of MacBeth; Kiss Me Kate is a really great musical based on The Taming of the Shrew; Forbidden Planet's an excellent sci-fi picture based on The Tempest (though I haven't seen the play it's based on). 

I actually own a few DVDs of the Branagh Shakespeare movies, I'm just working up the courage to watch them.  Especially Henry V.

[Tripe]

Oh oh oh Prospero's Books too.

And go watch Henry V it's way way better than Olivier's shite version (Olivier is so immensely overrated).

[anais.jude]

i really really loathed Lurhman's Romeo + Juliet. It turned me off Shakespeare for awhile actually.
I loved Mckellen's Richard III, and Fishbourne's Othello. Has there ever been a good straight King Lear. I admit I haven't seen Ran yet, but it is on my to-see list.
I loved Much Ado as well. Hamlet was good, but not great (the Branaugh versions)

[GregMcduck]

I second Throne of Blood.

I haven't seen a whole lot of Shakespeare adaptions beyond the twenty thousand different version of Hamlet and Romeo & Juliet. My favorite Hamlet is any version that isn't the Mel Gibson one, and my favorite R&J, at the risk of getting made fun of, is the Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes version.

[oksoda]

Make that a third for Throne of Blood. I also liked Ran as well as the Olivier version of Lear (despite horrible production values). While I loved the Fishburne Othello, the Olivier version (despite the laughable blackface) is amazing. Caesar with Brando is still the best film production I have ever seen and Twelfth Night with Carter and Kingsley was well done. I also did not care for Romeo + Juliet. Because of that movie, I know know what hippies call "going on a bad trip" is all about.

My favorite Shakespeare film would be Branagh's Henry V, with his Hamlet as a close second.

Anyone seen that new version of Macbeth set in the Melbourne underworld?

[Doctor Who?]

I know it doesn't fallow the play 100% but i love Branagh's Henry V.

It's one of my 20 favorite movies full stop.

The direction and music is great.

Also it has almost all of my favorite British actors giving great proformances(Even Christian Bale is in it).

Also the scene where the armies are picking up all the bodies on the battlefield,is one of the greatest ever.

I love his hamlet too,but it takes me about three nights to watch it.

There was a British tv version of Othello set in modern time staring Chrispher Ecelston made a few years ago that i like a lot too.

[Tripe]

Has there ever been a good straight King Lear. I admit I haven't seen Ran yet, but it is on my to-see list.

Not really, I think because it's Shakes' most bombastic play and that's difficult to do in a straight translation and still connect with the audience. As the basis of adaptations though it works really well.

Anyone seen that new version of Macbeth set in the Melbourne underworld?

Nope but I'll have to find it. Men of Respect is Macbeth in the Mafia, it's better than Joe Macbeth.

I wouldn't worry about adaptations following a text as we now have it. More likely than not the version you have in those leather bound Complete Works bear only a nodding relationship to the text as used in the original productions. I mean Hamlet is a very long play and was undoubtedly a full afternoon's entertainment but it's difficult to say whether all the scenes were performed originally at all.

[Zardoz!]

I was surprised to see several people like, or even know about, Throne of Blood, I thought that was an obscure one.

[mrbasehart]

I was surprised to see several people like, or even know about, Throne of Blood, I thought that was an obscure one.

I don't think it's particularly obscure, but there are a quite a few cinephiles on this board.  I really doubt there's many films between us all that we haven't seen or heard of.   

[doggans]

Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing would probably have to be my favorite. It's just an extremely fun movie, despite the presence of Keanu.

[mrbasehart]

Has there ever been a good straight King Lear. I admit I haven't seen Ran yet, but it is on my to-see list.

Not really, I think because it's Shakes' most bombastic play and that's difficult to do in a straight translation and still connect with the audience. As the basis of adaptations though it works really well.

There's the Peter Brooks version of King Lear, made in the 70s which looks the part, but I didn't really like Paul Schofield's portrayal.  The BBC version that they did with Olivier in the early 80s isn't too bad, but it's clearly a low-budget project.

[Junkyard]

Favorite Shakespearean movie?
HA! It's a trick question!
There were no movies in Shakespearean times!

[Variety of Cells]

Throne of Blood is great.  I think that's a 4th for it now, or is it a 5th?

Buy my favorite would have to be Branagh's Hamlet.  It's the only VHS I went out and bought (being young enough to have dvds available once I started buying movies for myself) because it's not yet on dvd.  Which is an absolute shame, it being shot on 70mm.  Though it's coming soon, soon.