List RulesFilm adaptations of Shakespearean plays, set in the modern day.
List of the best modernized versions of Shakespeare plays. There are movies out there based on the plays of William Shakespeare that came out centuries after the plays were first published. After all, they did not exactly have cameras in the days Romeo & Juliet was first performed, let alone the technology that enabled Tromeo & Juliet to be the epic movie it is today.
The most popular example of a Shakespeare modernization is 10 Things I Hate About You. The 1999 teenage rom-com is a retelling of The Taming of the Shrew, starring Heath Ledger. But even widely known, classic movie masterpieces, like West Side Story and The Lion King, are merely modern day renditions of Shakespeare's writing. Ralph Fiennes's Coriolanus and Gus Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho are examples of today's celebrities doing their take on the most classic of classics: the centuries-old theater pieces of William Shakespeare. That is why we see Hamlet set in today's Manhattan, just as we see Macbeth take place in a fast food joint in Scotland, Pennsylvania.
Vote up your favorite modern day version of one of Shakespeare's classics, or vote down the films you thought didn't quite translate to today's world.1
14430The Lion King
Whoopi Goldberg, Jeremy IronsHamlet
The Lion King is a 1994 American animated musical epic film produced by Walt Disney Feature... more2
833810 Things I Hate About You
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gabrielle UnionThe Taming of the Shrew
10 Things I Hate About You is a 1999 American romantic comedy film directed by Gil Junger, and... more- 37135
West Side Story
Natalie Wood, Rita MorenoRomeo and Juliet
West Side Story is a 1961 American romantic musical drama film directed by Robert Wise and... more - 45341
She's the Man
Amanda Bynes, Channing TatumTwelfth Night
She's the Man is a 2006 American romantic comedy film directed by Andy Fickman, inspired by... more - 57282
O
Julia Stiles, Martin SheenOthello
O is a 2001 American drama film, and a loose modern adaptation of William Shakespeare's... more - 64244
Tromeo & Juliet
Ian Fraser Kilmister, Debbie RochonRomeo and Juliet?
Tromeo and Juliet is a 1996 independent transgressive comedy film adaptation of William... more - 75059
Love's Labour's Lost
Alicia Silverstone, Kenneth BranaghLove's Labour's Lost
Love's Labour's Lost is a 2000 adaptation of the comic play of the same name by William... more - 84557
Forbidden Planet
Leslie Nielsen, Anne FrancisThe Tempest
Forbidden Planet is a 1956 American science fiction film from MGM, produced by Nicholas... more - 94662
Romeo Must Die
Grace Park, AaliyahRomeo and Juliet
This film is a 2000 American martial arts action film directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak in his... more - 101519
Deliver Us from Eva
Gabrielle Union, LL Cool JThe Taming of the Shrew
Deliver Us from Eva is a 2003 American romantic comedy film starring LL Cool J and Gabrielle... more - 112846
Scotland, PA
Christopher Walken, Amy SmartMacbeth
Scotland, PA is a 2001 film directed and written by William Morrissette. It is a modernized... more - 122952
The Bad Sleep Well
Toshiro Mifune, Takashi ShimuraHamlet
The Bad Sleep Well is a 1960 film directed by the Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. It was the... more - 132042
Big Business
Bette Midler, Lily TomlinThe Comedy of Errors
Big Business is a 1988 American comedy film farce starring Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin. The... more - 142042
Chicken Rice War
Kevin Murphy, Tanya ChuaRomeo and JulietChicken Rice War is a Singaporean film released in 2000 by Raintree Pictures. It is an... more - 151436
King of Texas
Patrick Stewart, Lauren HollyKing Lear
King of Texas is a 2002 drama western film written by Stephen Harrigan and directed by Uli... more - 164796
Gnomeo & Juliet
Ozzy Osbourne, Emily BluntRomeo and Juliet
Gnomeo & Juliet is a 2011 British-American-Canadian 3D computer-animated romantic comedy... more - 171439
The Sea Prince and the Fire Child
Keiko Han, Tōru FuruyaRomeo and Juliet
The Sea Prince and the Fire Child is a 1981 Japanese/Australian/New Zealand anime film by... more - 181237
Love Is All There Is
Angelina Jolie, Joy BeharRomeo and Juliet
Love Is All There Is is a 1996 romantic comedy film directed by Joseph Bologna and Renée... more - 191644
Basilisk: The Serpent King
Yancy ButlerRichard III
- 203275
Ran
Tatsuya Nakadai, Susumu TerajimaKing Lear
Ran is a 1985 Japanese-French jidaigeki epic film directed and co-written by Akira Kurosawa.... more - 212867
Kiss Me Kate
Ann Miller, Keenan WynnThe Taming of the Shrew
Kiss Me Kate is the 1953 MGM film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same... more - 221749
Strange Brew
Max von Sydow, Rick MoranisHamlet
Strange Brew is a 1983 Canadian comedy film starring the popular SCTV characters Bob and Doug... more - 231752
Let the Devil Wear Black
Mary-Louise Parker, Jacqueline BissettHamlet
Let the Devil Wear Black is a 1999 thriller film directed by Stacy Title.... more - 242569
Coriolanus
Jessica Chastain, Gerard ButlerCoriolanus
Coriolanus is a 2011 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy Coriolanus,... more - 251661
My Own Private Idaho
Keanu Reeves, Jim CaviezelHenry IV, Part 1
My Own Private Idaho is a 1991 American independent drama film written and directed by Gus Van... more