ROTTEN TOMATOES: Greatest Shakespeare Movies

Greatest Shakespeare Movies

July 14, 2008

Friends, readers, Tomato-fans, lend me your ears. Not stepping o'er the bounds of modesty, we at RT humbly present to you the Greatest Shakespeare Movies, a list of the Bard's best-reviewed films that (we hope) is fit for the gods.

One of the wonderful things about William Shakespeare's works is how adaptable they are. Thus, our list contains adaptations both reverent (Sir Laurence Olivier's Hamlet) and revisionist (Ten Things I Hate About You, My Own Private Idaho). We've got the Bard in outer space (Forbidden Planet), in high school (O), and in feudal Japan (Throne of Blood). Our list also contains great performances from some of the finest actors ever to tackle Shakespeare's deft, mysterious verse, including Orson Welles, Kenneth Branagh, Denzel Washington, and Rick Moranis.

Though our list may seem to be madness, there is method in't: each of the films presented here has at least 20 reviews, so you won't see such classics as the Marlon Brando-toplined Julius Caesar or Olivier's Richard III. And we omitted movies like Shakespeare in Love and Looking For Richard, as we avoided films that weren't taken directly from a specific work and were primarily about staging the plays.

Can one desire too much of a good thing? Check out our list and be the judge. As the Bard might say, "The best is not, So long as we can say, 'this is the best-reviewed.'"

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(1-20 of 80 posts) | Reply

moggan writes:
on Jul 21 2008 12:19 PM

Clearly RT has a very loose definition of 'Shakespeare movie.'

(Reply to this)

tgibfo writes:
on Jul 21 2008 01:45 PM

Know what? I was totally gearing up to rip you guys to pieces on this one, but I'm pretty satisfied, surprisingly.

That being said, get STRANGE BREW out. Now. And bump MIDSUMMER a few notches.

And lastly, I disagree with omitting SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE and LOOKING FOR RICHARD. The latter is the tale of RICHARD III told in a documentary style but still told; the former is essentially ROMEO AND JULIET by Stoppard.

Speaking of Stoppard, if STRANGE BREW makes the list, where the hell is ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD?

(Reply to this)

toneelschrijver writes:
on Jul 21 2008 02:10 PM

Frankly, I'm shocked by the low score of Scotland, Pa., surely one of the funniest Shakespeare adaptations ever. Maura Tierney as Pat McBeth, as Lady M. is called in this socially downward version of the tragedy is hilarious and sexy to boot! I don't care much for Branagh's adaptations, although I'll grant his Henry V was pretty good. I second the inclusion of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern in this list (even though I didn't it very much). However, I wonder what happened to Olivier's Richard III (Tomatometer 85%), a very famous performance in its day that was memorably parodied by Peter Sellers courtesy of the Beatles:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLongUBPm5Y

(Reply to this)

Tim Ryan writes:
on Jul 21 2008 02:33 PM

In reply to this comment (#1906562)
"Though our list may seem to be madness, there is method in't: each of the films presented here has at least 20 reviews, so you won't see such classics as the Marlon Brando-toplined Julius Caesar or Olivier's Richard III."

(Reply to this)

toneelschrijver writes:
on Jul 21 2008 02:53 PM

In reply to this comment (#1906718)
OK, I see. I suppose I prefer madness over method myself. (But do check out Peter Sellers! He'll crack you up.)

(Reply to this)

dajosimp writes:
on Jul 21 2008 03:35 PM

ok... unless i missed it somehow... the fact that O brother where art thou is NOT on this list is complete b.s. The fact that 10 things i hate about you IS on the list and OBWAT isnt on the list makes the entire list completely invalid, in my opinion

(Reply to this)

dajosimp writes:
on Jul 21 2008 03:38 PM

oops, didnt mean to post that twice... my first post on RT, sorry

(Reply to this)

RT-Ryan writes:
on Jul 21 2008 03:40 PM

In reply to this comment (#1907045)
As far as I know, O Brother, Where Art Thou? was an interpretation of Homer's Odyssey, not anything by Shakespeare. And for the record, even as a former English major, I hated that movie.

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zipperiffic writes:
on Jul 21 2008 05:46 PM

And just where is "Get Over It?" What a humorous adaptation of Midsummer Night's Dream! Kirsten Dunst steals the show. Wait, I have now awakened from my drug-induced coma. Just kidding!

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Tom Christ writes:
on Jul 21 2008 06:43 PM

Hahaha I can't believe someone actually thought O Brother, Where Art Thou? was a Shakespeare.

Jesus.

(Reply to this)

gocatgo writes:
on Jul 21 2008 08:20 PM

All of that Welles and no room for "Chimes at Midnight"?

(Reply to this)

firecover098 writes:
on Jul 21 2008 08:49 PM

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(Reply to this)

nblarson writes:
on Jul 21 2008 08:55 PM

As someone rather fond of Branaugh's adaptations, it's difficult to see them so cleanly laid out in a particular order. Personally, I hold his "Hamlet" over "Henry V" simply by virtue of capturing it in it's entirety (the fleeting flashbacks used in "Henry V" left me feeling cheated out of half of the play, despite the otherwise well execution).

(Reply to this)

firecover098 writes:
on Jul 21 2008 08:56 PM

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(Reply to this)

gad writes:
on Jul 21 2008 08:58 PM

Number One - Sir Lawrence Olivier's Richard III.
Number Two - Sir Lawrence Olivier's Hamlet
Number Three - Kenneth Branagh's Henry V
Number Four - Ian McKellen's Richard III

And you Rotten Tomato guys are complete idiots for anything else on the list. I blame the education system for pumping you guys out without a proper education but with plenty of false belief in your knowledge base. Very sad when you don't even know your Bard.

(Reply to this)

RT-Matchity writes:
on Jul 21 2008 10:49 PM

In reply to this comment (#1908026)
Gad, did you happen to notice that we've ranked these films according to their Tomatometer scores, slightly modified by a formula that accounts for the differences in the amounts of ratings each movie has? And are you even aware that the Tomatometers are a measure of the general opinion of a rather large pool of film critics, as opposed to something the RT staff arbitrarily assigns?

Or is there some education system that I'm not aware of that teaches a person that the best way to make a point is by spouting vitriolic and insulting (yet ultimately uninformed) statements in lieu of actually making a rational argument?

(Reply to this)

lukey86 writes:
on Jul 21 2008 11:28 PM

Thought the list was fine except the absence of Olivier's Richard III. Which in my opinion is one of the finest Shakespeare films ever made. Maybe Rottentomatoes forgot to include it. I believe the rating would be higher than O or 10 things.

Petition to get Olivier's Richard III on the list!!!!!!!

(Reply to this)

lukey86 writes:
on Jul 21 2008 11:28 PM

In reply to this comment (#1908361)
Thought the list was fine except the absence of Olivier's Richard III. Which in my opinion is one of the finest Shakespeare films ever made. Maybe Rottentomatoes forgot to include it. I believe the rating would be higher than O or 10 things.

Petition to get Olivier's Richard III on the list!!!!!!!

(Reply to this)

JRoss writes:
on Jul 22 2008 06:42 AM

#1: Throne of Blood.

(Reply to this)

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