Twelfth Night (1999) directed by Tim Supple

Shakespeare, the Remix

Twelfth Night, or What You Will.
Or What Tim Supple Will. Shakespeare’s witty comedy, featuring some of the Bard’s supplest lines, is drained of any vim, vigor, or vivacity in this dreary made-for-TV production. Distributed as a double-feature with Michael Bogdanov’s excellent Macbeth, Twelfth Night is worth a spin for its eye-candy [...]

Othello (1952) directed by and starring Orson Welles

In terms of literature, Shakespeare is the greatest mind of all time. Visually, Welles is one of the greatest minds of all time. Bring the two together and you have the makings of an all time classic. Othello certainly qualifies.
It is frightening to think that we may never have been allowed to experience this masterpiece. [...]

Much Ado About Nothing (1993) directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh

© 2004 John Murphy
Much Ado About Nothing was a minor sensation upon its release in 1993. By that time, Kenneth Branagh had come to be regarded as a cinematic Wunderkind, gene-splicing Orson Welles and Laurence Olivier. Flush from the success of heavy-hitters like Henry V and Dead Again, the tireless auteur released this sunny show, [...]

The Merchant of Venice (2004) directed by Michael Radford and starring Al Pacino

Like The Passion of the Christ released a year before, Michael Radford’s film of The Merchant of Venice is doomed to pre-viewing judgment. Is the play anti-Semitic? This question resurfaces anytime and anywhere the play is produced. Renowned lit critic Harold Bloom offered these memorable words, “One would have to be blind, deaf, and dumb [...]

The Merchant of Venice (1973) starring Laurence Olivier

directed by John Sichel, based on the Jonathan Miller stage production at the National Theatre

© 2005 John Murphy
I watched this 1973 adaptation of The Merchant of Venice on the heels of viewing Michael Radford’s recent film and, I’ll tell you, the comparison doesn’t flatter the former. Most who seek out this version are probably curious [...]

Titus (1999) directed by Julie Taymor and starring Anthony Hopkins

© 2000 John Murphy
Roger Ebert pretty much hit the nail on the head with his statement about this movie: “It’s what the play deserved.” That’s exactly right. The original play by William Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus is a gratuitously violent, overblown, hambone piece of trite trash. And I love it. I loved every minute of this [...]

Richard III (1956) directed by and starring Laurence Olivier

© 2005 John Murphy
Many excellent actors have tackled that “foul lump of deformity,” the hunchbacked Duke of Gloucester, a.k.a. Richard III. Among them such acting greats as Ian Mckellen and Al Pacino. Say “Richard the Third,” though, and I immediately think of a human spider with hooded eyes, a pageboy haircut, sharp nose, and halting [...]

Twelfth Night (1996) directed by Trevor Nunn

© 2004 John Murphy
Trevor Nunn’s Twelfth Night, released in 1996, is a handsome adaptation, well cast and eminently watchable. What it lacks in inspiration, it makes up for with faultless performances and a consistent tone.  However, as much as I admire this thoroughly competent version of Shakespeare’s beloved comedy, I have to confess a decided [...]

Romeo and Juliet (1968) directed by Franco Zeffirelli

© 2006 John Murphy
A Pair of Star-Cross’d Lovers
Ah, the Sixties — the tie-dyed era of youth and rebellion. An age when the word was Love, hope sprang eternal, and the world seemed perfectible. Franco Zeffirelli’s lush and energetic adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, released in 1968, touched a deep chord in the audience of [...]

Uh, Hopkins also Lear?

We reported two days ago the news that Al Pacino was set to play King Lear in a new adaptation directed by Michael Radford. A little internet searching on the subject yielded another surprise… apparently, Anthony Hopkins is also tapped to play the more “sinned against than sinning” monarch. Strange that a 400-year old play [...]

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