The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film
-
The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film #38: Henry V (1944)
38. Laurence Olivier’s Henry V (1944) So last week I barely endured all the shit-mongering of Michael Almereyda’s Hamlet, which seemed even worse this time than the previous times I’ve watched it. Rather than careen at Almereyda’s Cymbeline, I took pity on myself and watched something—anything—else. What I picked was Olivier’s Henry V, which I Continue reading
-
The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film #37: Hamlet (2000)
37. Michael Almereyda’s Hamlet (2000) When it comes to presenting Shakespeare well on film, sometimes it just isn’t enough to be a pretentious twat. Baz Luhrman has proven that once, and Michael Almereyda has proven that twice, the first time with Hamlet. This Hamlet stars a really goofy knit-cap. Underneath it, unfortunately for this movie, Continue reading
-
The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film #36: Antony and Cleopatra (1972)
36. Charlton Heston’s Antony and Cleopatra (1972) Antony and Cleopatra is Shakespeare’s continuation of sorts of Caesar. The triumvirate of Roman leaders, Octavius Caesar, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Marc Antony is on the verge of breaking with Marc Antony since he has lapsed in his Roman duties and gone native with lust in Egypt with Cleopatra. Pompey, Continue reading
-
The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film #35: Julius Caesar (1970)
35. Stuart Burges’s Julius Caesar (1970) I’ve explained before how Caesar is a difficult play to like. Julius Caesar dies in Act III, Scene 1, but even before that most of the play is about noble Brutus, the man who would kill Caesar because he loved Rome too much to let it be ruled by Continue reading
-
The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film #34: Hamlet (1964)
34. Bill Colleran and John Gielgud’s Hamlet (1964) As I mentioned last week, The Globe’s film of its stage show of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a vibrant romp in Renaissance style. The film of Richard Burton’s performance as Hamlet on Broadway is, on the other hand, an exercise in drab modernity. The film was Continue reading
-
The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film #33: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2014)
33. Dominic Dromgoole and Robin Lough’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2014) Plenty of film adaptations of Shakespeare actually happen to be adaptations of stage versions of Shakespeare’s plays, since the vision of theatrical directors and the experience of the actors can make an expedient transition to a two dimensional plane. Of course, the temptation and Continue reading
-
The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film #32: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016)
32. David Kerr’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016) As I’ve often said, comedy and tragedy are not that far apart in Shakespearean drama. Comedies end with weddings, and tragedies … a pile of corpses. The tension between these two extreme outcomes is such an important part of Shakespeare’s appeal: Hamlet is really fucking funny, and Much Ado Continue reading
-
The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film #31: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935)
31. Max Reinhardt and William Dieterle’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935) Last summer I reviewed Michael Hoffman’s 1999 adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream while promising that someday I would review the 1935 film of the same play by Max Reinhardt and William Dieterle. Despite not being allowed by my physician to booze my way Continue reading
-
The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film #30: The Merchant of Venice (2004)
#30. Michael Radford’s The Merchant of Venice (2004) In the 1970s, Pacino could do little wrong, even when chewing up the scenery in a paint-by-numbers message film like And Justice for All. Film culture had changed by the 1990s, however. His triumph in Scent of a Woman was to offer an apologetic corrective to a Continue reading
-
The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film #29: Richard III (1995)
#29. Richard Loncraine’s Richard III (1995) In Looking for Richard, Al Pacino seemed flummoxed by the possibility of coming to a basic understanding of Shakespeare, using the relatively obscure Richard III as his point of entry into the bard’s oeuvre. In a conspiracy of timing, Pacino must have been working on Looking for Richard around 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 