Shakespeare On Screen [Hardcover]

Daniel Rosenthal (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2001

The best of the Bard on the silver screen! Cinema's love affair with Shakespeare began almost with the start of moving pictures and has continued passionately and unabated to this day. From the most faithful adaptations (Kenneth Branagh's uncut Hamlet) to versions musical (West Side Story, Kiss Me Kate), modernized (Ian MacKellen's WWII Richard III, Baz Luhrman's hallucinogenic William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet), and otherwise transformed (Forbidden Planet, a low-budget yet compelling sci-fi retelling of The Tempest), see how the greatest of plays became the finest of films. Among the brilliant artists whose work receives special homage here are Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, and Branagh--who did double-duty as Shakespearean actors and directors--as well as Akira Kurosawa, Franco Zeffirelli, and John Gielgud. With numerous stills and quotations.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein was afraid the title of Shakespeare in Love would be too hifalutin for a mass audience. But he'd underestimated movie audiences' great love for the bard, both in traditional productions featuring Laurence Olivier, Kenneth Branagh and Franco Zeffirelli and in modern reinterpretations, such as 10 Things I Hate About You (based on The Taming of the Shrew) and William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. These are just a few of intriguing tidbits in British film journalist Daniel Rosenthal's exploration of Shakespeare on Screen, which is loaded with commentary, criticism, in-depth profiles (of actors and directors like John Gielgud and Akira Kurosawa) and full-color photography. Agent, Laura Morris. ( Mar.)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Hamlyn (June 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0600601153
• ISBN-13: 978-0600601159
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 9.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,786,057 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable, January 28, 2002

By 

Sid Kaskey "sidkaskey" (south miami, fl United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shakespeare On Screen (Hardcover)

If you are a lover of the various shakespeare film adaptations then you will certainly love this book. Mr. Rosenthal describes numerous films some direct adaptions and some which are just plan fun (Joe Macbeth for instance ). The bard should not be taken so seriously that fun cannot included in his study. This book explores the good and not so good. A great reference source.

5.0 out of 5 stars shakespeare, February 8, 2009

By 

Jade Winters "jade" (usa) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Shakespeare On Screen (Hardcover)

If you love Shakespeare and you love his movies, even the bad ones, this book is great!

5.0 out of 5 stars This is not your average coffee table book., November 16, 2003

By 

bernie "xyzzy" (Arlington, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Shakespeare On Screen (Hardcover)

At first glance this looks like one of those coffee table books that people buy to look like they'd know what they're talking about. But upon further examination, you'll find that it has everything you ever want to know about "Shakespeare on screen." There is a comprehensive table of contents and it index. Today if the film is an adoption of Shakespeare or just inspired by Shakespeare is in this book, grouped under the different plays of Shakespeare. For example, under chapter two on hamlet there are seven a different entries starting with the famous Lawrence Oliver 1948 classic down to the infamous Michael Almereyda 2000 modern adaptation. Be sure to look for my review of most of these.

In each section or chapter there is a breakdown of the basic play and some background information on that play. Then for each movie there is a list of the Cast, Directed by, Produced by, Photography, and music. Beach movies then further broken down into its elements.

Even though all this information is available in different books, Daniel Rosenthal was able to design this comprehensive and beautiful book to make you feel that you know all there is to know about Shakespeare in the movies.