Subgenre Sampler
Rental > Shakespeare: 114 Films to Rent on DVD
- Taming of the Shrew (1966)
- Dir. Franco Zeffirelli
Feat. Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor
- Famous couple Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor star as Petruchio and Katharina in this spirited parody of gender role plays. Zeffirelli succeeds…
- Chimes at Midnight (1965)
- Dir. Orson Welles
Feat. Orson Welles, Keith Baxter, John Gielgud…
- Orson Welles' late–career masterpiece in which one of the Bard's great supporting characters Falstaff is given his due through a series of…
- Hamlet (1964)
- Dir. Bill Colleran, John Gielgud
Feat. Richard Burton, Hume Cronyn
- Highly successful Richard Burton Broadway production of "Hamlet", deliberately staged in the style of a "dress rehearsal", but performed in front of…
- Bad Sleep Well, The (1960)
- Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune
- A contemporary gangster saga that uses a Hamlet–esque narrative to indict corporate and political corruption. Government officials were not…
- Throne of Blood (1957)
- Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura
- Kurosawa transposes MacBeth into a Samurai setting and the result justifies his reputation. Nothing short of an awesome spectacle Shakespeare himself…
- Richard III (1955)
- Dir. Laurence Olivier
Feat. Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson
- Laurence Olivier's third cinematic translation of Shakespeare both as actor and director. His performance borders on high camp as the twisted 15th…
- Romeo and Juliet (1954)
- Dir. Renato Castellani
Feat. Laurence Harvey, Susan Shentall, Mervyn Jones…
- An Italian co–production, this version benefits from magical locations in Verona and Venice and the sumptuous Renaissance–influenced eye…
- Julius Caesar (1953)
- Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Feat. Marlon Brando, James Mason, John Gielgud…
- Marlon Brando, James Mason and John Gielgud star in this beautifully staged Hollywood adaptation. Passionate drama of power, conspiracy and murder in…
- King Lear (1953)
- Dir. Andrew McCollough
Feat. Orson Welles, Wesley Addy
- Sturdy made–for–TV adaptation, with Orson Welles in the grizzly, titular role.
- Othello (1952)
- Dir. Orson Welles
Feat. Orson Welles, Micheál Mac Liammóir, Suzanne Cloutier…
- Dir. Welles filmed Shakespeare's great tragedy over four years in Europe and North Africa, and despite some patchy moments, turned in probably the…