WARNING: This Article May Contain Spoilers
It may have become seemingly obvious to those in the know that have the understanding to decipher the inspiration for many of the sections for this blog – that I am a fan of Shakespeare and it feels like I’m possibly one of the only ones of my generation. So it would have felt wrong – given the paraphrased titles used – to not do an article about films based on Shakespeare plays…
She’s The Man
I’ve had this article planned for a long time but it turns out that this is perfectly timed and this is the perfect film to represent Twelfth Night following the women winning the Euros a matter of months ago! For those who don’t know, the basis of Twelfth Night is that Viola dresses as a man when she washes up on the shores of Illyria (funnily enough, the name of the high school in She’s The Man) but not purposefully like her twin brother. Whereas, because their football team (yeah, I know it’s an American film and they call it ‘soccer’ but it will always be football to me) gets cut, so Viola, played by Amanda Bynes, decides to dress as her brother Sebastian to join the high school football team and defeat the team of her ex-boyfriend.
Lion King
Truthfully, I could talk about this film without having to watch but who would pass up the opportunity to watch one of their childhood favourites? Especially one that is nearly as old as they are. Anyway, I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, when I wrote an article specifically about the two Lion King films but for those who haven’t read article – Lion King is William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (not that I’ve heard Disney openly admit to that fact). The one main difference between the two, you know outside of Hamlet not being a musical, is that the Uncle (Scar) kills Hamlet’s (Simba’s) father (Mufasa) on screen – whereas this happens before the play even begins. The worrying part is, that in Lion King, Scar is actually one of my favourite characters – even though he is the bad guy. Of course, the method of death is different – but you have to remember these are lions we are talking about not people but the plot of the film is the same.
10 Things I Hate About You
I’ve said this before I’m sure, I don’t do romantic comedies. However, like Princess Bride this film is an exception and possibly one of my favourites. Based on Shakespeare’s Taming of The Shrew, this film even quotes the original plan even as early as the first few scenes when Cameron, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, says I burn, I pine, I perish in reference to Bianca Stratford (I wonder if they picked that name based up Stratford-upon-Avon) which is exactly what Lucentio says to Traino about her in the play. The basis of the play, and this film, is that Bianca is unable to marry or in the case of 10 Things I Hate About You to date unless her older sister Catherine (the titular Shrew) does. Like She’s The Man, they have also named the school after the city that the play is set in, Padua.
All Night Long
This one was a little bit difficult because I have only seen this play once. The one thing I will say is that I am so glad that they did not whitewash the cast, as Othello being Moorish means that he could only be played by a man of colour so it is correct that Rex would be also. The plot of the play actually takes place over a few days so I am sure it was hard to fit it into one night. I didn’t realise until I truly thought it through but they actually fit so much in from Rex dropping Cas from the band (resembling Cassio’s demotion by Othello) to continuous veiled hints dropped by Johnny to Rex – like Iago to Othello. I actually feel that they have split the character of Rodrigo between both Berger and Rodney. I say this because it is Berger that Cas fits with but it is Rodney that is secretly in love with Delia – as Rodrigo is with Desdemona. At least this film has a much happier ending than the play…
West Side Story
If you wanted to know what Romeo and Juliet would be like as a musical, then this is what you need to watch. I’ll be honest, I don’t mind the music side of it but some of the dancing seems a little bit out of place – and a little out of character especially for the Jets. In a way, I like and dislike this interpretation but I don’t think it helps that Romeo and Juliet has never been a favourite of mine (apart from the Baz Lurhman version but that I might be the adaptation). I like the fact that the discovery of Maria’s death isn’t contrived like it is in the play – Anita announces it out of anger to keep Tony and the others away from them. On the other hand, I’m not too happy that Maria gets to live. It’s possible the one thing I like about the play is that in no way is it a happy ending. I guess nor is this but it’s at least happier…
Get Over It
I’m going to come and say it straight away, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is my favourite Shakespeare play. Mainly because of the layered storylines and reasonable complexity so it was always going to be hard to make a film based on the play as a whole. The main focus of this film is the love triangle (I guess it should be a square as there’s four of them but no one says that). Yes, the film takes place during the rehearsals and staging of their own version of the play where Burke, our lead character plays Lysander – when in actual fact, he is the film’s equivalent to Demetrius. I’ll explain for those who haven’t seen/read the play – We have four main characters; Hermia, Demetrius, Helena and Lysander. Hermia and Lysander are in love, but she is betrothed to Demetrius who Helena is in love with. So in terms of this film, Kelly (played by Kirsten Dunst) is our fair Helena as she is in love with Burke – making him Demetrius instead of Lysander. Especially as, like in the play, he realises that it is Helena he should be with all along.
