Introduction
William Shakespeare (baptized 26 April 1564 – died 23 April 1616) was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. --Wikipedia
Below you can explore resources based on the works of Shakespeare or which reimagine his life, times and influence which are available via the Film & Video Collection.
Feature Films
10 Things I Hate About You by Call Number: HDDVD 682 & DVD 4463 & eVideoPublication Date: 2010Cameron falls for the most beautiful girl in school. However, she is forbidden to date until the most hated girl in school, her ill-tempered older sister, goes out too. A loose adaptation of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew set in a modern Seattle high school.
Anonymous by Call Number: DVD 11284Publication Date: 2012Was Shakespeare a fraud? Set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I, and the Essex Rebellion against her, this film advances the theory that it was really Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford, who penned Shakespeare's plays.
Coriolanus by Call Number: DVD 11692Publication Date: 2011Rebelling against his manipulative mother and rejected by his own people, Coriolanus incites a riot that expels him from Rome. The banished hero joins forces with his enemy Tullus Aufidius to exact his revenge and determine his destiny. Set in contemporary times.
Hamlet by Call Number: DVD 3779Publication Date: 1996In this first-ever full-text film of William Shakespeare's work, the Prince of Denmark, Hamlet, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother remarrying the murderer. Meanwhile, war is brewing.
Hamlet by Call Number: DVD 1781Publication Date: 1990Hamlet, a prince of medieval-era Denmark, senses treachery behind his royal father's death. His mother is all too dangerously entangled in that treachery. This film portrays Shakespeare's immortal tale of high adventure and evil deeds.
Henry V by Call Number: DVD 567Publication Date: 1989King Henry V unites his people, deals justly with traitors, leads his soldiers to victory, and in the end ensures the peace by marrying the French princess Katherine.
Kiss Me Kate by Call Number: DVD 14641Publication Date: 1953Two squabbling, 20th-century ex-marrieds are cast as squabbling Renaissance romantics in a musical version of The taming of the shrew. On stage they fight it out and backstage they continue to clash.
Much Ado About Nothing by Call Number: DVD 13606Publication Date: 2013A contemporary spin on Shakespeare's classic comedy about the story of sparring lovers Beatrice and Benedick offers a view of the intricate game that is love.
Much Ado About Nothing by Call Number: DVD 73Publication Date: 1993With his wedding a week away, hot-blooded Claudio can't wait to marry the beautiful young Hero. To distract him, his best friend Don Pedro devises mischief. Their amusement is almost spoiled but love and laughter prevail when the local constable exposes the plot--and all the trouble proves to be much ado about nothing.
O by Call Number: DVD 847Publication Date: 2002A modern-day version of Shakespeare's classic "Othello". "O" is the schools' best basketball player and NBA hopeful. The coaches' son is deeply resentful of his father’s preference to "O" on and off the court. The seeds of mistrust are sown and it sets into motion a disturbing chain of events.
Othello by Call Number: DVD 19803Publication Date: 1952Dramatization of William Shakespeare's play in which the evil Iago plants the seeds of doubt in Othello's mind about Desdemona's fidelity.
Othello by Call Number: DVD 596Publication Date: 1995Desdemona defies her father to marry the Moor of Venice, Othello. But Othello's old lieutenant, Iago, doesn't like Othello, and is determined to bring about the downfall of Othello's new favorite, Cassio, and destroy Othello in the process, by casting aspersions on Othello's new bride.
Romeo & Juliet by Call Number: DVD 225Publication Date: 1996Two teenagers fall in love and encounter opposition from their feuding families.
Romeo and Juliet by Call Number: DVD 575 & eVideoPublication Date: 1968Presents the Franco Zeffirelli production of Shakespeare's tragedy about two teenagers who fall in love, encounter opposition from their families, and take their lives.
Scotland, PA by Call Number: DVD 622Publication Date: 2002This spin on Macbeth is set in 1970s small-town America, where Joe and Pat McBeth plot to sabotage the owner of a local fast-foodery.
Shakespeare in Love by Call Number: DVD 80 & HDDVD 651Publication Date: 1998When Will Shakespeare needs passionate inspiration to break a bad case of writer's block, a secret romance with the beautiful Lady Viola starts the words flowing like never before!
Shakespeare Wallah by Call Number: DVD 19605Publication Date: 1965The real-life adventures of a traveling theater group in India during the final days of English colonial rule. They try to uphold British tradition by staging Shakespearean plays but can't compete with the wildly popular Bollywood film industry.
She's the Man by Call Number: DVD 12508Publication Date: 2006Viola takes her twin brothers place at his school, Illyria, so she can join the soccer team there. But her disguise leads to major complications when she falls in love with her soccer-playing roommate and the girl he's in love with falls in love with "Sebastian." Based on the play: Twelfth night / by William Shakespeare.
The Taming of the Shrew by Call Number: DVD 4485Publication Date: 1967Petruchio is a poverty-stricken gentleman from Verona who journeys to Padua in search of a wealthy wife. There he meets Katharina, a self-willed shrew who leads Petruchio on a merry chase before he successfully circumvents her attempts to avoid marriage.
The Tempest by Call Number: DVD 11099Publication Date: 2010Exiled to a magical island, the sorceress Prospera ... conjures up a storm that shipwrecks her enemies, and then unleashes her powers for revenge.
Throne of Blood by Call Number: eVideo until 3/13/21 & HDDVD 311 & DVD 7500Publication Date: 1957A Macbeth adaptation, sets Shakespeare's tale of ambition and duplicity in a ghostly, fog-enshrouded landscape in feudal Japan.
Titus by Call Number: DVD 204Publication Date: 1999Presents the story of a victorious Roman general whose rigid code of honor and duty proves to be his downfall.
Twelfth Night, or, What You Will by Call Number: DVD 6839Publication Date: 1996Shipwrecked on an unfriendly Illyrian shore, Viola, believing her twin brother is dead, disguises herself in male attire and joins the retinue of the lovesick Duke Orsino.
West Side Story by Call Number: DVD 638Publication Date: 1961This musical sets the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet against a backdrop of the rivalry of two street gangs, the Sharks and the Jets, in New York of the 1950s. A young woman who is sister to the Sharks' leader has her first taste of love with the former head of the Jets.
William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream by Call Number: DVD 4045Publication Date: 1999The film celebrates love's ability to alter reality while quietly acknowledging that any attempt to portray the feeling of love ultimately falls short.
Filmed Plays
The BBC Shakespeare Plays by Call Number: Available as eVideo & on sepapate DVDsPublication Date: 2009This collection provides access to the 37-episode series originally broadcast by BBC Television.
Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream by Call Number: DVD 8572Publication Date: 1981Adapted from Shakespeare's play, the opera follows the adventures of the four lovers and a group of naïve rustics who, in a wood on a moonstruck night, fall foul of Oberon and Tytania, the quarreling King and Queen of Fairies.
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) by Call Number: DVD 17481Publication Date: 2001This three-man troupe perform all of Shakespeare's plays in 90 minutes.
Hamlet by Call Number: DVD 1780Publication Date: 1990This version of Shakespeare's tragedy of Hamlet, prince of Denmark, is presented in modern dress
A Midsummer Night's Dream by Call Number: DVD 18467 & eVideoPublication Date: 2014Adaptation of the Shakespeare play, filmed during a stage performance.
Othello by Call Number: DVD 12104Publication Date: 2007Desdemona defies her father to marry the Moor of Venice, the mighty warrior, Othello. But Othello's old lieutenant, Iago, doesn't like Othello, and is determined to bring about the downfall of Othello's new favorite, Cassio, and destroy Othello in the process, by casting aspersions on Othello's new bride.
A Performance of Macbeth by Call Number: DVD 4849Publication Date: 1978Lady Macbeth, after a trio of witches prophesy Macbeth's ascension to the throne, pushes her husband into a murderous spree. But once crowned king of Scotland, Macbeth sees ghastly visions, fueled by guilt and a new prophecy, that ensure his ultimate downfall.
The Pirates of Penzance by Call Number: DVD 11126Publication Date: 1980Gilbert and Sullivan's operatic tale of Frederic, a "slave to duty" pirate, and the lowly band of "orphaned" pirates, is captured in this production.
Shakespeare's Hamlet by Call Number: DVD 11850Publication Date: 1969Based on director Tony Richardson's theatrical production at the Roundhouse Theatre in London, 'Hamlet' is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's epic tragedy.
Shakespeare: The Animated Tales by Call Number: DVD 14663 & eVideoPublication Date: 1992 & 1994Adaptations of 12 plays by William Shakespeare. Designed to introduce children and young adults to some of Shakespeare's most popular works.
Silent Shakespeare by Call Number: DVD 208 & eVideoPublication Date: 1899-1911In the early days of the cinema, pioneer filmmakers created these seven charming films based on the plays of William Shakespeare. Considered a "lowbrow" medium, the fledgling movie industry sought to elevate its status by immortalizing the classics and hiring the actors of the day.
The Taming of the Shrew by Call Number: DVD 306 & eVideoPublication Date: 1980The marriage of two strong-minded people provides the spark for a comic confrontation between the sexes.
The Taming of the Shrew by Call Number: DVD 11175Publication Date: 1975A commedia dell'arte production of Shakespeare's play about the courtship of a beautiful but sharp-tempered woman by her persistent suito
Documentaries
Discovering Hamlet by Call Number: DVD 14787Publication Date: 1990Follow the Renaissance Theatre Company through four weeks of rehearsals, from the first read-throughs to opening night. Interviews with principal actors--as well as the set designer, costume supervisor, text advisor, and others--reveal how each member of the company meets the production's challenges.
Last Will & Testament by Call Number: DVD 20516Publication Date: 2012Who wrote the works of William Shakespeare? Although the official story of a Stratford merchant writing for the London box office has held sway for centuries, questions over the authorship of the plays and poems persists. Go on a quest to uncover the truth.
Looking for Richard by Call Number: DVD 4360Publication Date: 1996Depicts the cast and crew of Al Pacino's production of Shakespeare's Richard III through rehearsals and the behind-the-scenes processes that go into creating characters and mounting a production.
Much Ado About Something by Call Number: DVD 6560Publication Date: 2003Follows Mike Rubbo as he tracks down the clues as to the identity of the author of Shakespeare's plays. He focuses on the sect that believes in Christopher Marlowe as the best candidate.
My Shakespeare by Call Number: DVD 4886Publication Date: 2005Follow a group of amateur actors from a poor neighborhood in London as they prepare for a performance of Romeo and Juliet.
Playing Shakespeare by Call Number: DVD 8248Publication Date: 1982John Barton guides members of the Royal Shakespeare Company in nine intensive acting workshops, demonstrating how the Company makes Shakespeare's classic plays accessible to modern audiences without compromising the text's integrity.
Richard III by Call Number: Available as eVideoPublication Date: 1973Elliot Norton interviews Al Pacino, Paul Benedict and David Wheeler and discusses their roles in Richard III.
Shakespeare Behind Bars by Call Number: DVD 3946Publication Date: 2005Convicted felons at Kentucky's Luther Luckett Correctional Complex rehearse for the Shakespearean production, The Tempest, as part of the Shakespeare Behind Bars Program. The play's underlying theme of forgiveness parallels themes of transformation and redemption in the lives of the prisoners.
Shakespeare High by Call Number: Available as eVideoPublication Date: 2011Shakespeare High is a documentary that follows a diverse group of Californian high school students as they prepare for and compete in the 90th Drama Teachers Association of Southern California Shakespeare Festival. Through their passion and working together toward a common goal that reflects and transcends their ethnic and socioeconomic divides, the dedicated teens manage to overcome their own personal hurdles and history.
The Shakespeare Sessions by Call Number: DVD 1527Publication Date: 2002Royal Shakespeare Company directors travel to America to conduct workshops with the cast of the Broadway production of The merchant of Venice. Subjects covered include: creating a world with words, the clues are in the text, playing the story, Shakespeare's advice to the actor, changing gears from prose to verse, the questions reveal the character, handling emotion, setting the word against the word, and connecting with the audience.
Shakespeare tragedies. Othello, Macbeth, King Lear by Call Number: DVD 18824Publication Date: 2000Background and outline of the plot for each play.
Shakespeare Uncovered: The Stories Behind the Bard's Greatest Plays by Call Number: DVD 12967Publication Date: 2012Six episodes combine history, biography, iconic performances, new analysis, and the personal passion of their celebrated hosts (Ethan Hawke, Jeremy Irons, Derek Jacobi, Trevor Nunn, Joely Richardson, and David Tennant) to tell the story behind the stories of Shakespeare's greatest plays.