The plays of William Shakespeare are, of course, best consumed in a theatre, but there are also a handful of movie adaptations which truly do justice to their hefty source material – head-spinningly surreal retellings, vibrant modernisations and pared-back mood pieces. The best among them is Baz Luhrmann’s day-glo, hallucinatory , which, if you can believe it, turns 30 this year. In its honour, here are five of the best takes on the Bard to binge now.
In the hands of Derek Jarman, the stormy tale of Prospero, Miranda, Ariel and Caliban becomes a bonkers, extravagantly-costumed fever dream, populated by ghostly spirits, surreal soliloquies and head-scratching musical numbers. The talented cast – Heathcote Williams, Toyah Willcox, Jack Birkett, Elisabeth Welch – give it absolutely everything they’ve got, producing something genuinely transportive.
Kenneth Branagh as the brash Benedick, Emma Thompson as a razor-sharp Beatrice, Kate Beckinsale as the tragic Hero (in her very first big-screen part), Denzel Washington as the matchmaking Don Pedro, Keanu Reeves as the latter’s snarling, evil half-brother, Michael Keaton as the hapless local constable, Imelda Staunton as Hero’s waiting gentlewoman… few Shakespeare adaptations are this stacked with A-listers, look this good – all glossy hair and sun-dappled Tuscan courtyards – or are this much fun. Branagh has directed many of the Bard’s plays for the big screen, but this is unquestionably among the best.
If you’ve only seen one release on this list, it’ll be this one – Baz Luhrmann at the apex of his ornate, operatic powers, bringing us an ethereal, angel-winged Claire Danes and a dreamy, Hawaiian shirt-wearing Leonardo DiCaprio, alongside Harold Perrineau’s swaggering Mercutio, John Leguizamo’s incensed Tybalt and Pete Postlethwaite’s concerned Father Laurence. Groundbreaking in its ingenious approach – contemporary trappings, but with adherence to Shakespearean language – it’s visually dazzling, desperately romantic and guaranteed to remain on Halloween costume inspiration boards for the rest of time.
Transplanting Shakespeare’s classic rom-com to the stiff-upper-lip country house parties of 19th-century Britain, Trevor Nunn’s spirited retelling boasts a young Helena Bonham Carter as the naive Olivia, Imogen Stubbs as a mustachioed Viola, Imelda Staunton as the sharp-tongued Maria, Richard E Grant as the idiotic Sir Andrew Aguecheek and Ben Kingsley as the jester Feste. Add simmering chemistry, sumptuous interiors and exquisite costuming, and you have a rollicking period romp that’s a hell of a good time.
The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021)
Captured in brooding, shadowy black and white – monastic interiors, ghoulish witches, inky pools of blood – Joel Coen’s sparse, stylised melodrama is led by an unparalleled ensemble: Brendan Gleeson, a pre- Alex Hassell, Harry Melling, Corey Hawkins, Ralph Ineson, Bertie Carvel and Kathryn Hunter, opposite the delicious and deadly combination of Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand as Lord and Lady Macbeth. Stripped back to its bare bones, it’s as haunting as ever.
