Shakespeare in the Movies: From the Silent Era to Shakespeare in Love (Literary Artist's Representatives)

268 Pages·2000·14.49 MB·English

by  Douglas C. Brode

SHAKESPEARE IN THE MOVIES
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Shakespeare
in the Movies
From the Silent Era
to Shakespeare in Love
DOUGLAS BRODE
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
2OOO
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
Oxford NewYork
Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogota Buenos Aires Calcutta
Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul
Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai
Nairobi Paris Sao Paulo Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Warsaw
and associated companies in
Berlin Ibadan
Copyright © 2000 by Oxford University Press
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.
198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Brode, Douglas, 1943-
Shakespeare in the movies : from the silent era to Shakespeare in Love
I Douglas Brode.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-19-513958-5
1. Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616—Film and video adaptations.
2. English drama—Film and video adaptations. 3. Film adaptations.
I. Title.
PR3093.B76 1999 98-56152
791.43'6—dc21
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
For Dr. Gerda Taranow,
who taught me to love the Bard
as much as I did the bijou
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
INTRODUCTION 3
1. AN AUSPICIOUS OPENING 15
The Taming of the Shrew
2. THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT 26
King Richard III
3. STAR-CROSSED LOVERS 41
Romeo and Juliet
4. A FAIRY TALE FOR GROWN-UPS 60
A Midsummer Night's Dream
5. THE HOLLOW CROWN 71
Richard II; Henry IV, Parts I and II; Henry V
6. SOPHISTICATED COMEDY 85
Much Ado About Nothing; As You Like It;
Twelfth Night
7. A TIDE IN MEN'S LIVES 100
Julius Caesar
8. I KNOW NOT SEEMS 114
Hamlet
9. THE GREEN-EYED MONSTER 151
Othello, the Moor of Venice
10. FATAL VISION 175
Macbeth
Vii
viii / Contents
11. A WOMAN OF INFINITE VARIETY 195
Antony and Cleopatra
12. SANS EVERYTHING 203
King Lear
13. YOU CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN 218
The Winter's Tale and The Tempest
14. PLAYING SHAKESPEARE 233
15. AS WE GO TO PRESS 241
Index 243
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
With appreciation to Charlton Heston, Scott Leclau, John Liscomb, Kevin
Lucas, David and Kathy Ciesielski; Royal Films International, Verona
Productions, De Laurentis Cinematografica, American Film Institute,
HBO Films (Animated), London Film Productions, Twentieth Century-
Fox, Samuel Goldwyn Films, Fine Line Features, Commonwealth Films,
Warner Bros., Columbia Pictures, Playboy Productions, Royal
Shakespeare Company, Miramax Films, Twin Cities Film, M-G-M,
Paramount Pictures, Republic Pictures, Mercury Films, Internacional
Films Espariola, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Wisconsin Center for Film and
Theater Research, United Artists, Prominent Films, Folio Films,
Mogador-Mercury-Castle Hill, Rank Organization, Classic Cinemas,
Lenfilm, Edwin Thanhouser, Filmways-Athene, Seven Arts.
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