Shakespeare's Birthday!

[ericadawn16]

It's Shakespeare's birthday and deathday so I decided to post my ten favorite adaptations of his work.

1. The Lion King

I will admit that it took until high school for me to realize it was an adaptation. Then, I wondered why they went with Romeo and Juliet for the sequel. Even Joss Whedon couldn't make me like the sequel. I thought the obvious route would be Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Five years later, they came out with The Lion King 1.5 and I was so happy.

2. Ten Things I hate About You

This is a perfect modernization, perfect cast including Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, David Krumholtz, Alison Janney, Daryl Mitchell and perfect soundtrack especially Ledger singing, "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You". I love this movie a lot.

3. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)

You should watch this at least once, it's hilarious. I saw it on PBS but they also perform it live across the country.

4. The Beatles Do Shakespeare

Yes, this has to be seen to be believed.

5. William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet

Yes, Romeo & Juliet is my least liked Shakespeare play and my hatred of the characters once provoked a college professor to call me "jaded". Yes, at the time I didn't get the whole Leo thing and felt that Paul Rudd was the more sensible choice of husband. However, now that I do like Leo and I love Baz Luhrmann's work, I do like this adaptation more and more. The cast is wonderful and art direction very inventive.

6. Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, Henry V

It felt wrong to separate them. I usually find the histories kind of boring but this adaptation...wow, what a cast. Sorry, Richard II just missed the list.

7. Twelfth Night, or What You Will

Unfortunately, I could find nothing usable to show you from Youtube. I also love the Helen Hunt/Paul Rudd version but the 2003 version has Parminder Nagra and Chiwetel Ejiofor! I wish the Othello with him, Ewan McGregor and Tom Hiddleston would have a DVD instead of just the audiobook.
Also, the DVD for the 2003 version is often paired with a 1998 Macbeth where Jack Davenport plays Malcolm and Richard Coyle has a very small part as well.

8. Much Ado About Nothing

I have yet to see the complete versions with David Tennant and Catherine Tate or Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof in their entirety so this is still my favorite version for now.

9. ShakespeaRe-Told Macbeth

My favorite play and such an awesome cast; James McAvoy, Keeley Hawes, Richard Armitage and Toby Kebbell. Plus, it includes James McAvoy singing and James McAvoy in tight leather pants with no shirt.

10. Hamlet

I know, it's probably the most performed of Shakespeare's works. I watched the full Kenneth Branagh version as soon as it was out on VHS and I was partial to that one until this production. David Tennant is my favorite Hamlet now.

Blackadder gets an honorable mention but I couldn't pick just one.

No, I did not put West Side Story. I admit that the music and choreography is nice. However, it is Romeo & Juliet which I hate unless you can really impress me in some way. I also hate the racial politics behind the scenes.

Comments

[ragnarok-08.livejournal.com]

These are all fantastic adaptations :D

[geminia905.livejournal.com]

Romeo & Juliet is my favorite of his plays and I still haven't forgiven BL for that travesty, although, Moulin Rouge did give me at least one reason to say his name without adding an F in the middle all the time.

I do agree with Lion King, 10 Things, KB's Much Ado and Twelfth Night, though.

[zoaster-toaster.livejournal.com]

Have you seen this? It's really interesting.

[hippediva.livejournal.com]

The older I get, ( and oh hell, am I getting old! Practically Dowager status) the more I think that , given how overdone R&J is from cartoons to commercials, the only way to really be introduced to the story without dissolving into paroxyms of laughter (Alfalfa doing the balcony scene with Spanky....) is to see the ballet first. That was how I first really 'saw' thw story when I was about 11. Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev withthe Royal Ballet, music of Prokofiev, choreography by Kenneth MacMillan. Can't get any better! ok, I was in semi-hysterical tears all the home from the theatre. My poor mother! But it was the one medium that I truly was moved by it. Of course, then came the Zefferelli version when I was 14 and me ( and every other teenage girl) spent the summer swooning,,....lol!)

[jackdavfan692.livejournal.com]

Great list :)!

A few thoughts. Branagh's version of Much Ado About Nothing is one of my favorite films of his (it was actually the first example of his work I saw, and the one that turned me into a fan of him), so good choice 8). Speaking of which, have you seen his version of Henry V? It doesn't have anyone as nice to look at as Tom Hiddleston in it (though Emma Thompson, Branagh's then-wife, does play the princess of France) :D, but it's very good, especially the scene of Henry giving the St. Crispian's day speech, and a sequence (probably not in the original play) that shows the aftermath of the battle of Agincourt. There's also a good version of Othello in which Laurence Fishburne plays Othello, and Branagh plays Iago.

Another really good adaptation of a Shakespeare play is Julie Taymor's version of The Tempest. She takes a huge liberty by making Prospero a woman, but Helen Mirren plays the role, so you can imagine how brilliant her portrayal of the character is ;).

I watched the full Kenneth Branagh version as soon as it was out on VHS and I was partial to that one until this production. David Tennant is my favorite Hamlet now.

Interesting :]. I'm still partial to Branagh's uncut version (I'm wondering when, if at all, it's going to be available on DVD :/), because the entire play is so brilliant, but the DT version is definitely my favorite compacted one (I've seen both the version with Mel Gibson and the one with Ethan Hawke, but I wasn't too impressed with either, particularly the former) :). *Nods*

[glofigs.livejournal.com]

I couldnt agree more with all of your choices! (especailly R&J) to me though, I would have add midsummer night's dream and All's well the ends well. all and all great play choices and adaptation choices.