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Francesca Annis is FANTASTIC as Lady Macbeth, too. Very understated performance when the tendency can often be to try and match the witches. I love the use of voice-over for a lot of the soliloquies, as well - it does a great job relating you to Macbeth, when a lot of productions keep him at arms' length.
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Dec 14, 2014 16:15
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F Stop Fitzgerald posted:This might not even be the right thread because they are almost straight filmed performances, but that BBC collection from the late 70's/early 80's are great if you want to see the plays acted in their near-complete forms, with minimal set design and cheap costumes. Highlights are Hamlet (Derek Jacobi), Othello (Anthony Hopkins and Bob Hoskins), and Timon of Athens with Jonathon Pryce.
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Dec 14, 2014 16:41
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TychoCelchuuu posted:Anyone have any other recommendations as to which of these are good? Or are they all at least good enough to be worth watching? Macbeth was a really good one- McKellen, Judi Dench, Roger Rees as Malcolm, Bob Peck as Macduff. Very atmospheric and the witches' scenes are especially well done.
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Dec 14, 2014 18:59
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Ensign_Ricky posted:Masterpiece Theatre Presents: Othello Something interesting about this version of Othello is it features Channel 4 newsreader Jon Snow as a Shakespearian version of himself. He also did this in Ralph Fiennes' Coriolanus recently. I'd love it if he kept doing this.
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Dec 14, 2014 19:40
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Oh gently caress now I get to nerd out about my favorite Shakespeare adaptation: Robert Wilson/Berliner Ensemble's Shakespeare Sonnets, a vaudevillian musical adaptation of several of the Sonnets with music by Rufus Wainwright. Ok, so if you know anything about Robert Wilson then you probably have a good idea about what this is all about, namely, exaggerated poses, whiteface, padded drag, fierce, comical abstractions, and big bars of light moving around. I'll be honest: I totally get why this is for a niche audience. For one thing, not only are most of the songs in German, but the taped performance doesn't have subtitles, so enjoying it takes a lot of reading up beforehand. Thankfully, somebody very helpfully listed out all the Sonnets performed in the first two hours: Pär Ljunggren posted:00:50/43 21:25/148 25:36/154 30:21/76 32:15/53 34:44/18 40:36/10 44:18/121 49:49/91 51:48/20 57:35/40 1:01:13/143 1:03:35/102 1:04:50/29 1:15:26/23 1:25:00/144 1:29:30/127 1:33:20/147 1:35:45/20 1:39:05/66 1:44:48/154 1:49:45/113 1:50:49/107 1:52:53/71 SOOJIN LEE posted:43 148 154 76 53 18 10 121 91 20 40 143 102 29 23 144 127 147 66 154 113 107 71 44 129 87 66 But, unlike most Shakespeare adaptations, it's not really about the text. A lot like Einstein on the Beach, it's more about the culture and impact around and of the Sonnets themselves, the everlasting universality of them. The phrases and meanings get twisted and distorted into comical-tragic Magritte-like pictures, finding the core meaning to the poem and exploring it via music and image in a way that's both stubbornly nonliteral and aggressively symbolic.  Take this sequence as an example, Sonnet 66 via Kurt Weill. It's one of Shakespeare's most pessimistic sonnets, outright stating, at least poetically, that he's sick of everything because it all sucks (and not only sucks, but has been made impure) and he's tired of faking it and he'd probably kill himself if it didn't mean giving up love. So the biggest image in the scene is the Adam and Eve apple tree of knowledge, but what really drives the scene is the angry force behind the characters. Shakespeare looks like he does through the whole show - tired, tired of his passions, tired of being spent for four hundred years - while the Queen beckons menacingly, more than able to sustain the test of time, because that's what royalty is both bred and paid to do (the natural immortal to Shakespeare's Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged). Meanwhile, Eve eats the fruit, fiercely, gluttonously, grinning aggressively through the disappointment of knowing before spitting it back up like Mr Creosote, hips twitching, never letting go of the snake. This is a pretty typical scene, and it's demonstrative of the show's attitude. These characters recur, first introduced in a dumb-show slapstick and then given varying levels of awareness (much like the trapped characters in Roy Andersson films, caught in their cycles and chasing glimpses of the outer world), and all afflicted by love, however antagonistic, sarcastic, or aloof they are. Anyways, I'm probably making a fool out of myself with this post but I just really fuckin love this show. It makes me feel, man.
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Dec 14, 2014 20:15
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Professor Clumsy posted:Something interesting about this version of Othello is it features Channel 4 newsreader Jon Snow as a Shakespearian version of himself. He also did this in Ralph Fiennes' Coriolanus recently. I'd love it if he kept doing this. Now I want to see this even more.
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Dec 14, 2014 21:06
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I, Butthole posted:Man, this many posts and no one talking about Polanski's Macbeth? That's criminal. Polanski's Macbeth is a weird animal. You have this moody atmosphere, then BAM TITTIES! Then more moodiness, bloodshed, and TITTIES! Then just before the end MORE TITTIES! And then the prepubescent boy cock.  Ok, I like to think I'm not a prude. But this is something I've seen in more than a few adaptations. Serious...serious.....tits....serious....tits....and so forth. Same thing in The Merchant of Venice with Pacino, it's got this great atmosphere and then tits out of nowhere.
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Dec 15, 2014 05:27
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Well, Shakespeare was an author for the unwashed masses so those movies try to reference that, with titties.
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Dec 16, 2014 11:53
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exquisite tea posted:There was a two year time period during which Julia Stiles was like in every modernized Shakespeare adaptation. 10 Things I Hate About You is a goddamn treasure and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. So many good, weird little roles in that, like Alison Janey's guidance counsellor. It's not exactly an adaptation, but I remember enjoying Pacino's Looking For Richard.
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Dec 16, 2014 15:44
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Ensign_Ricky posted:Polanski's Macbeth is a weird animal. You have this moody atmosphere, then BAM TITTIES! Then more moodiness, bloodshed, and TITTIES! Then just before the end MORE TITTIES! You might not be a prude but you've got a bit of growing up to do if seeing a pair of tits takes you out of an otherwise gripping movie so much
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Dec 16, 2014 15:53
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howe_sam posted:Pacino's Looking For Richard. I remember watching that and wondering why Pacino just didn't follow it up with a straight Richard III adaptation. He was so delightful to watch in that film.
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Dec 16, 2014 16:16
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Jonah Galtberg posted:You might not be a prude but you've got a bit of growing up to do if seeing a pair of tits takes you out of an otherwise gripping movie so much For the most part it doesn't take me out, it's just a little jarring to me. Especially the 50 naked hags in the cave in Macbeth. What the gently caress was that about. But at any rate, what I'm saying is that I personally feel that if you're gonna throw tits at the audience, have a good reason. If it's a love scene, ok, sure, I can understand that. It's when it has absolutely nothing to do with the plot, well, then it's just titties for the sake of titties.
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Dec 17, 2014 04:08
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That London police version of Othello is awesome. My English teacher showed us that in grade 12 (the year before, he had us watch a 90's Mad Max low budget version of Macbeth) and I have no idea how he came across it. Christopher Eccelston steals the show. He's just so creepy. The cinematography is interesting too. Especially when Jago looks into the camera and goes on one of his insane monologues. Whoever wrote this movie must have agreed with the theory that Iago has repressed feelings for Othello because here, it's super obvious. Jago gets into a relationship with Emilia (called Lulu for some reason) just so he can get information about Dessie and in every scene with him and Othello, he's touchy-feely to a really uncomfortable degree. The movie is on Youtube but I'm not sure if linking it is kosher. If you look up "othello 2001 shakespeare," you'll find it. Celery Face fucked around with this message at 07:08 on Dec 17, 2014 |
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Dec 17, 2014 04:59
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Ensign_Ricky posted:For the most part it doesn't take me out, it's just a little jarring to me. I can think of few fates worse than being forever stuck in puberty
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Dec 17, 2014 05:34
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Ran is one of my favorite movies visually. It has an incredible consistency with the costumes wherein each heir/army's outfits create lines of color that break apart the order of otherwise serene places. Chaos indeed, great job. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-QaJsNGl3g Speaking of King Lear, I mean it's not GREAT but.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HalJbU1Tb6k Throne of Blood is my favorite though. MacBeth as an almost gothic horror flick is amazing. The decision to have the major characters all made up in ways based on exaggerated makeup jobs from different Japanese theatrical schools really pays off. Isuzu Yamada plays the Lady MacBeth role. Her makeup is based on a Noh theater mask usually used to represent an innocent maiden type but of course her dialogue is not quite the same as that. The way Kurosawa shoots her scenes is awesome because she's often kneeling off the side, very calmly cooing out advice that is completely logical but then basically emasculating Mifune with the last sentence in each of her talks. She does this and then sort of halfway turns her head towards him and it just sort of works, like her delivery and the really simple gestures make her kind of gradually hang over every scene from then on like a ghost, I love it. It's a pretty impressive feat that it's a great movie in its own right while also making the basic themes of MacBeth both accessible to Japanese audiences both on the level of being great AND on the extra level of paying such great homage to Japan's own theatrical traditions. I love the really simple old school horror movie tricks used for the minor special effects of stuff like the Witch's hut disappearing since they're effective but then they do stuff like straight up fire actual arrows at actors wearing body armor to get more convincing performances. Kurosawa. :3 The Criterion release has both a mechanically accurate and a more flowery, dramatic set of subtitles on it which is really nice of them.
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Dec 17, 2014 05:37
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Jonah Galtberg posted:I can think of few fates worse than being forever stuck in puberty I'm sure it's terrible for you.
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Dec 17, 2014 06:54
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Ensign_Ricky posted:I'm sure it's terrible for you. ZING
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Dec 17, 2014 07:00
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Ensign_Ricky posted:Especially the 50 naked hags in the cave in Macbeth. What the gently caress was that about. It reminded me of von Trier's Antichrist, invoking fear of feminity as something alien for MacBeth.
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Dec 17, 2014 12:04
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Is like to say a quick word about Hamlet adaptations. I just watched the Patrick Stewart/ David Tennant version and it was marvelous. Beautifully shot, and the conceit of the cameras, while sometimes cheesy, helped establish who could or could not see the ghost. The Yorick scene was also wonderfully subdued. In contrast, Mel Gibson's adaptation was... way too oedipal.
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Dec 18, 2014 02:01
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Skeesix posted:In contrast, Mel Gibson's adaptation was... way too oedipal. The framing of Gertrude's death is hilarious.
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Dec 18, 2014 02:07
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Grendels Dad posted:It reminded me of von Trier's Antichrist, invoking fear of feminity as something alien for MacBeth. Maybe. It's hard to tell with Polanski, seeing as a good portion of the film was him working out his grieving process about the loss of his wife.  We don't have a :manson: emote.
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Dec 18, 2014 07:06
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howe_sam posted:10 Things I Hate About You is a goddamn treasure and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. So many good, weird little roles in that, like Alison Janey's guidance counsellor. 10 Things I Hate About You is one of the best modernized Shakespeare adaptations of all time.
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Dec 18, 2014 12:19
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I, Butthole posted:Man, this many posts and no one talking about Polanski's Macbeth? That's criminal. Polanski's decision to film it as a horror movie was a perfect one. Not just because he's about as good a horror director as there ever was, but because of course Macbeth is a horror story. Kurosawa filmed it that way too, sort of, but Polanski really does it up. I know a common complaint was that he made it too lurid, but to me a Macbeth without vile, almost crass violence misses the point. Ensign_Ricky posted:For the most part it doesn't take me out, it's just a little jarring to me. Sorry dude, you're a prude. Celery Face posted:That London police version of Othello is awesome. My English teacher showed us that in grade 12 (the year before, he had us watch a 90's Mad Max low budget version of Macbeth) and I have no idea how he came across it. Christopher Eccelston steals the show. He's just so creepy. The cinematography is interesting too. Especially when Jago looks into the camera and goes on one of his insane monologues. Whoever wrote this movie must have agreed with the theory that Iago has repressed feelings for Othello because here, it's super obvious. Jago gets into a relationship with Emilia (called Lulu for some reason) just so he can get information about Dessie and in every scene with him and Othello, he's touchy-feely to a really uncomfortable degree. Yesssss
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Dec 18, 2014 16:52
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My favorite adaptation is probably the Branagh "Henry V," which I know isn't exactly an original answer, but come on. It really is an inspired piece of work. Even back then it was pretty clear that Branagh was a complete egomaniac, but boy, did he make that work for him as King Henry. I'm firmly in the "Olivier was the greatest actor of all time" camp, but I think Sir Kenny outdoes him by a mile in this one. That said, there are a lot of VERY close runners-up. The most obvious one is the Ian McKellan "Richard III." I think Sir Ian's performance may be the best Shakespearean interpretation ever captured on film, and this movie would definitely be my favorite if it didn't lose so much momentum in the fourth act. (ie: everything between the murder of the princes and the showdown at Bosworth Field) Also, I thought Annette Benning was absolutely atrocious (Robert Downey Jr. wasn't great either, but at least he has a cool final scene). Samovar posted:but the other two I enjoyed very much were the BBC adaptation of Macbeth with Patrick Stewart in faux-Soviet aesthetic This is definitely another one. Really, really cool framing of the play in a high-Stalinist aesthetic, with superb direction. And boy, Sir Patrick is perfect. Just freaking perfect. The third runner-up for me that hasn't been mentioned yet is the recent BBC adaptation of the underrated, underperformed "Richard II." It was part of "The Hollow Crown," an adaptation of the Henriad (plus, obviously, Richard II), and that segment was the best so far. Ben Whishaw (Q in "Skyfall") plays the title role, and hoo boy, is he good at being a freaky little wood nymph. He does a great job of being incredibly punchable in the first half of the show, and then make you feel very, very sorry for him by the end, which is sort of the point of the play. Anyway, I also love Branagh's "Much Ado." 
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Dec 18, 2014 21:45
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How does everyone feel about Romeo + Juliet? I haven't seen it since the 90's, is it worth a re-watch?
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Dec 19, 2014 09:54
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Full Battle Rattle posted:How does everyone feel about Romeo + Juliet? I haven't seen it since the 90's, is it worth a re-watch? It is violently nineties but it does some interesting things, like the twist on the death scene.
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Dec 19, 2014 13:14
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Worth a rewatch for Leguizamo and Perrineau alone.
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Dec 19, 2014 13:16
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Speak of the devil and he shall appear... http://www.wellesnet.com/?p=11748 Welles' Othello is apparently getting a Criterion release
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Dec 19, 2014 17:22
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Full Battle Rattle posted:How does everyone feel about Romeo + Juliet? I haven't seen it since the 90's, is it worth a re-watch? I can't shake the feeling that the film was made because Zeffirelli's version wasn't keeping high schoolers attentions anymore, but it is a really fun, strong adaptation. I'm someone who is completely indifferent to Luhrmann too, fwiw.
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Dec 19, 2014 18:39
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I really like the Luhrmann version despite not thinking I should. Speaking of Romeo & Juliet, what do people think of the one that came out recently (Hailee Steinfeld & some guy I don't recognize)? Anyone seen it?
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Dec 19, 2014 19:55
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LesterGroans posted:Worth a rewatch for Leguizamo and Perrineau alone. Don't forget Pete Postlewaithe!
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Dec 19, 2014 20:29
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While it scaled everything down significantly, I always liked Scotland, PA as a MacBeth adaptation. Instead of being a king, Joe McBeth is a guy that works at a diner in the 1970's. James LeGros is pretty great in it as is Maura Tierney as Lady McBeth, and Walken is in it as McDuff, who is a cop in this version.
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Dec 19, 2014 20:48
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I'm still a bit of a newbie to Shakespeare, even though I've completely enjoyed just about everything I've experienced. The film adaptation of The Merchant of Venice (with Joseph Fiennes and Pacino) was the first I watched consciously looking for a Shakespeare film adaptation and digged it a lot, Pacino in particular does a really great job in it (and having subsequently seen Looking for Richard, I'm not surprised). Romeo + Juliet I avoided for the longest time as it came out during the height of the DiCaprio buzz and as such I discounted it as some vanity project of his, but I recently watched it and was very much pleasantly surprised by it. As mentioned, Leguizamo and Harold Perrineau totally make that movie and even Luhrmann's penchant for disruptive and overt weirdness doesn't do much to take away from it. Coriolanus is up there as one of the best in my opinion, the modern setting works miles better here than it did in Romeo + Juliet and doesn't fall flat even once because the cast is so goddamned committed to it, and Fiennes comes off as completely unrestrained and fiery in his performance, as does Redgrave. For some reason I've yet to see Titus (despite my love for just about anything with Anthony Hopkins in it) or any of Branagh's adaptations. Should give those a go.
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Dec 19, 2014 21:16
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The BBCs' ongoing film-length adaptations of the History plays are well worth a watch, I think. They're produced under the overarching title of The Hollow Crown and so far they've done Richard II, both parts of Henry IV and Henry V, with the rest to come next year. Richard II is the best so far, with Ben Wishaw as the hauntingly effete and dangerously ineffectual king with a martyr complex, all decked out in gorgeous pastel colours and surrounded by gold leaf and fawning admirers while the country falls to ruin just beyond his garden walls. Patrick Stewart is a marvellous, understated John of Gaunt and Rory Kinnear turns in a really good performance in the somewhat thankless role of Bollingbroke, playing him as a weary, wary, near-silent soldier. The scene where Richard hands the crown over to him made the hairs on the back of my neck all rise up, it was so masterfully staged. It does a really good job of turning a somewhat stodgy play into something incredibly fascinating. Henry IV is also well worth a watch, with Jeremy Irons as the ageing king, the great British stage actor Simon Russell Beale as Falstaff, and a charming, if ever-so-slightly vicious Tom Hiddleston as Prince Hal.
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Dec 19, 2014 22:57
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I watched Titus last night and drat, that movie is like a fever dream. It's very, very faithful to the material which is great but the modernizations come off as a bit clumsy, particularly in Goldenthal's otherwise great score. Hopkins easily steals the show and the scene where Titus pleads for his sons' lives is absolutely captivating. And speaking of Taymor's adaptations, what's the story with The Tempest? The cast looks stellar but I saw it received mixed to negative reviews. Worth checking out? I also just rewatched Pacino's Looking for Richard in preparation for the 1995 Richard III with McKellen and I really wish they'd made more documentaries like that. It's great to get such insight and presumably a softened landing into Shakespeare.
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Dec 20, 2014 20:32
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Ensign_Ricky posted:Polanski's Macbeth is a weird animal. You have this moody atmosphere, then BAM TITTIES! Then more moodiness, bloodshed, and TITTIES! Then just before the end MORE TITTIES! We watched this in my high school English class one year and our teacher had a whole rant about how absurd it was that people would be wandering naked around stone castles in the middle of the night in the damp Scottish moors; there's a reason all those bedrooms had a fireplace and a big pile of furs on the bed.
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Dec 21, 2014 09:57
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For anyone with an interest in Shakespeare...and hip hop, this is a great talk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSbtkLA3GrY
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Dec 21, 2014 23:17
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Stare-Out posted:I watched Titus last night and drat, that movie is like a fever dream. It's very, very faithful to the material which is great but the modernizations come off as a bit clumsy, particularly in Goldenthal's otherwise great score. Hopkins easily steals the show and the scene where Titus pleads for his sons' lives is absolutely captivating. And speaking of Taymor's adaptations, what's the story with The Tempest? The cast looks stellar but I saw it received mixed to negative reviews. Worth checking out? I quite enjoyed Taymor's Tempest- I don't remember it too strongly but it had a nice atmosphere.
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Dec 22, 2014 01:38
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h_double posted:We watched this in my high school English class one year and our teacher had a whole rant about how absurd it was that people would be wandering naked around stone castles in the middle of the night in the damp Scottish moors; there's a reason all those bedrooms had a fireplace and a big pile of furs on the bed. That...that's actually a good point. Also, the film was produced by Playboy, so there's that too. (And if you guys think that's irrelevant, consider that Caligula was produced by Penthouse, and Guccione demanded more nudity and sex in it. No reason to disbelieve that Hef didn't do the same thing. Just more tastefully.)
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Dec 22, 2014 06:15
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Ensign_Ricky posted:That...that's actually a good point. It's time to get over the nudity, Ensign_Ricky.
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Dec 22, 2014 06:32
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