'Shakespeare On Film' Festival at Magic Lantern Video & Book Store

English poet and playwright William Shakespeare is believed born 23 April 1564 (based on a baptismal record of 26 April) in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. His father John was a successful local tradesman; his mother Mary Arden was of the gentry. Will married Anne Hathaway on 28 November 1582 – he was 18, she was 26 and 3 months pregnant. His first child, Susanna, was baptised at Stratford on 26 May 1583; twin children – son Hamnet & daughter Judith – were baptised on 2 February 1585; Hamnet died in 1596.
Will's early writing career is undocumented, but his first authenticated plays are dated to 1590. Scholars argue over the details, but Will wrote about thirty-eight plays, about 154 sonnets, and a variety of other poems. Will was a popular actor and playwright (then often a collaborative job) in London, known to have moved to Bishopsgate area of London in 1598. He was member and part-owner of the theater company The Lord Chamberlain's Men (named for its patron), which evolved after the death of Elizabeth I into The King's Men (named for patron King James I). (The theater company owned the Globe Theater: built in 1599, destroyed by fire in 1613 (ignited from a cannon-blast during a play), rebuilt in 1614, closed by edict in 1642, torn down in 1644.)

Success in the theater provided funds enough for Will to own a house in Blackfriars, London and the second-largest house in Stratford. He seems to have retired to Stratford in 1613, where he died on 23 April 1616. He was buried in the chancel of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon; his widow died in 1623.

William Shakespeare was popular and successful in his lifetime, but the closing of all theaters in Britain in 1642 left playwrights & actors of the time in obscurity. But Will's reputation was restored in the XIXth Century, largely by touring acting companies & actors such as Thomas Keene, so that Will is now generally considered the greatest writer in the English language. He is also considered the English national poet, often referred to as the 'Bard of Avon'.
While a few of Shakespeare's plays were published earlier, the basis for most texts is the posthumous First Folio of 1623. (The precise wording and spelling and punctuation of works of the time are often uncertain.) All but two of his sonnets were published in 1609.

In modern times, Shakespeare's plays remain the most-often produced stage works around the world. Projects exist to re-publish complete [perhaps definitive] texts – Arden, Oxford, Folger Library editions, and the Arkangel audio recordings – and to film all the plays – a joint effort of A.B.C. & the B.B.C. Most of Shakespeare's works are available as online etexts, of varying quality.

"Shakespeare: The Animated Tales" [BBC2-TV 1992-94]

Twelve half-hour episodes, in many styles: "The Tempest", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "As You Like It", "Hamlet", "Julius Caesar", "Richard III", "Romeo & Juliet", "Othello", "Macbeth", "The Winter's Tale", "Taming of the Shrew" & "Twelfth Night"
Ambrose color DVD [7/2004] 4 discs for $71.99
full credits from IMDb

The Tragedy of Macbeth [1606]
An 11th-century Scottish nobleman, under pressure by his ruthless wife, murders his soveriegn,
is proclaimed king in his stead, then is undone by his own character flaws.
'Macbeth' entry at Wikipedia

"Macbeth" [2007] by Aussie Director Geoffrey Wright
http://www.trulyindie.com/ti/macbethcs.html

"Othello" [B.H.E./Warner Bros. Dec 1965]

National Theatre of Great Britain's 1965 production starring Laurence Olivier recorded on film. Directed by Stuart Burge; co-starring Maggie Smith, Frank Finlay, Joyce Redman, Derek Jacobi & Robert Lang; nominated for 4 acting Oscars
Warner color VHS [9/98] out of stock/used
full credits from IMDb

"Othello" [B.B.C.-TimeLife tv movie Oct 1981]

Directed by Jonathan Miller; starring Anthony Hopkins, Anthony Pedley, Bob Hoskins, Penelope Wilton & Rosemary Leach
available only as part of B.B.C. Complete Tragedies Gift Box Set
full credits from IMDb

"Wm. Shakespeare's Othello"
[South Africa Dec 1989]

1988 performance in post-apartheid Johannesburg, South Africa. Directed by Janet Suzman; starring John Kani, Richard Haddon Haines, Joanna Weinberg & Dorothy Gould
ArtHaus color DVD [9/2005] for $29.99
full credits from IMDb

King Lear [1605]
The king decides to abdicate the thrown and divide the kingdom between his three daughters,
which sets off bickering and madness and murder.
'King Lear' entry at Wikipedia

"King Lear" aka 'Korol Lir'
[Russia Feb 1971, USA Aug 1975]

Superb Russian-language film, based on the 1941 translation by Boris Pasternak
Written & directed by Grigori Kozintsev [1905-73], co-directed by Iosif Shapiro; starring Jüri Järvet {as Lear}, Galina Volchek, Elza Radzina, Valentina Shendrikova, Regimantas Adomaitis, Donatas Banionis, Karl Sebris, Juozas Budraitis, Oleg Dal, Roman Gromadsky & Nikolai Kuzmin
Facets subtitled widescreen b&w DVD [1/2007] for $26.99
full credits at IMDb

"King Lear" [1984]
Directed by Michael Elliott, with Laurence Olivier as Lear

"The Merchant of Venice"
[A.B.C/I.T.V. tv movie 1973]

Set in Victorian England. Adapted & directed by John Sichel; starring Laurence Olivier, Anthony Nicholls, Jeremy Brett, Joan Plowright, Louise Purnell & Michael Jayston
Live-Artisan color VHS [5/96] out of stock/used
full credits at IMDb

"The Merchant of Venice" [Royal National Theater filmed play 2001]
Set in England before World War II. Directed by Trevor Nunn; starring David Bamber, Henry Goodman, Raymond Coulthard, Derbhle Crotty, Peter De Jersey, Andrew French, Gabrielle Jourdan & Alexander Hanson
Image Ent. widescreen color DVD [5/2004] for $22.99
full credits at IMDb

"A Midsummer Night's Dream"
[Warner Bros. Oct 1935]
Co-directed by William Dieterle & Max Reinhardt; starring James Cagney, Joe E. Brown, Dick Powell,
Mickey Rooney, Victor Jory, Ian Hunter, Verree Teasdale, Olivia de Havilland, Frank McHugh,
Arthur Treacher, Billy Barty & Anita Louise; Oscar nominations for Best Picture & Best Assistant Director,
won Oscars for Best Cinematography & Best Editing
full credits from IMDb

"Romeo and Juliet" [M.G.M. Sept 1936]
Directed by George Cukor; starring Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, John Barrymore, Edna May Oliver,
Basil Rathbone, C. Aubrey Smith, Andy Devine, Henry Kolker, Robert Warwick & Reginald Denny;
Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actress (NS), Best Supporting Actor (BR), Best Art Direction
full credits from IMDb

Hamlet: Prince of Denmark [circa 1600-02]
The brother of the king of Denmark murders him, succeeds him, and then marries the queen.
The son of the dead king seeks revenge, triggering murder by mistake, poisonings, madness & suicide.
'Hamlet' entry at Wikipedia

"Hamlet" [Russia June 1964, USA March 1966]

Superb Russian-language film, based on the 1941 translation by Boris Pasternak
Written & directed by Grigori Kozintsev [1905-73]; starring Innokenti Smoktunovsky {as Hamlet}, Anastasiya Vertinskaya, Yuri Tolubeyev, Vladimir Erenberg, Stepan Oleksenko, Mikhail Nazvanov, Elza Radzina, Vadim Medvedev & Igor Dmitriyev
Facets subtitled widescreen b&w DVD [10/2006] for $26.99
full credits at IMDb

"Olivier's Hamlet"
[Rank/Universal May/Sept 1948]

Co-produced, adapted & directed by and starring {Sir} Laurence Olivier; also starring Anthony Quayle, Peter Cushing, Stanley Holloway, Basil Sydney, Eileen Herlie, Norman Wooland, Felix Aylmer, Terence Morgan & Jean Simmons; won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor (Olivier), Best B&W Set Decoration, Best B&W Costume Design, nominations for Best Director, Best Supporting Actress (JS) & Best Music Score; won BAFTA for Best Film
Criterion b&w DVD [9/2000] for $26.99
3-disk set: Criterion DVD [8/2006] for $71.99, includes "Henry V" & "Richard III"
Paramount b&w VHS [undated] out of prodn/used
full credits from IMDb

	"A Concise Companion To Shakespeare On Screen" [2006] by Diana E. Henderson Blackwell Publng 9x5¾ pb [1/2006] for $30.95 Blackwell Publng 9x6 hardcover [1/2006] out of print/used
	"Shakespeare On Film" [2005] by Judith Buchanan Longman 9¼x6½ pb [9/2005] for $14.00
	"Shakespeare In The Cinema" [2001] by Stephen M. Buhler S.U.N.Y. Press 9x6 pb [2/2007] for $21.95 S.U.N.Y. Press 9x6¼ hardcover [12/2001] for $59.50
	"The Cambridge Companion To Shakespeare On Film" [2000] Edited by Russell Jackson Cambridge Univ Press 9x6 pb [10/2000] for $24.99 Cambridge Univ Press 9x5¾ hardcover [10/2000] for $75.00
	"Interpreting Shakespeare On Screen" [2000] by Deborah Cartmell Palgrave Macmillan 8½x6¼ pb [9/2000] for $35.00 Palgrave Macmillan 8¾x5½ hardcover [9/2000] for $99.25
	"A History of Shakespeare On Screen: A Century of Film & Television" [1999] by Kenneth S. Rothwell Cambridge Univ Press 9x6 2nd edition pb [10/2004] for $29.99 Cambridge Univ Press 9¼x6¼ hardcover [10/2004] for $75.00
	"Orson Welles, Shakespeare, and Popular Culture" [1999] by Michael Anderegg Columbia Univ Press 9x6 pb [1/99] for $25.00 Columbia Univ Press 9½x6½ hardcover [1/99] for $77.50
	"Shakespeare On Film: Contemporary Critical Essays" [1998] Edited by Robert Shaughnessy Palgrave Macmillan 8½x5½ pb [11/98] for $35.00 Palgrave Macmillan 8¾x5¾ hardcover [11/98] for $96.99
	"Shakespeare and The Moving Image: The Plays On Film & Television" [1994] Edited by Anthony Davies & Stanley Wells Cambridge Univ Press 9x6 pb [10/94] for $27.99 Cambridge Univ Press 9½x6¼ hardcover [10/94] out of print/used
	"Shakespeare On Screen: An International Filmography & Videography, 1899-1989" [1991] by Kenneth S. Rothwell & Annabelle Henkin Melzer Neal-Schuman Publrs 11¼x8¾ hardcover [2/91] out of print/used
	"Filming Shakespeare's Plays: The Adaptations of Laurence Olivier, Orson Welles, Peter Brook & Akira Kurosawa" [1988] by Anthony Davies Cambridge Univ Press 9x6 pb [6/90] out of print/used Cambridge Univ Press hardcover [9/88] out of print/used Magic Lantern minipage for Orson Welles [1915-85] Magic Lantern minipage for Akira Kurosawa [1910-88]
	"Shakespeare On Film" [1977] by Jack J. Jorgens Univ Press of America 8¾x6 pb [4/91] for $47.00 IN Univ Press pb [11/79] out of print/used

Magic Lantern Video & Book Store'Shakespeare On Film' FestivalPage One

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'Shakespeare On Film' Festival
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