watchworthy presents The Best Modern Versions of Shakespeare Plays
List Rules Film 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. Data-driven recommendations based on voting from over 40 million monthly visits to Ranker. Try the free app 
Released: 1994
Directed by: Rob Minkoff, Roger Allers
Hamlet
The Lion King is a 1994 American animated musical epic film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd animated feature in the Walt Disney ...more
Released: 1999
Directed by: Gil Junger
The Taming of the Shrew
10 Things I Hate About You is a 1999 American romantic comedy film directed by Gil Junger, and a modern retelling of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. After finding out his crush ...more
Released: 1961
Directed by: Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise
Romeo and Juliet
West Side Story is a 1961 American romantic musical drama film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn ...more
Released: 2006
Directed by: Andy Fickman
Twelfth Night
She's the Man is a 2006 American romantic comedy film directed by Andy Fickman, inspired by William Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night. The film stars Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum, Laura Ramsey, ...more
Released: 2011
Directed by: Kelly Asbury
Romeo and Juliet
Gnomeo & Juliet is a 2011 British-American-Canadian 3D computer-animated romantic comedy family film based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. The film was directed by Kelly ...more
Released: 1997
Directed by: James Gunn, Lloyd Kaufman
Romeo and Juliet?
Tromeo and Juliet is a 1996 independent transgressive comedy film adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet from Troma Entertainment. The film was directed by Lloyd Kaufman from a ...more
Released: 1985
Directed by: Akira Kurosawa
King Lear
Ran is a 1985 Japanese-French jidaigeki epic film directed and co-written by Akira Kurosawa. The film stars Tatsuya Nakadai as Hidetora Ichimonji, an aging Sengoku-era warlord who decides to ...more
Released: 1953
Directed by: George Sidney
The Taming of the Shrew
Kiss Me Kate is the 1953 MGM film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name. Inspired by The Taming of the Shrew, it tells the tale of musical theater actors, Fred Graham and Lilli ...more
Released: 2011
Directed by: Ralph Fiennes
Coriolanus
Coriolanus is a 2011 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy Coriolanus, directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes in his directorial debut.
Released: 2001
Directed by: Tim Blake Nelson
Othello
O is a 2001 American drama film, and a loose modern adaptation of William Shakespeare's Othello. The film's intended release date was April 1999, but the film was shelved for two years by its ...more
Released: 2000
Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
Love's Labour's Lost
Love's Labour's Lost is a 2000 adaptation of the comic play of the same name by William Shakespeare, directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh. It was the first feature film to be made of this ...more
Released: 1983
Directed by: Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas
Hamlet
Strange Brew is a 1983 Canadian comedy film starring the popular SCTV characters Bob and Doug McKenzie, portrayed by Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis, who also served as co-directors. Co-stars ...more
Released: 1956
Directed by: Fred M. Wilcox
The Tempest
Forbidden Planet is a 1956 American science fiction film from MGM, produced by Nicholas Nayfack, directed by Fred M. Wilcox and starring Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Warren ...more
Released: 2000
Directed by: Andrzej Bartkowiak
Romeo and Juliet
This film is a 2000 American martial arts action film directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak in his directorial debut, and also fight choreography by Corey Yuen, and starring Jet Li and Aaliyah. The ...more
Released: 1991
Directed by: Gus Van Sant
Henry IV, Part 1
My Own Private Idaho is a 1991 American independent drama film written and directed by Gus Van Sant, loosely based on Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, and Henry V, and starring ...more
Released: 2001
Directed by: Billy Morrissette
Macbeth
Scotland, PA is a 2001 film directed and written by William Morrissette. It is a modernized version of William Shakespeare's Macbeth. The film stars James LeGros, Maura Tierney, and Christopher ...more
Released: 1960
Directed by: Akira Kurosawa
Hamlet
The Bad Sleep Well is a 1960 film directed by the Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. It was the first film to be produced under Kurosawa's own independent production company. It was entered into ...more
Released: 1988
Directed by: Jim Abrahams
The Comedy of Errors
Big Business is a 1988 American comedy film farce starring Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin. The movie revolves around two sets of identical female twins who were mismatched at birth, with one ...more
Released: 2000
Directed by: Chee Kong Cheah
Released: 2002
Directed by: Uli Edel
King Lear
King of Texas is a 2002 drama western film written by Stephen Harrigan and directed by Uli Edel. 
Released: 1981
Directed by: Masami Hata
Romeo and Juliet
The Sea Prince and the Fire Child is a 1981 Japanese/Australian/New Zealand anime film by Sanrio, based on the story by Shintaro Tsuji. It is said to be a loose retelling of Romeo and Juliet, ...more
Released: 2006
Directed by: Stephen Furst
Richard III
Released: 1999
Directed by: Stacy Title
Hamlet
Let the Devil Wear Black is a 1999 thriller film directed by Stacy Title.
Released: 2003
Directed by: Gary Hardwick
The Taming of the Shrew
Deliver Us from Eva is a 2003 American romantic comedy film starring LL Cool J and Gabrielle Union, revolving around LL's character Ray being paid to date a troublesome young lady named Eva. To ...more
Released: 1997
Directed by: Jocelyn Moorhouse
King Lear
A Thousand Acres is an American motion picture drama directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, and starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Lange, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jason Robards. It is an adaptation of ...more
