Research Guides: Shakespeare's Birthday: Shakespeare's Plays

Movie Adaptations

Olivier's Henry V (1986, 2:12:40)
Two entire generations were introduced to Shakespeare by this expansive production, which is as fresh and dramatic and deeply touching today as when first it ushered in the contemporary style of Shakespearean production and taught us to see the vast and rich panoply beyond the lines of Shakespeare’s Henry V. Starring Laurence Olivier.

Olivier's King Lear (1983, 2:37:41)
Without doubt the Lear of the century, this performance surpasses the skill of the critics to praise it; its all-star cast and crew have won every award that exists for performance and production. More important, the production makes a taut, compressed, and difficult play into a work that reaches out to modern audiences in its grip on the elemental human emotions—emotions common to ancient Celts and modern Americans, rowdy Elizabethan playgoers and today's Shakespearean scholars. Starring Laurence Olivier.

Best Shakespeare Movie Adaptations

Looking for Richard (1996, 1:58:00)
Part classical performance and part examination of Shakespearean dramaturgy, this acclaimed film features Pacino as both director and star of a production of "Richard III."
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999, 2:00:37)
A splendid cast that includes Christian Bale, Rupert Everett, Calista Flockhart, Kevin Kline, Sophie Marceau, Michelle Pfeiffer, David Strathairn and Stanley Tucci brings to life this dynamic and enchanting new version of Shakespeare's most magical comedy. Teeming with dangerous potions, fairy warfare and misbegotten romances, "William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream" is the wondrous tale of a singular night in which roguish spirits turn the world of love on its head.
Richard III (1995, 1:44:00)
Shakespeare's play updated to 1930s England. Starring Ian McKellen, Annette Bening, Jim Broadbent, Robert Downey Jr.
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (1996, 2:00:00)
Baz Luhrmann, one of today's most innovative filmmakers, takes a completely fresh and intriguing look at a beloved story with "William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet." Luhrmann and his team have created a dazzling, powerful, iconoclastic world full of fantastic elements to underscore and reveal the tale of the two famous, star-crossed lovers. The film gives Shakespeare's Elizabethan English a contemporary American voice, set in the mythical city of Verona Beach, a passionate, visceral, sexy, violent other-world, neither future nor past.

Stage Productions

Hamlet (2016, 3:00:55)
Simon Godwin (The Two Gentlemen of Verona 2014) directs Paapa Essiedu as Hamlet in Shakespeare's searing tragedy. As relevant today as when it was written, Hamlet confronts each of us with the mirror of our own mortality in an imperfect world.
Romeo and Juliet, Live from Shakespeare's Globe (2009, 2:51:06)
Performed at Shakespeare’s Globe, London’s faithful reconstruction of the open-air playhouse designed in 1599, Romeo and Juliet is arguably the best-loved of all love stories in Western literature. The play’s masterful combination of lyricism, suspense, and dramatic changes of mood is dramatized by an energetic cast that stars Adetomiwa Edun—called “a Romeo to die for” by The Independent (London)—and, in her stage debut as Juliet, Ellie Kendrick.

Plays and Productions

King Lear (2015, 2:48:00)

King Lear is a tragedy about power and the loyalty of children. This dramatic production was performed for the 2014 Stratford Festival.

Macbeth (2012, 2:38:00)

Macbeth is a tragedy about the negative effects of political ambition. This dramatic production of Macbeth at the Royal Opera House was streamed live in 2011.

Othello (1988, 3:07:09)

Othello is a tragedy about betrayal and the dangers of jealousy. This dramatic production of Othello was the first time an African actor had been cast in the title role opposite a white Desdemona before a multiracial audience in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Tempest (1994, 2:08:07)

The Tempest is a comedic tale of magic, shipwreck, betrayal, love, and forgiveness. This dramatic production of Shakespeare's The Tempest is part of The Shakespeare Series on Bloom's Literature.

William Shakespeare - Alexander Street, a ProQuest Company

This channel contains over 200 videos of stage productions and documentaries. Many of the stage productions are recent and feature modern casts and creative representations of Shakespeare's universal themes.