Movie and Television List |
1993. Much Ado About Nothing, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Renaissance Films, and Samuel Goldwyn Company. Directed by Kenneth Branagh. With Kenneth Branagh (Benedick), Emma Thompson (Beatrice), Keanu Reeves (Don John), Kate Beckinsale (Hero), Denzel Washington (Don Pedro), Michael Keaton (Dogberry), and Imelda Staunton (Margaret).
1991. Men of Respect, Arthur Goldblatt Productions and Central City Films. Directed by William Reilly. With John Turturro (Mike Battaglia), Dennis Farina (Bankie Como), Peter Boyle (Matt Duffy), Rod Steiger (Charlie D’Amico), and Stanley Tucci (Mal). After hearing a prophecy, a hitman executes his superiors and rises to the head of a mob family with dire consequences in this film inspired by Macbeth.
1991. My Own Private Idaho, New Line Cinema. Directed by Gus Van Sant. With River Phoenix (Mike Waters) and Keanu Reeves (Scott Favor). The story of two hustlers on a journey to find peace and a long-lost mother, inspired by Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2.
1990. The Godfather: Part III, Paramount Pictures and Zoetrope Studios. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. With Al Pacino (Michael Corleone), Diana Keaton (Kay Adams Michelson), Andy Garcia (Vinnie Mancini-Corleone), and Sofia Coppola (Mary Corleone). The last installment of the Godfather trilogy follows a King Lear-like plot, with a scene at the end that quotes directly from the play.
1990. Hamlet, Canal+ and Warner Brothers Pictures. Directed by Franco Zeffirelli. With Mel Gibson (Hamlet), Glenn Close (Gertrude), Alan Bates (Claudius), Ian Holm (Polonius), Helena Bonham Carter (Ophelia), and Pete Postlethwaite (Player King).
1990. Hamlet, New York Shakespeare Festival. Directed by Kevin Kline. With Kevin Kline (Hamlet) and Michael Cumpsty (Laertes). Television production.
1990. Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, Brandenberg and Buena Vista Home Video. Directed by Tom Stoppard. With Gary Oldman (Rosencrantz), Tim Roth (Guildenstern), and Richard Dreyfuss (The Player). Two minor characters from Hamlet ponder life, reality, and the stage with the help of a group of traveling players.
1989. The Dead Poets’ Society, Silver Screen Partners IV and Touchstone Pictures. Directed by Peter Weir. With Robin Williams (John Keating), Robert Sean Leonard (Neil Perry), and Ethan Hawke (Todd Anderson). A drama about an inspiring teacher at a stuffy boys’ school that includes a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream as a major plot element.
1989. Othello, Rockbottom Productions. Directed by Ted Lange.
1987. The Comedy of Errors, Lincoln Center and PBS. Directed by Gregory Mosher and Robert Woodruff. With The Flying Karamazov Brothers. The Comedy of Errors as performed by a troupe of flying acrobats at Lincoln Center. Filmed stage production / television production.
1987. China Girl, Great American Films Limited Partnership. Directed by Abel Ferrara. With David Caruso (Mercury). Romeo and Juliet in New York City, with rival Italian and Chinese gangs as the feuding families.
1987. King Lear, Cannon Films. Directed by Jean-Luc Godard. With Woody Allen (Mr. Alien), Julie Delpy (Virginia), Burgess Meredith (Don Learo), Molly Ringwald (Cordelia), and Peter Sellars (William Shaksper Junior the Fifth). The great works of art have been lost and William Shaksper Junior the Fifth tries to reconstruct King Lear after being reminded of its plot by the strange inhabitants at a nearby resort.
Columbia Pictures/Photofest. © Columbia Pictures.