Monday, April 15, 2013

Why Do You Like Shakespeare?

I asked some of my friends what was their favorite Shakespeare play/movie adaption and why? Here is what they said and I will be giving my own favorites and why hereafter:

Morgan H.- Julie Taymor's The Tempest. I love the character of Prospero portayed as a woman and I LOVE Helen Mirren. The special effects are very artistic and different from other fantasy films and the ensemble cast is perfect. A great mix of well-known, seasoned actors and new faces.

Andrew M.- David Tennant's "Hamlet". He took the play in an entirely new direction, while still being able to keep the audience in a comfortable place. I believe it to be the definitive Hamlet movie. 

Kol G. -I love the ShakespeaRe-told version of "The Taming of the Shrew." It is really hilarious and it feminizes a really misogynistic play. 

Nathan H.- Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of 'Hamlet.' He was fiercely loyal in keeping the play as is. Nobody had ever done a full Hamlet adaptation on screen before to my knowledge. So having the full script with the cinematography and the pageantry and the massive scale of the whole production... it is beautiful. 

Josh B.- 10 things I Hate About You comes to mind, but I think I'm in the mood for a comedy right now.

Hilary S.- Love me some Lear. It's a beautiful story of redemption, although I wonder if I've ever seen an adaptation/production that lives up to what I've built it inside my head. 

Rebecca P.- Richard III, because no matter what anyone says he is still a better villain than Othello.

--- Here are my favorite Shakespeare play/movie adaption and why ---

The Tempest- I liked the written play more than the movie. I think they could've done better and stayed close to the play more if they focused more on the forgiving theme that I think Shakespeare was trying to create. Plus I think Caliban would've been cooler if he was a cannibalistic sea monster, because when you read the script, Caliban was basically described as such.

ShakespeaRe-Told: The Taming of the Shrew- It has a perfect modern adaption from the original play, plus the ending is a perfect description of what marriage between a man and a woman should be!

Hamlet- I didn't get the chance to see the play, but I saw the movie when I was in high school. My English teacher, at the time, was the one that got me into reading his works. My teacher had the students do a skit on all the deaths in Hamlet. I had a fun time doing that, because I loved the death scenes. I played Hamlet in my skit, and my fellow class members loved how I used a line from the movie Happy Gilmore for when I was going to kill Claudius(Hamlet's uncle), "You're gonna die Clown!"

10 Things I Hate About You- Is a perfect late 90's adaption of The Taming of the Shrew. I'm not going to lie, the movie also had some attractive actresses in the movie and had an amazing soundtrack. Plus it is one of the most quotable movie in my family table.




Much Ado About Nothing- The one with Keneth Branagh as Signor Benedick. It's my favorite Shakespeare Comedy--- especially the scene where he describes his bachelorhood. Fits me perfectly haha!

Richard III- I saw the BBC Youtube play. Richard III is a good bad guy--- if that makes sense. He is manipulative, power hungry and is "past feeling"! I also like the scene where he is being haunted by the people that he has killed.

Romeo & Juliet- I like the 1996 version more than the 1968 one. It is a great modern adaption from the play, but not only that, it has an awesome soundtrack that I enjoyed listening to when I was a kid.

Macbeth- I first saw the Orson Welles version and then I saw the ShakespeaRe-told version, and I enjoyed them equally.

Titus Andronicus- This is my favorite Shakespeare Tragedy! The play that the Utah Shakespeare Festival presented, was phenomenal! It fit with the time period, it was perfectly executed with not only the blood and gore, but developed a great story for sweet revenge. The play was so good, that it inspired me to get "Shakesfeare" up and running for an event. The movie however--- sucked!

I've seen a variety of plays and movie adaptions of Shakespeare plays, but the ones listed above are my favorite!
Over all, I honestly think that Shakespeare was ahead of his time with his language and story lines. I also think it's funny that we reference Shakespeare everyday, even though we don't even recognize it.

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