Film Snob Bard

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:08]Everybody loves Shakespeare, right? In 1900, Sarah Burnernhard starred as Hamlet in a 2-minute production filmed in France that used a recording of her voice that was played simultaneously.

[00:00:23]It kicked off a very long trend. The film industry was only a few years old and yet everyone wanted movies based on Shakespeare's plays.

[00:00:36]Though not the first sound version of a Shakespearean play, Max Reinhardt's A Midsummer's Night's Dream was a major studio release in 1935.

[00:00:46]A year earlier, Reinhardt had staged the production at the Hollywood Bowl, and all of Tinsel Town showed up to marvel at the sets and costumes. The costume designs by Max Re and Milo Anderson are utterly jaw-dropping.

[00:01:03]No wonder the whole town was talking.

[00:01:06]Gauging the enthusiastic reaction of their wives and kids, Warner Brothers moved fast to put the production on screen. Of course, it looks amazing.

[00:01:17]They carefully constructed a truly enchanted forest and its inhabitants.

[00:01:22]The effects are lovely with nymphetts flying to and fro.

[00:01:27]Everything twinkles.

[00:01:30]Cinematographer Hal Moore, who won an Oscar for his work, made constant use of a star cross lens. He was innovative, too. He painted the tree trunks orange in order to give them a translucent glow in black and white.

[00:01:46]Warers broke the bank on it, miscasting James Kagny, Joey Brown, and especially Mickey Rooney, whose presence must rate at the top of the all-time most irritating performances in movies.

[00:02:02]Just look at the little tover act.

[00:02:05]Swinging around his arms like a drunk.

[00:02:08]>> Could no one tell him to dial it down just a bit? Good lord.

[00:02:15]>> Then there's the big moment where Kagny turns into a donkey.

[00:02:19]Is this a horror movie?

[00:02:22]A comedy? Reinhardt's dramatic sensibility was unafraid to make the forest mysterious and magical, just like in Europe. But the general consensus was that Shakespeare had been Americanized in this movie. But let's be honest, the whole thing when you really look at it is just very, very gay.

[00:02:47]The movie was a flop. Not quite a children's movie and not quite a musical. It drew neither women or children, and men must have steered clear. What works on stage often embarrasses on screen. And despite the class and lavish attention paid, it's a movie best loved for its camp appeal rather than something fun or even just as plain Shakespeare. Here, the bard is upstaged by sheer glamour, and no one wins.

[00:03:22]The next big Hollywood attempt at Shakespeare was his greatest love story, Romeo and Juliet.

[00:03:30]Released in 1936 by MGM, it was designed to be the perfect star vehicle for Norma Shearer. Norma, who was married to the producer Irving Thalberg, was 34 at the time, playing a 15year-old. What colors?

[00:03:47]>> Co-star Leslie Howard was 43 when he played the ill- fated teenage Romeo in love. Even at the time, some eyebrows were raised.

[00:03:58]Irving Thalberg spared no expense getting it right, sending the art department to Italy and hiring consultants. But it still looks more Hollywood than historic. The story is about two kids who die for each other's love. Here they are, first laying eyes on each other. Romeo is stunned when Juliet does a little dance.

[00:04:21]Later, he finds out where she lives and pays a late night visit.

[00:04:27]They flirt and declare their love for each other. The situation, where both are from rival families that wish each other dead, raises the stakes to a forbidden love level. Even with the older actors, the heat of the moment is undeniable.

[00:04:44]>> He's the east and Juliet is the sun.

[00:04:48]>> Irving Thalberg produced and spent lavishly to showcase his wife. Though Sher was possibly the most mannered and least enjoyable Hollywood actress of all time. Norma is kind of a hand actress.

[00:05:01]It's as though she's trying to woo a second Oscar right into her grasp.

[00:05:06]All the performances in the film are a little too much. What is it about Shakespeare that invites such over-the-top performances?

[00:05:15]>> John Barrymore as Mercersio gives the same facial expressions he did in every other movie he ever made.

[00:05:23]So Romeo and Juliet secretly get married. Then everyone finds out about it and freaks out. She pretends to take poison. Then he finds her and thinks she died, so he kills himself. And then she wakes up and realizes her blunder. It's so tragic.

[00:05:41]Today, it's hard not to see Norma's death scene as pure camp.

[00:05:48]The movie was not a disaster. It was nominated for best picture, best actress, best supporting actor for Basil Wthbone, best art direction.

[00:05:57]>> They forgot to nominate it though for best cheese.

[00:06:00]>> And let me die.

[00:06:04]Lawrence Olivier was already a major Hollywood star in the 30s known for movies like Weathering Heights and Rebecca.

[00:06:12]In 1944, he added the title of director to his resume, releasing a landmark version of Henry V. Lauded for its sophisticated use of color and pageantry, the movie begins with a performance of the play at the Globe Theater in 1600.

[00:06:30]Using miniatures and graceful camera movement, Olivier treats the movie audience to a truly immersive experience. We not only see the audience of 1600 as they take their places, even down to details like purchasing refreshments from vendors, but we also see the players at work backstage getting into costumes, squabbbling, and awaiting their cues. There are some comedic antics and also a notable moment where two boys playing female roles prepare to go on.

[00:07:05]The theater then as now is a constant suggests Olivier. The beauty of Shakespeare is that his work truly is immortal requiring the same production techniques over the centuries. And because the Globe was an open air building, we even see the result of an unfortunate rainstorm that causes the audience on the floor to take shelter.

[00:07:27]But the show must go on regardless of the rain. But then an amazing thing happens.

[00:07:33]>> As we watch the chorus here, played by Leslie Banks. The scene transitions to a fake exterior.

[00:07:41]Where are we? It's not quite outdoors, and it certainly isn't on stage anymore.

[00:07:46]The play moves into a sort of theatrical purgatory.

[00:07:51]>> Leslie Banks floats in mist, which allows for yet another bold transition, this time to a landscape of castles and rolling hills. Everything has a sort of fairy tale appearance. Olivier set out to recreate pages from the Duke Deber's Book of Hours, making clever use of the two-dimensional perspective.

[00:08:13]The backgrounds go out of their way to look flat and phony. Take for instance this shot of a castle and a character speaking from a top its gates. The perspective is flat, but then we get this remarkable downward perspective shot. Olivia wants to give us both the flatness of the horizons and the dizzying heights from a top the castle as well. There's not a lot of women in Henry V, but Olivier was smart enough to cast not a boy in drag, but the very beautiful Renee Asherton as Princess Catherine. He lavishes delicate colors on her.

[00:08:51]Olivier's biggest innovation in this movie was to deliver his saliloquis as a voice over, an interior monologue, so to speak, so film viewers get to stare at his intense facial expressions while listening to the half-wispered poetry.

[00:09:07]The idea to do it this way occurred to Olivier when he watched Normma's horrible attempts at a saliloquy in Romeo and Juliet, and it established the way forward when it came to movies and saliloquis.

[00:09:20]Indeed, it became the thing. The device works, but I couldn't help but think of what it was like to shoot this very lengthy closeup of Larry concentrating and concentrating.

[00:09:33]Finally, we get the Battle of Agent Court in 1415. Staged initially in a studio made to look like outdoors. We take in all the battle preparations, all the horn blowing and drumming, the toasting and armor dawning.

[00:09:50]Then we even get this hilarious shot of a man in a suit of armor being lowered onto his poor horse using a winch.

[00:09:57]Olivier's genius was to provide accurate details, but to do so as storybook art.

[00:10:05]Then with this epic full speed ahead tracking shot of soldiers on horseback charging forward, we are finally on actual exterior locations.

[00:10:16]It's hard not to love the battle with this massive arrows falling or close-ups of horses winning or fires raging as the other army retreats.

[00:10:30]Finally, Henry, the victor, gets to woo the princess.

[00:10:36]Livier's direction shows a phenomenal film instinct here. He exits the frame to the right.

[00:10:44]He walks around the back of the camera.

[00:10:48]Notice the lady's ey lines only to reemerge on the left side of the frame, completing a circle which ens snares her as he professes his love. really, how could she resist him, even with that haircut?

[00:11:07]>> The movie ends with the glorious wedding, again referencing the book of hours. And as the shot cuts from the wedding in the castle to the wedding mounted on the Globe Theater stage, it appears as though a young male actor is now dressed as Princess Catherine, as women were not allowed to act on stage in Shakespearean times. Henry V is the gold standard of Shakespeare movies.

[00:11:32]"This is how you do it," declares the director with every frame of this perfect and gorgeous creation. And honestly, it really never gets any better than this.

[00:11:43]>> And the story begins.

[00:11:45]>> That same year, 1948, Orson Wells threw his hat into the ring with his version of McBth, anxious to establish himself as the Olivier alternative.

[00:11:56]Though not the greatest of films based on Shakespearean plays, it is a particular favorite of mine. Or's approach was emphatically visual. Look at this opening sequence of the witches carving an idol out of mud. Orson shot the whole thing in less than 30 days on a Republic back lot where westerns were usually shot. Orsid also did a crazy thing. He had the cast pre-record their dialogue and then lips sync with the cameras rolled. Who knows why? Maybe he envisioned an elaborate editing scheme.

[00:12:32]The performances are great, especially Janette Nolan as Lady McBth, whose heaving bosom and overt horniness makes her a foe worth defeating.

[00:12:44]Then there's the sets, bleak and harsh and seemingly incomplete.

[00:12:50]Orson's eye for composition never falters. It's the best thing about his film directing and it does not fail here.

[00:12:58]So, King Duncan totters off to bed for his final sleep. Lord and Lady McBth are not just evil, they are also sexy. But after killing the king, things rapidly fall apart.

[00:13:13]McBth, for instance, is haunted by ghosts, making him seem unhinged in front of his men. What kind of a king freaks out in public?

[00:13:28]Lady McBth's conscience gets the best of her, and she eventually plunges to her death.

[00:13:39]Then as per the prophecy, the woods start to move slowly advancing towards the castle shrouded in a thick fog.

[00:13:54]In the end, McBth loses his head and little Rody McDow gets to claim the crown. The movie is short and brutal.

[00:14:03]Most effective, part history and part nightmare. This version of McBth stuns.

[00:14:22]Whereas McBth took about a month to shoot, Orson's next Shakespearean project, Athell, took well over 3 years.

[00:14:31]He kept running out of money and had to run off and star in some Hollywood dre in order to finance this magnificent vision.

[00:14:39]Was Orson familiar with the work of cameraman Edoart?

[00:14:44]Because the compositions clearly call to mind Eisenstein's films.

[00:14:51]The movie opens with Athell's funeral.

[00:14:54]Iago, the villain, is locked up in a cage and raised above the fray so he can watch the funeral procession.

[00:15:03]Oh yes, it is also Desdona's funeral as well.

[00:15:07]The lovely couple were destroyed by a whisper campaign, one that suggested that the beautiful blonde could never love a black guy. and officers.

[00:15:18]>> Orson made great use of locations in Europe and despite the fact that he used five different cinematographers and four different film editors, the consistency of vision is impressive.

[00:15:31]Orson must be given credit for maintaining the character's physical appearance consistently for those 3 years.

[00:15:39]One of the film's most notable scenes is the one set in the bath house. Legend has it that the costumes did not arrive on time, so Orson improvised, choosing a location where costumes would not be necessary in any case, and it makes for a great scene.

[00:15:56]Finally, we get the murder, and it is profound.

[00:16:01]Athell smothers his beautiful wife through silk shot back in the 50s. No one thought much about a Caucasian actor playing a black protagonist, which necessitates the use of what is now called blackface.

[00:16:15]Orson doesn't go too far with the makeup. At times, he merely looks tanned or underlit. The whole point was Athella was one of Shakespeare's supreme creations as a play and as a character.

[00:16:28]Actors chomped at the bit to play this part. The part of a deeply conflicted man, noble but riddled with insecurities arising from his unique place in society.

[00:16:40]In later years, black actors like Lawrence Fishburn, for instance, have seized the mantle, and why not? Who would understand the character better than a black man? But to see Orson's makeup as insensitive or insulting is to apply 21st century values to a 17th century play.

[00:17:05]>> Chimes at Midnight was Orson's third kick at the can, an amalgamation of all the fall staff plays, including a bunch of the Henry's and the Merry Wives of Windsor. It's the rather tragic story of a cute young guy and an old fat man and the two of them corouse and have adventures together. The cute guy eventually becomes the king of England.

[00:17:28]And when he does, he changes, repudiating all the good times and dumping his fat friend like a hot potato.

[00:17:37]It's actually quite sad. Orson's visual style features lots of shafts of light.

[00:17:45]Most of it was shot on European locations, but the sets that were built are so oddly painted, they evoke expressionism.

[00:17:54]Even the outdoor locations don't quite look natural or real.

[00:17:58]>> Orson always considered the role to be his. And he grew into the role quite well.

[00:18:05]This fall staff is a bloated, alcoholic mess, but a funny one. There are a lot of fat jokes, and why not? I enjoyed seeing Orson use his bulk as a punchline. The film's big setpiece is the spectacular battle scene.

[00:18:22]Occasionally, Orson gets a laugh from his heft, like the attempts to lower him onto the horse while he's in armor.

[00:18:37]or his feeble attempts to take charge and be a leader.

[00:18:42]>> In his armor, he somewhat resembles a toy robot.

[00:18:47]I never think of Orson Wells as a comedian, but his work in this film is very funny and it adds to the overall greatness of the finished product.

[00:18:57]Say what you will, Orson stabs at Shakespeare mattered and they made for some great movies.

[00:19:05]Back in Hollywood, someone decided it was time for another big budget version of something. So, Joseph Manowitz directed this version of Julius Caesar in 1953.

[00:19:17]A big gamble. It cast mumbly method actor Marlon Brando as Mark Anthony. And maybe out of spite, he's the best thing in it. The sets were repurposed from Quoadis. And like most other directors of Shakespeare movies, Megawitz can't resist a little bit of a horror show to liven things up.

[00:19:38]For me, it's the wigs that truly haunt the viewer. I can't really look at John Gilgood's face in this movie. It is literally unsettling.

[00:19:48]>> James Mason does his best as Brutus and other stars like Deborah Carr take major roles.

[00:19:56]The story is about a group of politicians who decide to assassinate their boss by stabbing him at work. They all have blood on their hands, except for Mark Anthony, who shows up late to deliver a big speech.

[00:20:09]>> Oh, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, that I am meek and gentle with these butchers.

[00:20:19]Thou art the ruins of the noblest man that ever lived in the tide of times.

[00:20:28]Woe to the hand that shed this costy blood.

[00:20:33]>> Later, guilt getting the best of him, Brutus sees the ghost of the dead guy.

[00:20:41]This is followed by a big battle scene and finally Brutus's justifiable death.

[00:20:47]If the movie is watchable at all, it is for Brando voicing his monologues with Oscarnominated conviction and diction instead of doing that voiceover thing that Olivier created.

[00:21:01]In 1957, Japanese director Akira Kurasawa decided to shoot his own version of McBTH, reinterpreting it as taking place in feudal Japan instead of medieval Scotland. He combines Shakespearean theater with both no theater and his trademark film making panache.

[00:21:22]There is only one witch in the opening, but she is ghostly and creepy.

[00:21:29]>> The scene in which McBth sees the ghost of the dead king is full of sword play and madness.

[00:21:47]Then there's a scene with the dying guy collapsing in front of McBth like a giant beetle in his death throws.

[00:21:54]Kurasawa always had a great eye for visuals.

[00:21:59]Then Lady McBth has her big mad scene followed by the moving of Burnham Wood.

[00:22:10]But the best part is the end where McBth is killed by a thousand arrows, including this one right through the neck. Talk about moving wood.

[00:22:34]It is a spectacular ending. Violent and delicious.

[00:22:43]The Russians took a turn at making Hamlet in 1964.

[00:22:48]It presents typically a harshlooking climate and landscape with screaming horses and castle gates that look like giant fangs.

[00:22:58]But it is the ghost that works best.

[00:23:02]Large, imposing, and sporting a long cape blowing in the wind.

[00:23:12]Later, Oilia drowns.

[00:23:17]Hamlet talks to a skull.

[00:23:21]>> And in the big finish, Hamlet dies from a poison sword tip.

[00:23:32]If the movie directed by Gregory Kunitsv proves anything, it's that the Russians have an affinity for bleak visions and tragic stories. As this version, though not in the King's English, is really quite good.

[00:23:54]A crown floats in the air. Then it is lowered onto a royal head as a new king is crowned.

[00:24:02]And with that, we are introduced to Sir Lawrence Olivier as Richard III from 1955.

[00:24:12]It takes a while to get used to the hair and makeup. He almost looks like a character on a playing card. And it seems to have inspired the character from Shrek, although Olivier apparently modeled the look on the widely reviled theatrical producer Jed Harris.

[00:24:31]>> Regardless, there is a certain twisted giriness to the character.

[00:24:39]>> The movie is a wash with gore. Here, bad guys eliminate one of Richard's brothers, a rival for the throne.

[00:24:48]They stab him and toss his body into a barrel of wine. Royal families can never let down their guard.

[00:24:58]Here we have the royal nephew on horseback riding through the fake winter landscape.

[00:25:05]It's as pretty as an oil painting. But in the court, when the young prince sits on the throne, his silly little brother draws attention to Richard's hump. A real no no. And Richard's reaction causes the kid to recoil in terror.

[00:25:24]The bloodshed continues and heads roll.

[00:25:31]Watching him slide down this rope.

[00:25:33]Richard resembles Quasimoto, but with Elan.

[00:25:38]I love Olivier's body movements for the character. So precise. Those skinny legs and blousy tops make him so grotesque.

[00:25:49]He's Shakespeare's monster and Larry's, too. The emphasis is on his physical deformity.

[00:25:57]He's ugly and therefore evil.

[00:26:01]Eventually, he wears the crown but uneasily.

[00:26:07]>> In this movie, Larry delivers the monologues to the camera as gossipy aides in Stovo.

[00:26:16]As the director, he lights the character like a horror movie actor.

[00:26:22]>> The atmosphere of menace escalates.

[00:26:26]Richard eventually has his own nephews killed by the same two thugs as before, only this time they smother the golden little darlings with a pillow. Finally, we get outdoors onto the field of battle.

[00:26:40]Richard, an uncertain warrior, is haunted at night by dreams of all the people he's killed, which seriously undermines his battle worthiness.

[00:26:52]Why is it that so many of the tragedies are shot and lit like horror movies?

[00:26:58]The battle arrives and it isn't long before Richard, clad in heavy armor, is knocked off his horse and then his crown is knocked off his head. It goes rolling carelessly amidst clumping horse.

[00:27:19]A HORSE. MY KINGOM FOR A HORSE.

[00:27:24]>> Richard staggers about confused. His kingdom for a horse. But eventually he meets a most spectacular death. The men gang up on him and descend with pointed knives, stabbing him repeatedly and leaving him writhing on the ground. A pathetic loser caught in the grip of death spasms.

[00:27:54]Then Richard rears up and gives us his last breath done in an excellent pose.

[00:28:02]And finally, the sword drops from his grip, signaling his welldeserved death.

[00:28:10]Larry must have loved this part. It's so insidious. Demented even.

[00:28:16]There is no avoiding the racial politics of Olivier's Athell from 1965.

[00:28:22]They're built right into the play about a noble moore who finds happiness with the pretty white girl.

[00:28:29]Is Athell overstepping boundaries with this marriage? He must think so, as he is so susceptible to the insinuations of others. His friend Iago puts a bug in his ear that his lovely bride Desdona is untrue and Oll's jealousy leads to a tragic and most unnecessary murder.

[00:28:54]Much is made of Yago's motivation. Is it jealousy or racism?

[00:29:00]Scholars of my generation love the phrase motiveless malignancy as though we could never possibly understand Yago's shitty behavior.

[00:29:11]Olivia's blackface is a full body makeup job. A whole transformation of features and it is a remarkable look that might fool some people. Olivier also created a full range of both vocal and physical traits, a testament to the thoroughess of his approach.

[00:29:32]Some critics could and still can't overlook what is perceived as eye rolling, a gesture that suggests minstralism.

[00:29:41]That might be reading too much into it, but what do I know? All four principles were nominated for Oscars, but not even Olivier could sell this project to movie producers. He was forced to more or less film a stage show, and he didn't even direct it. But for what it's worth, the results at least captured a major actor in a major role. It also completed Olivier's remarkable run of movie versions of Shakespeare's plays. Hey, there's only so much one man can do.

[00:30:14]Shakespeare's most popular play, probably because of the sexy stuff, has always been Romeo and Juliet.

[00:30:23]The story of ill-fated teenage starcross lovers has always drawn an audience, allowing for lavish, expensive, full color film versions.

[00:30:36]We already seen what MGM did with it in 1936, but there have been multiple versions since.

[00:30:45]In 1954, Italian director Renato Castellani directed a version starring the gay Britt Lawrence Harvey and an unknown called Susan Shenl.

[00:30:59]Praised by Carl Drier for its use of color. It was shot on locations and in period costumes.

[00:31:09]Consider these set pieces.

[00:31:11]>> First, the moment when Romeo sees Juliet dancing at the event.

[00:31:15]>> What is this? My lips.

[00:31:18]>> Then there's the balcony scene.

[00:31:20]>> If they do see thee, they will murder thee.

[00:31:22]>> A plague on both your houses.

[00:31:24]>> The killing of Mushio in the town square.

[00:31:26]>> Romeo. Afraid Marushio's dead.

[00:31:30]>> Juliet's fake death.

[00:31:33]Romeo finding her supposed corpse lying in state in the family tomb.

[00:31:42]Romeo killing himself.

[00:31:49]Juliet waking up to find his body.

[00:31:55]and all of it very lovely and quite successful as a movie.

[00:32:02]14 years later, Italy struck again, this time with a film from gay director Franco Zephlli, who upped the ante by casting actors who were actually age appropriate. Romeo, played by Leonard Whiting, was 18 and Juliet played by Olivia Hussie, was 17. The movie made both of them stars.

[00:32:25]So once again, we get all of the signature scenes like when Romeo first lays eyes on Juliet. Then there's the balcony scene killing a marushio in the town square.

[00:32:39]This time with extra gore.

[00:32:42]Then we get the most famous scene where they get naked and do it scandalous at the time.

[00:32:48]>> Care to stay than will to go. Come death and welcome Juliet. Wills it so.

[00:32:57]>> It is.

[00:32:59]>> It is. I hence be gone away.

[00:33:02]>> The movie made a mint at the box office.

[00:33:06]Then there's Juliet's fake death.

[00:33:15]Romeo finding her supposed corpse lying in state in the family tomb.

[00:33:22]Juliet waking up to find his body, then killing herself. These two are just pathetic.

[00:33:40]Then in 1996, Australian director Baz Lurman, who unbelievably is not gay, directed this amped up MTV styled edgy update.

[00:33:56]>> A dog of the house of Capulat moves me.

[00:34:05]This garish monstrosity was relocated to Venice Beach and the swords are replaced with guns.

[00:34:14]There's helicopters, gas stations blowing up, >> guys who can't find the energy to wear or button up their shirts. Not that I'm complaining. I might be fair cuz soon is hit.

[00:34:33]The story is about two really rich families who have skyscrapers with their names on them.

[00:34:39]They're business rivals whose progeny enter into a gang war.

[00:34:44]>> Households both alike in dignity.

[00:34:47]>> Again, we get all of the typical scenes.

[00:34:50]The moment where Romeo first lays eyes on Juliet, this time through an aquarium. A surprisingly effective meat cute. Then there's the balcony scene.

[00:35:06]Killing a marushio.

[00:35:11]Juliet's fake death.

[00:35:23]Romeo finding her supposed corpse lying in state in the family tomb.

[00:35:29]Romeo killing himself.

[00:35:33]>> Romeo.

[00:35:33]>> Juliet waking up to find his body and then killing herself.

[00:35:43]>> Juliet.

[00:35:46]In between, we get lots of campy humor with like this idiot screaming for JULIET >> or the fact that Marushio is now a black queen with way too much sass.

[00:36:01]I mean, look at this.

[00:36:07]>> Lurman is so excessive he makes Ken Russell look restrained.

[00:36:11]Could Shakespeare possibly survive this montage of messy, inappropriate imagery?

[00:36:20]>> Well, of course, it was a hit.

[00:36:23]>> The story of a young couple who die for each other is simply crowdpleasing, regardless of the director's vision or even of the generation for which it is meant. Simply put, Romeo Juliet is always a