Shakespeare in Love directed by John Madden

© 2006 John Murphy
Bard-love received an unexpected shot-in-the-arm with the 1998 release of this buoyant, multi-Academy Award-winning imagining of the “making-of” Romeo and Juliet. The smart script by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard smoothly mixes Bard biography/mythology, Romeo and Juliet, and some Shax-worthy comedic high-jinks: mistaken identity, cross-dressing, and flights of verbal fancy, courtesy of [...]

New Bard-novel: The Final Act of Mr Shakespeare by Robert Winder

I’ve been chattering a bit about Bill Cain’s play, Equivocation, of late (here and here), and it turns out that a new novel has hyst been published dealing with similar themes; namely, how a fictionalized Bard might have handled an onerous commission with dangerous political overtones, and what his real opinions might have been on [...]

A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) directed by Michael Hoffman

Starring Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett, David Strathairn, Stanley Fucci, Calista Flockhart, Anna Friel, Christian Bale, Sam Rockwell, John Sessions, and Sophie Marceau
reviewed by Debra & John Murphy

Debra Murphy:
Michael Hoffman’s film depicts a universe freely inhabited by faeries and dwarves, satyrs and all sorts of benign if mischievous forest folk, who weave in and [...]

To stage high concept, or not to stage high concept?

That is the question posed by NYC-based theatre critic David Cote in a blog article published by the Guardian UK entitled, “Most Stagings of Shakespeare Don’t Go Far Enough”.
Quoth Cote, after taking Wall Street Journal theatre critic Terry Teachout to task for “grousing” about concept staging in a Big Thing interview:
I also wince at conceptual [...]

Looking for Richard (1996) directed by and starring Al Pacino

In his directing debut, Al Pacino has given us one of the most accessible Shakespeare spinoffs ever for the screen. Smart, witty and energetic, Looking for Richard is a delight to watch, offering insight into Shakespeare and his iconic Richard III, and giving the viewer a behind-the-scenes look at how a production of the play [...]

Vidclips from Kenneth Branagh's Love's Labour's Lost

First, here’s the trailer to Branagh’s LLL:
“When love speeks…” Branagh tap- and word-dances to the rhythm of iambic pentameter:

Love's Labour's Lost (2000) directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh

© 2006 John Murphy
I Get a Kick Out of You
Love’s Labour’s Lost is an entertaining mash-up of a 1930’s era musical with one of Shakespeare’s slighter comedies. The combination is less seamless than one might have wished, but Kenneth Branagh and his photogenic cast coast on creamy charm. This flighty flick has all the nutritional [...]

The Taming of the Shrew (BBC 1980) directed by Jonathan Miller and starring John Cleese

© 2005 John Murphy
From the back of the box: “John Cleese stars in Shakespeare’s comedy about a spoiled brat who meets her match and her mate — all rolled into one heck of a pugnacious package. Sweet-natured Bianca can’t marry until her quick-tempered sister, Katherine, does. Intent on marrying Bianca, Lucentio assumes his servant’s identity [...]

Vidclips from Titus (1999) directed by Julie Taymor

If ever there was a “you-re not in Kansas anymore” Shakespeare adaptation, it is Julie Taymor’s gorgeous and horrifically violent screen adaptation starring Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange and Alan Cumming. Here are some way cool bardclips therefrom:
First, here’s the trailer:
This is the amazing scene-setting opening, probably my favorite scene:
And, if you can stomach it, The [...]

Shakespeare in Love(1998) directed by Guy Madden

© 2006 John Murphy
Bard-love received an unexpected shot-in-the-arm with the 1998 release of this buoyant, multi-Academy Award-winning imagining of the “making-of” Romeo and Juliet. The smart script by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard smoothly mixes Bard biography/mythology, Romeo and Juliet, and some Shax-worthy comedic high-jinks: mistaken identity, cross-dressing, and flights of verbal fancy, courtesy of [...]

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