Full Description
An approachable guide to Shakespeare on film, this book establishes the differences between stage and screen. It covers the history of Shakespeare on the screen since 1899, and discusses various modes and conventions of adaptations. Thoroughly updated to include the most recent films, for instance Joss Whedon's 2013 Much Ado About Nothing, it also explores the latest technology, such as DVD and Blu-ray, as well as live stage-to-screen productions. It also includes an exclusive interview with filmmaker John Wyver, discussing his own adaptations for the small screen.
Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations/Acronyms
Preface to the Second Edition
Introduction
PART I: SHAKESPEARE AND THE LANGUAGE OF FILM
Filming and Staging Shakespeare: Some Contrasts
The Audience: Individual and Collective Experience
Imagery: Verbal and Visual
Bringing It All Together
PART II THE HISTORY OF SHAKESPEARE ON FILM 1899-2014
Silent Shakespeare
The Thirties: Hollywood Shakespeare
The Forties: Olivier and Welles
The Fifties: Post-war Diversity
The Sixties and Seventies: Cultural Revolution, Filmic Innovation
The Nineties: Branagh's Renaissance and the Shakespeare on Film Revival
Shakespeare on Film in the 21st Century
PART III COMMUNICATING SHAKESPEARE ON FILM: MODES, STYLES, GENRES
The Theatrical Mode
The Realistic Mode
The Filmic Mode
The Periodizing Mode
Film Genre: Conventions and Codes
Genre Conventions and the Shakespeare Film Adaptation
A Cross-cultural Shakespeare Adaptation: Kurosawa's Kumonosu-Jo
PART IV: CRITICAL ESSAYS
COMEDIES
Introductory Note
Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing (UK, 1993)
Adrian Noble's A Midsummer Night's Dream (UK, 1996)
Michael Hoffman's A Midsummer Night's Dream (USA, 1999)
HISTORIES
Introductory Note
Laurence Olivier's Henry V (UK, 1994)
Kenneth Branagh's Henry V (UK, 1989)
Laurence Olivier's Richard III (UK, 1955)
Richard Loncraine's Richard III (UK, 1995)
TRAGEDIES
Introductory
Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet (UK/Italy, 1968)
Baz Luhrmann's William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (USA, 1996)
Laurence Olivier's Hamlet (UK, 1948)
Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet (UK, 1996)
Michael Almereyda's Hamlet (USA, 2000)
Orson Welles's Macbeth (USA, 1948)
Roman Polanski's Macbeth (UK, 1971)
PART V SHAKESPEARE ON THE SMALL SCREEN
Film, TV and Small Screen Shakespeare
The BBC-TV Series: Shooting the Complete Canon
The Stage-Screen Hybrid: Shakespeare on TV/DVD/Blu-ray
Appendix: Filming Shakespeare for the Small Screen An Interview with John Wyver, Illuminations filmmaker and producer
References
Suggested Further Reading
Select Filmography
Some Useful Websites
Glossary of Terms
Index.
