The Loft is celebrating William Shakespeare’s 450th birthday with a month of classic Shakespeare adaptations from some of the world’s greatest filmmakers! All through April, see the Masters of Cinema take on the Master of the English Theatre in thrilling, dramatic and humorous films that bring the magic of The Bard to the big screen!
Trivia question: what day in April was Shakespeare born? Answer at end of this post.
5 Shakespeare films coming up in April, Wednesday nights, one night only each:
Hamlet – April 2, 7 p.m.
Lust, murder, revenge and betrayal reign in director/star Laurence Olivier’s Oscar-winning film version of Shakespeare’s tragic drama, with the acclaimed thespian delivering one of his definitive performances as the tormented Prince of Denmark.
Julius Caesar – April 9, 7:30 p.m. (screen #3, seating limited)
Oscar-winner Joseph L. Mankiewicz directed this exquisite, all star Hollywood version of Shaspeare’s Roman tragedy chronicling the aftermath of Caesar’s assassination, featuring a young and brooding Marlon Brandon at the peak of his ’50s star power.
Much Ado About Nothing – April 16, 7 p.m.
The second of Kenneth Branagh’s Shakespeare adaptations is also his most delightfully entertaining, as the director assembles a wonderfully electic cast (including Michael Keaton, Denzel Washington, Emma Thompson and Branagh himself) for a lively and sensual take on one of Shakeapeare’s best comedies.
Romeo & Juliet, April 23, 7 p.m.
Italian filmmaker Franco Zeffirelli’s blockbuster adaptation of Romeo & Juliet brought Shakespeare’s enduring classic of star-crossed young lovers to a whole new generation and energized audiences with its then-unusual casting of teen actors in the title roles.
Ran, April 30, 7 p.m.
One of Akira Kurosawa’s final masterpieces in a career of masterpieces, this sensually epic and colorfully dream-like samurai/Noh Theater rendition of Shakespeare’s King Lear bleeds right off the screen.
Answer to trivia contest: April 23, 1616, in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England.