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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 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 [...]

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