30 Days of Shakespeare, Day 20
Day #20: Your favourite movie adaptation of a play
To be honest, I almost put the Loncraine Richard III under this heading because it really does feel like an adaptation of Richard III that just happens to contain the same dialogue (a bit like Chimes at Midnight). But I will try to follow my own self-proclaimed definition that 'adaptation' denotes a Shakespearean plot without Shakespearean language.
And, that being the case -- and, perhaps this is a bit embarrassing -- I have to go with Ten Things I Hate About You. And not just because of Heath Ledger, although he is by no means insignificant.
I've always had a love-hate relationship with rom-coms, particularly those of the teenage variety, and Ten Things I Hate About You came out right when I was finally beginning to reconcile myself to high school (namely, the very end of junior year, when I finally had friends and a social life, apparently a decent enough tradeoff for academic excellence). But this one works for me, not just because it's based on Shakespeare (after all, Shrew is one of my least favourite plays), but because some of the problems I have with the original text are in some ways mitigated in the film.
And, okay, fine, Heath Ledger actually has a lot to do with this.
The relationship between Kat and Patrick feels considerably less uneven to me than that of Kate and Petruchio -- and, obviously, most of that comes from the modern setting, but you could just as easily take Shrew and turn it into a Lifetime movie about domestic abuse, so, really, I like that they found a way around that problematic elephant in the room.
The sad part is that I actually haven't seen it in quite some time, and that one of the scenes I remember best is this one:
YES, I AM AN ENORMOUS DORK.
But as roz_mcclure told me once on the subject of Margaret of Anjou, MY HEART CANNOT LIE.
I do also love the interplay between this universe's Bianca and Vincentio, perhaps on account of Joseph Gordon-Levitt's adorable Cameron. Honestly, this is just a fun film. I do love it. Perhaps I am a bit ashamed of it, but there you go.
Also, a really good soundtrack. Which is a huge plus for me, all told. There are terrible films out there whose soundtracks I own because they transcend the film's awfulness.
Day #1: Your favourite play - Othello and Richard III
Day #2: Your favourite character - Lady Elizabeth Grey in 3 Henry VI and Richard III
Day #3: Your favourite hero - Othello
Day #4: Your favourite heroine - Juliet from Romeo and Juliet and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing
Day #5: Your favorite villain - Richard of Gloucester
Day #6: Your favourite villainess female villain - Joan la Pucelle
Day #7: Your favourite clown - Feste from Twelfth Night
Day #8: Your favourite comedy - Much Ado About Nothing
Day #9: Your favourite tragedy - King Lear
Day #10: Your favourite history - The Henry VI trilogy
Day #11: Your least favourite play - The Taming of the Shrew
Day #12: Your favourite scene - selections from Richard III, Othello, Much Ado, and 3 Henry VI
Day #13: Your favourite romantic scene - As You Like It, Act IV, Scene I
Day #14: Your favourite fight scene - 1 Henry IV and 3 Henry VI
Day #15: The first play you read - Romeo and Juliet
Day #16: Your first play you saw - Macbeth
Day #17: Your favourite speech - Romeo and Juliet and 3 Henry VI
Day #18: Your favourite dialogue - Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet
Day #19: Your favourite movie version of a play - Richard III (1995)
Day #20: Your favourite movie adaptation of a play
Day #21: An overrated play
Day #22: An underrated play
Day #23: A role you've never played but would love to play
Day #24: An actor or actress you would love to see in a particular role
Day #25: Sooner or later, everyone has to choose: Hal or Falstaff?
Day #26: Your favourite couple
Day #27: Your favourite couplet
Day #28: Your favourite joke
Day #29: Your favourite sonnet
Day #30: Your favourite single line
To be honest, I almost put the Loncraine Richard III under this heading because it really does feel like an adaptation of Richard III that just happens to contain the same dialogue (a bit like Chimes at Midnight). But I will try to follow my own self-proclaimed definition that 'adaptation' denotes a Shakespearean plot without Shakespearean language.
And, that being the case -- and, perhaps this is a bit embarrassing -- I have to go with Ten Things I Hate About You. And not just because of Heath Ledger, although he is by no means insignificant.
I've always had a love-hate relationship with rom-coms, particularly those of the teenage variety, and Ten Things I Hate About You came out right when I was finally beginning to reconcile myself to high school (namely, the very end of junior year, when I finally had friends and a social life, apparently a decent enough tradeoff for academic excellence). But this one works for me, not just because it's based on Shakespeare (after all, Shrew is one of my least favourite plays), but because some of the problems I have with the original text are in some ways mitigated in the film.
And, okay, fine, Heath Ledger actually has a lot to do with this.
The relationship between Kat and Patrick feels considerably less uneven to me than that of Kate and Petruchio -- and, obviously, most of that comes from the modern setting, but you could just as easily take Shrew and turn it into a Lifetime movie about domestic abuse, so, really, I like that they found a way around that problematic elephant in the room.
The sad part is that I actually haven't seen it in quite some time, and that one of the scenes I remember best is this one:
Click to viewYES, I AM AN ENORMOUS DORK.
But as roz_mcclure told me once on the subject of Margaret of Anjou, MY HEART CANNOT LIE.
I do also love the interplay between this universe's Bianca and Vincentio, perhaps on account of Joseph Gordon-Levitt's adorable Cameron. Honestly, this is just a fun film. I do love it. Perhaps I am a bit ashamed of it, but there you go.
Also, a really good soundtrack. Which is a huge plus for me, all told. There are terrible films out there whose soundtracks I own because they transcend the film's awfulness.
Day #1: Your favourite play - Othello and Richard III
Day #2: Your favourite character - Lady Elizabeth Grey in 3 Henry VI and Richard III
Day #3: Your favourite hero - Othello
Day #4: Your favourite heroine - Juliet from Romeo and Juliet and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing
Day #5: Your favorite villain - Richard of Gloucester
Day #6: Your favourite villainess female villain - Joan la Pucelle
Day #7: Your favourite clown - Feste from Twelfth Night
Day #8: Your favourite comedy - Much Ado About Nothing
Day #9: Your favourite tragedy - King Lear
Day #10: Your favourite history - The Henry VI trilogy
Day #11: Your least favourite play - The Taming of the Shrew
Day #12: Your favourite scene - selections from Richard III, Othello, Much Ado, and 3 Henry VI
Day #13: Your favourite romantic scene - As You Like It, Act IV, Scene I
Day #14: Your favourite fight scene - 1 Henry IV and 3 Henry VI
Day #15: The first play you read - Romeo and Juliet
Day #16: Your first play you saw - Macbeth
Day #17: Your favourite speech - Romeo and Juliet and 3 Henry VI
Day #18: Your favourite dialogue - Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet
Day #19: Your favourite movie version of a play - Richard III (1995)
Day #20: Your favourite movie adaptation of a play
Day #21: An overrated play
Day #22: An underrated play
Day #23: A role you've never played but would love to play
Day #24: An actor or actress you would love to see in a particular role
Day #25: Sooner or later, everyone has to choose: Hal or Falstaff?
Day #26: Your favourite couple
Day #27: Your favourite couplet
Day #28: Your favourite joke
Day #29: Your favourite sonnet
Day #30: Your favourite single line