The Best Shakespeare Movies
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- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJeanne MoreauMargaret RutherfordWhen King Henry IV ascends to the throne, his heir, the Prince of Wales, is befriended by Sir John Falstaff, an old, overweight, fun-loving habitual liar. Through Falstaff's eyes we see the reign of King Henry IV and the rise of Henry V.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsJon FinchFrancesca AnnisMartin ShawA ruthlessly ambitious Scottish lord seizes the throne with the help of his scheming wife and a trio of witches.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTatsuya NakadaiAkira TeraoJinpachi NezuIn Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other...and him.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesMicheál MacLiammóirRobert CooteThe Moorish General Othello is manipulated into thinking that his new wife Desdemona has been carrying on an affair with his Lieutenant Michael Cassio when in reality, it is all part of the scheme of a bitter Ensign named Iago.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMinoru ChiakiIsuzu YamadaA war-hardened general, egged on by his ambitious wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become lord of Spider's Web Castle.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsRiver PhoenixKeanu ReevesJames RussoTwo best friends living on the streets of Portland as hustlers embark on a journey of self discovery and find their relationship stumbling along the way.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsKenneth BranaghDerek JacobiSimon ShepherdIn the midst of the Hundred Years War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.
- DirectorLaurence OlivierStarsLaurence OlivierCedric HardwickeNicholas HannenShakespeare's powerful tale of the wicked deformed King and his conquests, both on the battlefield and in the boudoir.
- DirectorLaurence OlivierStarsLaurence OlivierJean SimmonsJohn LauriePrince Hamlet struggles over whether or not he should kill his uncle, whom he suspects has murdered his father, the former king.
- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsLeonard WhitingOlivia HusseyJohn McEneryWhen two young members of feuding families meet, forbidden love ensues.
- DirectorMichael AlmereydaStarsEthan HawkeKyle MacLachlanDiane VenoraModern-day New York City adaptation of Shakespeare's immortal story about Hamlet's plight to avenge his father's murder.
- DirectorRichard LoncraineStarsIan McKellenAnnette BeningChristopher BowenThe classic Shakespearean play about the murderously scheming 15th-century king is reimagined in an alternative setting of 1930s England as clouds of fascism gather.
- DirectorJulie TaymorStarsAnthony HopkinsJessica LangeOsheen JonesTitus returns victorious from war, only to plant the seeds of future turmoil for himself and his family.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsKenneth BranaghEmma ThompsonKeanu ReevesYoung lovers, and soon to wed, Hero and Claudio conspire to get verbal sparring partners and confirmed singles, Benedick and Beatrice, to wed as well.
- DirectorFred M. WilcoxStarsWalter PidgeonAnne FrancisLeslie NielsenA starship crew in the 23rd century goes to investigate the silence of a distant planet's colony, only to find just two survivors, a powerful robot, and the deadly secret of a lost civilization.
- DirectorPeter GreenawayStarsJohn GielgudMichael ClarkMichel BlancThe magician Prospero attempts to stop his daughter's affair with an enemy.
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsLeonardo DiCaprioClaire DanesJohn LeguizamoShakespeare's famous play is updated to the hip modern suburb of Verona still retaining its original dialogue.
- DirectorLaurence OlivierStarsLaurence OlivierRobert NewtonLeslie BanksIn the midst of the Hundred Years' War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsKenneth BranaghJulie ChristieDerek JacobiHamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother remarrying the murderer, his uncle. Meanwhile, war is brewing.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleMax ReinhardtStarsJames CagneyDick PowellIan HunterTwo couples and a troupe of actors have an encounter with some mischievous fairies in the forest.
- DirectorMichael RadfordStarsAl PacinoJoseph FiennesLynn CollinsIn 16th century Venice, when a merchant must default on a large loan from an abused Jewish moneylender for a friend with romantic ambitions, the bitterly vengeful creditor demands a gruesome payment instead.
- DirectorDerek JarmanStarsPeter BullDavid MeyerNeil CunninghamBanished to a forsaken island, the Right Duke of Milan and Sorcerer Prospero gets the chance to take his revenge on the King of Naples with the assistance of his airy spirit-servant, Ariel.
- DirectorPeter BrookStarsPaul ScofieldIrene WorthCyril CusackKing Lear divides his kingdom among his daughters, giving great importance to their protestations of love for him. When Cordelia refuses to idly flatter the old man, he banishes her and turns for support to his remaining daughters.
- DirectorTrevor NunnStarsHelena Bonham CarterRichard E. GrantImogen StubbsShakespeare's comedy of gender confusion, in which a girl disguises herself as a man to be near the count she adores, only to be pursued by the woman he loves.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsLouis CalhernMarlon BrandoJames MasonThe growing ambition of Julius Caesar is a source of major concern to his close friend Brutus. Cassius persuades him to participate in his plot to assassinate Caesar but they have both sorely underestimated Mark Antony.