One of the wonderful things about William Shakespeare's works is how adaptable they are. Thus, our list contains adaptations both reverent (Sir Laurence Olivier's Hamlet) and revisionist (Ten Things I Hate About You, My Own Private Idaho). We've got the Bard in outer space (Forbidden Planet), in high school (O), and in feudal Japan (Throne of Blood). Our list also contains great performances from some of the finest actors ever to tackle Shakespeare's deft, mysterious verse, including Orson Welles, Kenneth Branagh, Denzel Washington, and Rick Moranis.
Though our list may seem to be madness, there is method in't: each of the films presented here has at least 20 reviews, so you won't see such classics as the Marlon Brando-toplined Julius Caesar or Olivier's Richard III. And we omitted movies like Shakespeare in Love and Looking For Richard, as we avoided films that weren't taken directly from a specific work and were primarily about staging the plays.
Can one desire too much of a good thing? Check out our list and be the judge. As the Bard might say, "The best is not, So long as we can say, 'this is the best-reviewed.'"
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Clearly RT has a very loose definition of 'Shakespeare movie.'
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Oh, but how wonderful! To see two films of Akira Kurosawa in the top 5 was great thinking. But the best was to see that Kenneth Branagh's Henry V as number one was outstanding.
Orson Welles and Olivier may always be thought of great acting, but Branagh brings Shakespare to the screen in such richly, wondrous ways. I was ready to follow 'King Harry" into battle myself. We band of brothers...
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Know what? I was totally gearing up to rip you guys to pieces on this one, but I'm pretty satisfied, surprisingly.
That being said, get STRANGE BREW out. Now. And bump MIDSUMMER a few notches.
And lastly, I disagree with omitting SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE and LOOKING FOR RICHARD. The latter is the tale of RICHARD III told in a documentary style but still told; the former is essentially ROMEO AND JULIET by Stoppard.
Speaking of Stoppard, if STRANGE BREW makes the list, where the hell is ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD?
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Frankly, I'm shocked by the low score of Scotland, Pa., surely one of the funniest Shakespeare adaptations ever. Maura Tierney as Pat McBeth, as Lady M. is called in this socially downward version of the tragedy is hilarious and sexy to boot! I don't care much for Branagh's adaptations, although I'll grant his Henry V was pretty good. I second the inclusion of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern in this list (even though I didn't it very much). However, I wonder what happened to Olivier's Richard III (Tomatometer 85%), a very famous performance in its day that was memorably parodied by Peter Sellers courtesy of the
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"Though our list may seem to be madness, there is method in't: each of the films presented here has at least 20 reviews, so you won't see such classics as the Marlon Brando-toplined Julius Caesar or Olivier's Richard III."
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OK, I see. I suppose I prefer madness over method myself. (But do check out Peter Sellers! He'll crack you up.)
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ok... unless i missed it somehow... the fact that O brother where art thou is NOT on this list is complete b.s. The fact that 10 things i hate about you IS on the list and OBWAT isnt on the list makes the entire list completely invalid, in my opinion
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ok... unless i missed it somehow... the fact that O brother where art thou is NOT on this list is complete b.s. The fact that 10 things i hate about you IS on the list and OBWAT isnt on the list makes the entire list completely invalid, in my opinion
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As far as I know, O Brother, Where Art Thou? was an interpretation of Homer's Odyssey, not anything by Shakespeare. And for the record, even as a former English major, I hated that movie.
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O Brother,where art thou? is Homer's Odissey NOT Shakespeare.
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oops, didnt mean to post that twice... my first post on RT, sorry
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To dajoshrimp: You shouldn't have posted it at all. OBWAT was a remake of Homer's "The Odyssey," not a work by Chairman Will!
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And just where is "Get Over It?" What a humorous adaptation of Midsummer Night's Dream! Kirsten Dunst steals the show. Wait, I have now awakened from my drug-induced coma. Just kidding!
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Hahaha I can't believe someone actually thought O Brother, Where Art Thou? was a Shakespeare.
Jesus.
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All of that Welles and no room for "Chimes at Midnight"?
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I love "Chimes at Midnight," but it didn't have enough reviews to qualify.
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As someone rather fond of Branaugh's adaptations, it's difficult to see them so cleanly laid out in a particular order. Personally, I hold his "Hamlet" over "Henry V" simply by virtue of capturing it in it's entirety (the fleeting flashbacks used in "Henry V" left me feeling cheated out of half of the play, despite the otherwise well execution).
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Number One - Sir Lawrence Olivier's Richard III.
Number Two - Sir Lawrence Olivier's Hamlet
Number Three - Kenneth Branagh's Henry V
Number Four - Ian McKellen's Richard III
And you Rotten Tomato guys are complete idiots for anything else on the list. I blame the education system for pumping you guys out without a proper education but with plenty of false belief in your knowledge base. Very sad when you don't even know your Bard.
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Gad, did you happen to notice that we've ranked these films according to their Tomatometer scores, slightly modified by a formula that accounts for the differences in the amounts of ratings each movie has? And are you even aware that the Tomatometers are a measure of the general opinion of a rather large pool of film critics, as opposed to something the RT staff arbitrarily assigns?
Or is there some education system that I'm not aware of that teaches a person that the best way to make a point is by spouting vitriolic and insulting (yet ultimately uninformed) statements in lieu of actually making a rational argument?
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Thought the list was fine except the absence of Olivier's Richard III. Which in my opinion is one of the finest Shakespeare films ever made. Maybe Rottentomatoes forgot to include it. I believe the rating would be higher than O or 10 things.
Petition to get Olivier's Richard III on the list!!!!!!!
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One more time: Though our list may seem to be madness, there is method in't: each of the films presented here has at least 20 reviews, so you won't see such classics as the Marlon Brando-toplined Julius Caesar or Olivier's Richard III.
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Not sure if you KNOW your Bard. Kenneth Branagh's version of Hamlet and Henry V was word-for word- exceptionally acted- What Shakespeare should have been IMHO. Actually When I took English lit in college I had to read Hamlet- Didn't like Shakespeare,infact, couldn't stand reading it. After Watching Branagh's version of Hamlet,I didn't have to read the book. Understood it entirely and got an A in my course.
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I agree with Gad. What are you thinking of? Shakespeare wouldn't recognize your list as his.
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Thought the list was fine except the absence of Olivier's Richard III. Which in my opinion is one of the finest Shakespeare films ever made. Maybe Rottentomatoes forgot to include it. I believe the rating would be higher than O or 10 things.
Petition to get Olivier's Richard III on the list!!!!!!!
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#1: Throne of Blood.
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Yes, yes, yes.
Throne of Blood is the greatest Shakespeare movie. Not only does it utilize the framework of Macbeth to great effect, it puts a whole new spin on the material, mixing the best of theater and cinema, the best of Western and Eastern sensibilities. Akira Kurosawa was a genius.
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This is a silly, incomplete list. Including "Strange Brew" and "My Own Private Idaho" as Shakespearean movies and omitting Grigori Kozintsev's "Hamlet" and "King Lear," Orson Welles' "Chimes at Midnight" (a far better film than his "Macbeth"), or Joseph Mankiewicz' "Julius Caesar," just tells me that the person who put together this list doesn't know the subject matter very well. I understand that they only used films with 20 reviews, but if you're going to do that, you leave out so many important films that the list becomes immaterial.
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I can't believe that a movie that is on my personal Top Ten Movies of All Time -- 1999's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" -- is so low on this list! It's entirely WONDERFUL from acting to sets to costumes to a luscious soundtrack. Gigantically recommended.
And though it wasn't released theatrically, "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)" DVD by the Reduced Shakespeare Company had me laughing hysterically all the way through.
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Much Ado About Nothing is my favorite of the bunch.
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yea i hated that damn "O brother" movie i also hate most of shakyspeeers stuff. the charachters never die they always give like a 50 minute speaches
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Olivier's Richard III? Please? And the first name is Laurence.
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