Shakespeare Lives in Film
2016 is the year of William Shakespeare. To commemorate 400 years since the genius bard’s death, the British Council and the New Horizons Association present a programme of British films based on Shakespeare’s plays, to be screened between 14 October and 14 November. The programme, which is a companion event to the Wrocław Theatre Olympics, includes adaptations of both familiar favourites and lesser known plays – from large, star-studded productions to independent films.
Shakespeare’s dramas are 'ready-made' screenplays. Though written centuries ago, they are still relevant because of their accurate portrayal of the human condition. Humour, cruelty, passion, despair, jealousy, obsession of power – all reach their pinnacle in the bard’s work. Besides, Shakespeare had a pitch-perfect ear for the language and a fine sense of form – his language, which is at once refined and simple, is still alive. The plays still manage to keep the spectator on the edge of the seat. Shakespeare’s work continues to be a benchmark for poets, writers, playwrights and film directors. As perfect screenplays, his works present a huge challenge for film-makers.
When adapting them for the screen, directors must both prove their ability to honour the playwright’s intentions while adding their own personal touch. There have been three turning points in the history of Shakespearean cinema, the first being the creation of the oldest surviving adaptation, a very short film entitled King John, in 1899. The second one was Laurence Olivier’s Henry V, released in 1944, a film that heralded the era of mature adaptations of Shakespeare’s works. The third was the release of Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V, which marked the beginning of modern reworkings of the bard’s work. But there have also been other milestones, such as Asta Nielsen’s portrayal of Hamlet in Svend Gade’s silent film (1921) and Franco Zeffirelli’s lyrically erotic Romeo and Juliet (1968). Shakespeare’s plays have been tackled by the finest theatre and film directors, including Orson Welles (Othello, Chimes at Midnight), Roman Polański (Macbeth) and Peter Brook (King Lear). The genius of the famous playwright translates well to other cultures, which is proven by the Russian and Japanese adaptations by Grigori Kozintsev and Akira Kurosawa. Shakespearean themes have also been tapped for use in popular Indian films.
Shakespeare’s plays work in every historical period – Branagh set his Hamlet (1996) in the 19th century, Richard Loncraine’s Richard III (1996) takes place in the 1930s, while the setting of Ralph Fiennes’ Coriolanus (2012) is a dystopian, war-ravaged present. Directors such as Derek Jarman, Gus Van Sant and Peter Greenaway have turned Shakespeare’s plays into perfect examples of postmodern cinema. There have also been pop-culture-themes reimaginings of the playwright’s work, including Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet and Michael Almereyda’s Hamlet. 400 years after the master’s death his work is still spellbounding and entices with its very essence, as in Justin Kurzel’s faithful, formally pure Macbeth with an icy, spare performance by Micheal Fassbender.
Karolina Kosińska
Programme
Fri 14 October 2016
Next
dir. Barry Purves, UK 1990, 5’
Play On!
UK 1899–1910/2016, 63’
Sun 16 October 2016
Henry V
dir. Laurence Olivier, UK 1944, 136’
Tue 18 October 2016
Romeo and Juliet
dir. Franco Zeffirelli, UK, Italy 1968, 138’
Wed 19 October 2016
All Night Long
dir. Basil Dearden, UK 1962, 91’
Fri 21 October 2016
Macbeth
dir. Roman Polański, UK 1971, 140’
Sat 22 October 2016
Hamlet
dir. Laurence Olivier, UK 1948, 161’
Mon 24 October 2016
Theatre of Blood
dir. Douglas Hickox, UK 1973, 104’
Tue 1 November 2016
The Tempest
dir. Derek Jarman, UK 1979, 95’
Wed 2 November 2016
Henry V
reż./dir. Kenneth Branagh, UK 1989, 137’
Fri 4 November 2016
The Angelic Conversation
dir. Derek Jarman, UK 1985, 78’
Sat 5 November 2016
Hamlet
dir. Kenneth Branagh, USA, UK 1996, 242’
Tue 8 November 2016
Much Ado About Nothing
dir. Kenneth Branagh, USA, UK 1993, 111’
Thu 10 November 2016
Richard III
dir. Richard Loncraine, USA, UK 1995, 104’
Fri 11 November 2016
King Lear
dir. Peter Brook, UK, Denmark 1971, 137’
Sun 13 November 2016
Othello
dir. Oliver Parker, USA, UK 1995, 123’
Mon 14 November 2016
Prospero’s Books
dir. Peter Greenaway, UK, Netherlands, France, Italy, Japan 1991, 122’
For a complete information about screenings, go to website.
Organisers
British Council, New Horizons Association
The project is part of the European Capital of Culture Wrocław 2016.