List Rules Movies based on or adapted from the plays of William Shakespeare using the original text - no modernized versions.
List of the best Shakespeare film adaptations. There is no single human being in the history of entertainment who has spawned more adaptations than William Shakespeare. This list compiles the absolute greatest big screen adaptations of original Shakespeare works. His plays now live on in these major motion pictures, and are ranked by on this list by the community in order of excellence.
Romeo and Juliet began as a tragic play that may have first been published as early as the 1590s. 400 years later, in the 1990s, Baz Luhrmann came adapted the Shakespearean story for his film, Romeo + Juliet, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in the title roles. Kenneth Branagh has also made more movie adaptations of William Shakespeare plays than just about anyone else between Hamlet, Henry V, and Much Ado About Nothing. The famous Shakespeare drama "Othello" has also been transformed into numerous film adaptations, most notably Tim Blake Nelson's O.
Vote up your favorite Shakespearean adaptation below or add the Shakespeare-based films and movies you love that aren't already on the list.
Much Ado About Nothing is a 1993 British/American romantic comedy film based on William Shakespeare's play of the same name. It was adapted for the screen and directed by Kenneth Branagh who ...more
Romeo and Juliet is a 1968 British-Italian romance film based on the tragic play of the same name by William Shakespeare. The film was directed and co-written by Franco Zeffirelli, and stars ...more
Hamlet is a 1996 Shakespearean tragedy film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, adapted for the screen and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars in the titular role as Prince ...more
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Romeo + JulietClaire Danes, Leonardo DiCaprio, Harold Perrineau
Romeo + Juliet is a 1996 American romantic drama film adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. It was directed by Baz Luhrmann. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in ...more
Henry V is a 1989 British drama film adapted for the screen and directed by Kenneth Branagh, based on William Shakespeare's play of the same name about King Henry V of England. The film stars ...more
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a 1999 romantic comedy fantasy film based on the play A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. It was directed by Michael Hoffman. The ensemble cast ...more
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HamletChristopher Lee, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons
Hamlet is a 1948 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, adapted and directed by and starring Sir Laurence Olivier. Hamlet was Olivier's second film as director, and also ...more
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Julius CaesarMarlon Brando, Deborah Kerr, John Gielgud
Julius Caesar is a 1953 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film adaptation of the play by Shakespeare, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who also wrote the uncredited screenplay, and produced by John Houseman. ...more
The Taming of the Shrew is a 1967 film based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare about a courtship between two strong-willed people. The film was directed by Franco Zeffirelli ...more
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Henry VLaurence Olivier, Robert Newton, Leslie Banks
Henry V is a 1944 British Technicolor film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name. The on-screen title is The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought ...more
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Richard IIIRobert Downey Jr., Ian McKellen, Annette Bening
Richard III is a 1995 drama film adapted from William Shakespeare's play of the same name, starring Ian McKellen, Annette Bening, Jim Broadbent, Robert Downey Jr., Nigel Hawthorne, Kristin Scott ...more
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TitusAnthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange, Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Titus is a 1999 Italian-American-British fantasy thriller film adaptation of Shakespeare's revenge tragedy Titus Andronicus, about the downfall of a Roman general. Starring Anthony Hopkins and ...more
Macbeth is a 1948 American film adaptation by Orson Welles of William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth.
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Richard IIILaurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Stanley Baker
Richard III is a 1955 British Technicolor film adaptation of William Shakespeare's historical play of the same name, also incorporating elements from his Henry VI, Part 3. It was directed and ...more
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OthelloLaurence Fishburne, Kenneth Branagh, Michael Sheen
Othello is a 1995 film based on William Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name. It was directed by Oliver Parker and stars Laurence Fishburne as Othello, Irène Jacob as Desdemona, and ...more
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a 1968 film of William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Peter Hall. It was the first live-action color film version of the play, unless one ...more
Twelfth Night or What You Will is a 1996 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play, directed by Trevor Nunn and featuring an all-star cast. The adaptation is given a northern Central ...more
Much Ado About Nothing is a 2012 American romantic comedy film adapted for the screen, produced, and directed by Joss Whedon, from William Shakespeare's play of the same name. The film stars Amy ...more
Macbeth is a 1971 British-American film adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth. Directed by Roman Polanski, it retells the story of the Highland lord who becomes King of Scotland ...more
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CoriolanusJessica Chastain, Gerard Butler, Ralph Fiennes
Coriolanus is a 2011 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy Coriolanus, directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes in his directorial debut.
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OthelloOrson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Hilton Edwards
Othello is a 1952 drama film based on the Shakespearean play, made by Mercury Productions Inc. and Les Films Marceau and distributed by United Artists when released in the United States in 1955. ...more
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Julius CaesarCharlton Heston, Christopher Lee, Diana Rigg
Julius Caesar is a 1970 British independent film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play, directed by Stuart Burge from a screenplay by Robert Furnival. The film stars Charlton Heston, Jason ...more
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As You Like ItBryce Dallas Howard, Kevin Kline, Alfred Molina
As You Like It is a 2006 film adapted for the screen and directed by Kenneth Branagh, based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare. It stars Bryce Dallas Howard as Rosalind, David ...more
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
The Taming of the Shrew is the first sound film adaptation of the Shakespearean play of the same name. The movie was directed by Sam Taylor, adapted by Taylor from William Shakespeare's play, ...more
