The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film
-
The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film #58: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2014)
58. Julie Taymor’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2014) Dear readers, I have reached the point where my experience as a reviewer is becoming a liability. It is the responsibility of every production of Shakespeare’s work to both make it new while simultaneously tapping into the essence of what makes Shakespearean drama work. The more films Continue reading
-
The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film #57: Gnomeo and Juliet (2011)
57. Kelly Asbury’s Gnomeo and Juliet (2011) Nope. John King (Episode, well, all of them) holds a PhD in English from Purdue University, and an MFA from New York University. He has reviewed performances for Shakespeare Bulletin. Continue reading
-
The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespearean Film #56: The Merry Wives of Windsor (1982)
56. David Jones’s The Merry Wives of Windsor (1982) My sweet readers, I have broken a promise in watching a BBC Complete Shakespeare film. I well know that fine actors were unable to rescue such productions, but I was tempted by my desire to see more Falstaff, and in particular my desire to see the great Continue reading
-
The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film #55: Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight (1965)
55. Orson Welles’s Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight [Henry IV Parts 1 & 2] (1965) One restraint of most Shakespeare film productions happens to be, alas and fuck, the budget. Often, actors, including the best actors, will willingly work for scale in service of the bard, but the cost of film and catering and the crew and Continue reading
-
The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film #54: The Taming of the Shrew (1929)
54. Sam Taylor’s The Taming of the Shrew (1929) Thirty-eight years before Hollywood power-couple Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton captivated audiences as Katherine and Petruchio, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford did something similar. Apparently, this is the first Shakespeare film with sound, and the performances of Fairbanks and Pickford are not especially good. When their Continue reading
-
The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film #53: The Tempest (2010)
53. Julie Taymor’s The Tempest (2010) In 1999, Julie Taymor gave life to Titus Andronicus, an obscure, early, and quite bloody play by Shakespeare. It was great. In 2002, she gave us a visionary biopic of Frida Kahlo. It was good. In 2007, she made Across the Universe, a musical cobbled together from Beatles tunes Continue reading
-
The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film #52: Tempest (1982)
52. Paul Mazursky’s [The] Tempest (1982) Let’s start with a necessary observation: Paul Mazursky’s Tempest has very little of Shakespeare’s play in it. There is none of Shakespeare’s words. This film is about a Manhattanite architect’s midlife crisis, with some loose associations with Shakespeare’s themes and (vaguely) characters. There’s no magician, although the architect might be Continue reading
-
The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film #51: Prospero’s Books [The Tempest] (1991)
51. Peter Greenaway’s Prospero’s Books [The Tempest] (1991) Peter Greenaway’s Prospero’s Books is the most visionary adaptation of Shakespeare that I have ever seen, and that declaration is made with all due consideration to Julie Taymor’s amazing film of Titus Andronicus. Prospero’s Books may be the most underrated film of all time. And yet your rogue has Continue reading
-
The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film #50: Mystery Science Theater 3000 Episode 1009 [Hamlet] (1999)
50. Mystery Science Theater 3000 Episode 1009 [Franz Peter Wirth’s Hamlet] (1999) I am going to pause amidst my round of tempesting to honor an old episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, in honor of this show’s return. The Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode devoted to Franz Peter Wirth’s 1960 German television version of Hamlet is Continue reading
-
The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film #49: The Tempest (2012)
48. Shelagh O’Brien’s film of Des McAnuff’s The Tempest (2012) I don’t waste a lot of words on this blog considering the theoretical consequences of adapting Shakespeare’s stage plays into film. While good stage versions are better than films, generally speaking, those stage versions can’t be watched later, and even if you see a production more Continue reading
About
The Drunken Odyssey is a forum to discuss all aspects of the writing process, in a variety of genres, in order to foster a greater community among writers.
Recent Posts
- Episode 693: Emily Van Duyne!
- Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart #349: Jangling Keys
- Video: Mickey Mousing Around #4: Responding to the Barn Dance, with Samantha Nickerson
- Episode 692: Fire x Fire x Fire 2025 with Tod Caviness and Dianne Turgeon Richardson!
- McClurg’s Musicalia Playlist #150: An Unwanted Milkshake
The Drunken Odyssey 