http://www.rottentomatoes.com/guides/greatest_shakespeare_movies/1097245-hamlet/ Rotten Tomatoes, a popular movie review website known for unapologetically telling it like it is when it comes to the movies, has put up it’s “Top 30 Shakespeare Movies.” Fans and purists alike are sure to find stuff to infuriate :). I am only disappointed in one thing, and that is that they seem to have gone through their database and grabbed everything that mentions Shakespeare. So for instance Lion King is on the list (and ranks relatively high), but it’s hardly a Shakespeare movie. It’s only borderline Hamlet-inspired, at best. Also worth mentioning is Ethan Hawke’s Hamlet, which we were trashing last week. Yeah, it’s 30 out of 30.
Not the worst list you could have imagined
I thought Scotland, PA, was under-rated, and Strange Brew was over-rated (it’s much better SCTV than Shakespeare). I detested My Own Private Idaho, but I do recognize that I’m in the minority.
The Lion King ought not have qualified, because it is not really a direct re-telling of Hamlet. It’s merely derivative and hackneyed, which is not the same thing. Ran is a borderline case–clearly inspired by Lear, but not as close to Lear as Throne of Blood is to Macbeth.
i don’t think it fair of that list to include films that are “inspired” by shakespeare, like your mentioned “lion king.”
i thought “titus” would rank higher. and i was glad to see henry v at the top.
it’s good to be the king.
yeah, strange brew should not have been on that list. and scotland pa is one of my favorites. we saw it YEARS ago and my husband and i still say “oooooh! rock block!” when the local station does it’s block party weekend.