The Most Faithful Shakespeare Films
For those who wish to view film productions of Shakespeare's plays which are true to the author's intent, faithful to his text and the time period, without any weird modernist interpretations or outsider influences. Most of these productions are nearly perfect, but there are minor problems with a few of them. Nevertheless, they are the best currently available to the true Shakespeare fan.
As a sorry commentary on the state of our culture, to date there have been no faithful films made of "Troilus and Cressida," "All's Well That Ends Well," "Timon of Athens," "Cymbeline," "The Two Noble Kinsmen," and "Edward III."
This list is ordered in a suggested reading/viewing order, which is: the comedies and tragedies in the chronological order of their writing, followed by the histories in the chronological order of the events portrayed. Do yourself a favor and read Shakespeare's wonderful work before viewing the accompanying film.
As a sorry commentary on the state of our culture, to date there have been no faithful films made of "Troilus and Cressida," "All's Well That Ends Well," "Timon of Athens," "Cymbeline," "The Two Noble Kinsmen," and "Edward III."
This list is ordered in a suggested reading/viewing order, which is: the comedies and tragedies in the chronological order of their writing, followed by the histories in the chronological order of the events portrayed. Do yourself a favor and read Shakespeare's wonderful work before viewing the accompanying film.
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- DirectorDon TaylorStarsFrank BarrieTessa Peake-JonesHetta CharnleyIn 16th century Italy, two inseparable friends suddenly become rivals for the love of a noblewoman.
- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsElizabeth TaylorRichard BurtonCyril CusackBrutish, fortune-hunting scoundrel Petruchio tames his wealthy, shrewish wife, Katharina.
- DirectorJane HowellStarsPaul Davies ProwlesEdward HardwickeWalter BrownRoman warrior Titus Andronicus finds himself trapped in a nightmarish cycle of vengeance, misery, and bloodshed.
- DirectorJames Cellan JonesStarsCyril CusackCharles GrayNicolas ChagrinAegeon of Syracuse has come to Ephesus to seek his son, who went in search of his missing twin and mother months ago. Unfortunately, Ephesus has just declared war on Syracuse, and will instantly put to death any Syracusean found within their borders unless a ransom's paid. Meanwhile, the son, Antipholus, and his servant, Dromio (also an identical twin), keep running into strangers who seem to know them...
- DirectorBasil ColemanStarsMartin ShawDavid GwillimThomas ElliceA scholarly king and his three companions swear off the society of women for three years, only to have a diplomatic visit from a French princess and her three ladies-in-waiting thwart their intentions.
- DirectorJoan Kemp-WelchStarsChristopher NeameAnn HassonLaurence PayneRomeo falls in love with the beautiful young Juliet, but their warring families spell tragedy for the lovers.
- DirectorJoan Kemp-WelchStarsPatrick AllenEira HeathCyril LuckhamTheseus, Duke of Athens, is going to marry Hyppolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Demetrius is engaged with Hermia, but Hermia loves Lysander. Helena loves Demetrius. Oberon and Titania, of the kingdom of fairies have a slight quarrel about whether or not the boy Titania is raising will join Titania's band or Oberon's, so Oberon tries to get him from her by using some magic. But they're not alone in that forest. Lysander and Hermina have there a rendezvous, Helena and Demetrius are there, too as well as some actors, who are practicing a play for the ongoing wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. Due to some misunderstandings by Puck, the whole thing becomes a little bit confused...
- DirectorCedric MessinaStarsMaggie SmithFrank FinlayCharles GrayAntonio's friend Bassanio is in love and needs money to go courting. Using Antonio as his collateral, he borrows money from Shylock. But when the debt comes due, Shylock demands repayment in the form of a pound of Antonio's flesh.This production of "The Merchant of Venice" can be found on a DVD set called "Maggie Smith at the BBC."
- DirectorStuart BurgeStarsLee MontagueTim FaulknerCherie LunghiBenedick and Beatrice fight their merry war of words. But when Beatrice's friend, Hero, is humiliatingly jilted by Benedick's best friend, Claudio, Benedick has to choose which side he's on. But unknown to all, Claudio's been tricked by the bastard Don John, and (unfortunately), it's up to Dogberry and Verges to solve the case.
- 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.
- 1978–19852h 31mTV-147.1 (356)TV EpisodeDirectorBasil ColemanStarsHelen MirrenBrian StirnerRichard PascoAfter the overthrowing of Duke Senior by his tyrannical brother, Senior's daughter Rosalind disguises herself as a man and sets out to find her banished father while also counseling her clumsy suitor Orlando in the art of wooing.
- 1978–19853h 30mTV-148.0 (665)TV EpisodeDirectorRodney BennettJohn GorrieStarsDerek JacobiClaire BloomPatrick StewartHamlet suspects his uncle has murdered his father to claim the throne of Denmark and the hand of Hamlet's mother, but the Prince cannot decide whether or not he should take vengeance.
- DirectorJohn GorrieStarsAlec McCowenRobert HardyFelicity KendalLookalike twins Viola and Sebastian are separated by a shipwreck. Viola lands in Illyria, where she disguises herself as her brother and goes into the service of the Duke Orsino. Orsino sends her to help him woo the Lady Olivia, who doesn't want the Duke, but finds that she likes the new messenger the Duke's sending. Then, of course, Viola's brother shows up, and merry hell breaks loose. Meanwhile, Olivia's uncle and his cohorts are trying to find some way to get back at Olivia's officious majordomo, Malvolio.
- 1978–19852h 25mNot Rated7.5 (232)TV EpisodeDirectorDesmond DavisStarsKenneth ColleyKate NelliganTim Pigott-SmithWhen the Duke of Vienna takes a mysterious leave of absence and leaves the strict Angelo in charge, things couldn't be worse for Claudio, who is sentenced to death for premarital sex. His sister, Isabella (a nun-in-training), however, is a very persuasive pleader. She goes to Angelo, but instead of freeing her brother, she gets an offer from Angelo to save Claudio's life if Isabella sleeps with him. The only sympathetic friend Isabella has is a priest who, in actuality, is the Duke in disguise...and he has a plan.
- DirectorStuart BurgeStarsLaurence OlivierFrank FinlayRobert LangGeneral Othello's marriage is destroyed when vengeful Ensign Iago convinces him that his new wife has been unfaithful.
- DirectorMichael ElliottStarsColin BlakelyLeo McKernRobert LindsayAging King Lear invites disaster when he abdicates to his two disloyal and obsequious daughters while rejecting the one who truly loves him.
- StarsMichael JaystonBrian BadcoeTim HardyMacbeth, the Thane of Glamis, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.
- DirectorJon ScoffieldStarsRichard JohnsonJanet SuzmanRosemary McHaleAfter the murder of her lover Julius Caesar, Egypt's Queen Cleopatra needs a new ally. She seduces his probable successor Mark Antony. This develops into real love and slowly leads to a war with the other possible successor, Octavius.
- DirectorDavid Hugh JonesStarsEdward PetherbridgeJohn WoodvineEdita BrychtaWhen Pericles discovers the dread answer to Antioch's riddle, he flees for his life straight into famine, shipwreck, love, fatherhood, and another shipwreck; he loses his wife and daughter, and doesn't find them again until the story moves us through resurrection, attempted murder, pirates, prostitution, and divine revelation.
- DirectorPeter DewsStarsRobert HardyRoland CulverBeatrix LehmannA banished hero of Rome allies with a sworn enemy to take his revenge on the city.This film exists in the archives but has never been released on home media. It is on this list because, although I have not seen it, based on what I have read (and on what I have seen in the sister series "Age of Kings") I think it is likely to be the only faithful adaptation. If it is not, there is none.
- DirectorPeter DewsStarsRobert HardyRoland CulverBeatrix LehmannA banished hero of Rome allies with a sworn enemy to take his revenge on the city.
- DirectorPeter DewsStarsRobert HardyRoland CulverBeatrix LehmannA banished hero of Rome allies with a sworn enemy to take his revenge on the city.
- DirectorJane HowellStarsJohn WelshDavid BurkeRobert StephensKing Leontes of Bohemia suspects his wife, Hermione, and his friend, Polixenes, of betraying him. When he forces Polixenes to flee for his life, Leontes sets in motion a chain of events that lead to death, a ferocious bear, an infant left in the snow, young love, and a statue coming to life.
- DirectorJohn HirschHerb RolandStarsDeryck HazelShaun Austin-OlsenRichard CurnockExiled Prospero lives on a desolate island with his daughter, Miranda. When Prospero's usurping brother sails by the island, Prospero conjures a storm that wrecks the ship and changes all of their lives.
- DirectorDavid GilesStarsLeonard RossiterWilliam WhymperMary MorrisKing John does whatever it takes to keep himself on the throne of England, making enemies of the pope, France, and his nephew along the way.
- DirectorDavid GilesStarsDerek JacobiJohn GielgudJon FinchThe incompetent King Richard II is deposed by Henry Bolingbroke and undergoes a crisis of identity once he is no longer King.
- DirectorMichael HayesStarsTom FlemingJulian GloverFrank WindsorHenry Bolingbroke has now been crowned King of England, but faces a rebellion headed by the embittered Earl of Northumberland and his son (nicknamed 'Hotspur'). Henry's son Hal, the Prince of Wales, has thrown over life at court in favour of heavy drinking and petty theft in the company of a debauched elderly knight, Sir John Falstaff. Hal must extricate himself from some legal problems, regain his father's good opinions and help suppress the uprising.The first half of Henry IV Part One
- DirectorMichael HayesStarsDavid AndrewsSean ConneryWilliam SquireHenry Bolingbroke has now been crowned King of England, but faces a rebellion headed by the embittered Earl of Northumberland and his son (nicknamed 'Hotspur'). Henry's son Hal, the Prince of Wales, has thrown over life at court in favour of heavy drinking and petty theft in the company of a debauched elderly knight, Sir John Falstaff. Hal must extricate himself from some legal problems, regain his father's good opinions and help suppress the uprising.The second half of Henry IV Part One
- DirectorMichael HayesStarsDavid AndrewsJohn RinghamGeorge A. CooperHenry Bolingbroke has now been crowned King of England, but faces a rebellion headed by the embittered Earl of Northumberland and his son (nicknamed 'Hotspur'). Henry's son Hal, the Prince of Wales, has thrown over life at court in favour of heavy drinking and petty theft in the company of a debauched elderly knight, Sir John Falstaff. Hal must extricate himself from some legal problems, regain his father's good opinions and help suppress the uprising.The first half of Henry IV Part Two
- DirectorMichael HayesStarsTom FlemingKenneth FarringtonWilliam SquireHenry Bolingbroke has now been crowned King of England, but faces a rebellion headed by the embittered Earl of Northumberland and his son (nicknamed 'Hotspur'). Henry's son Hal, the Prince of Wales, has thrown over life at court in favour of heavy drinking and petty theft in the company of a debauched elderly knight, Sir John Falstaff. Hal must extricate himself from some legal problems, regain his father's good opinions and help suppress the uprising.The second half of Henry IV Part Two
- DirectorDavid Hugh JonesStarsAlan BennettRichard O'CallaghanTenniel EvansWhen Sir John Falstaff decides that he wants to have a little fun he writes two letters to a pair of Windsor wives: Mistress Ford and Mistress Page. When they put their heads together and compare missives, they plan a practical joke or two to teach the knight a lesson. But Mistress Ford's husband is a very jealous man and is pumping Falstaff for information of the affair. Meanwhile the Pages' daughter Anne is besieged by suitors.
- DirectorDavid GilesStarsJohn AbineriRobert AshbyTrevor BaxterIn the midst of the Hundred Years' War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.
- DirectorJohn BartonPeter HallStarsJohn NormingtonDavid WarnerPeggy Ashcroft1 Henry VI Acts 1, 2, 3 and Act 4, Scene 1 (Henry choosing a red rose and inadvertently aligning himself with Somerset).The first half of Henry VI Part One
- DirectorJohn BartonPeter HallStarsDavid WarnerPeggy AshcroftIan HolmHenry VI Act 4, Scene 2 (Lord Talbot confronting the French general at Harfleur), and the first half of Act 1, Scene 1 of 2 Henry VI (up to Henry and Margaret leaving the court).The second half of Henry VI Part One
- DirectorMichael HayesStarsEdgar WrefordTerry ScullyMary MorrisFollowing his father's early death and the loss of possessions in France young Henry VI comes to the throne, under the protection of the duke of Gloucester. He is unaware that there are other claimants to the throne, Plantagent of York and Somerset of Lancaster, whose factions will ultimately cause the Wars of the Roses. Ignorant of the schisms Henry tries to unite them in the Hundred Years War, capturing Joan of Arc, before he marries Margaret of Anjou to unite England and France, but there is no dowry, angering the court. Margaret finds the pious Henry a dull husband and embarks upon an affair with Somerset as well as crossing Gloucester's wife Eleanor. When Gloucester is arrested for alleged treason because of Eleanor Henry is too feeble to prevent his death or the country slipping into civil war.The first half of Henry VI Part Two
- DirectorMichael HayesStarsJohn RinghamTerence LodgeAdrian BrineFollowing his father's early death and the loss of possessions in France young Henry VI comes to the throne, under the protection of the duke of Gloucester. He is unaware that there are other claimants to the throne, Plantagenet of York and Somerset of Lancaster, whose factions will ultimately cause the Wars of the Roses. Ignorant of the schisms Henry tries to unite them in the Hundred Years War, capturing Joan of Arc, before he marries Margaret of Anjou to unite England and France, but there is no dowry, angering the court. Margaret finds the pious Henry a dull husband and embarks upon an affair with Somerset as well as crossing Gloucester's wife Eleanor. When Gloucester is arrested for alleged treason because of Eleanor Henry is too feeble to prevent his death or the country slipping into civil war.The second half of Henry VI Part Two
- DirectorMichael HayesStarsFrank WindsorJack MayJulian GloverFollowing his father's early death and the loss of possessions in France young Henry VI comes to the throne, under the protection of the duke of Gloucester. He is unaware that there are other claimants to the throne, Plantagenet of York and Somerset of Lancaster, whose factions will ultimately cause the Wars of the Roses. Ignorant of the schisms Henry tries to unite them in the Hundred Years War, capturing Joan of Arc, before he marries Margaret of Anjou to unite England and France, but there is no dowry, angering the court. Margaret finds the pious Henry a dull husband and embarks upon an affair with Somerset as well as crossing Gloucester's wife Eleanor. When Gloucester is arrested for alleged treason because of Eleanor Henry is too feeble to prevent his death or the country slipping into civil war.The first half of Henry VI Part Three
- DirectorMichael HayesStarsJohn WarnerTamara HinchcoMary MorrisFollowing his father's early death and the loss of possessions in France young Henry VI comes to the throne, under the protection of the duke of Gloucester. He is unaware that there are other claimants to the throne, Plantagenet of York and Somerset of Lancaster, whose factions will ultimately cause the Wars of the Roses. Ignorant of the schisms Henry tries to unite them in the Hundred Years War, capturing Joan of Arc, before he marries Margaret of Anjou to unite England and France, but there is no dowry, angering the court. Margaret finds the pious Henry a dull husband and embarks upon an affair with Somerset as well as crossing Gloucester's wife Eleanor. When Gloucester is arrested for alleged treason because of Eleanor Henry is too feeble to prevent his death or the country slipping into civil war.The second half of Henry VI Part Three
- DirectorLaurence OlivierStarsLaurence OlivierCedric HardwickeNicholas HannenShakespeare's powerful tale of the wicked deformed King and his conquests, both on the battlefield and in the boudoir.
- 1978–19852h 46mNot Rated7.2 (141)TV EpisodeDirectorKevin BillingtonStarsJohn StrideJulian GloverRonald PickupHenry VIII is a proud and wilful monarch who defies Rome's ban on divorce to marry his mistress Anne Boleyn. Cardinal Wolsey, the Powerful Lord Chancellor of England, attempts to bend Rome to the king's wishes in the matter of the divorce of Catherine of Aragon so he can marry Anne Boleyn. Later, near death, he repents his unpriestly activity. After Henry divorces her, Catherine is sent to Kimbolton Castle. Anne marries Henry and becomes his queen.