7 Awesome Movies You Never Knew Were Based on Shakespeare
Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection1/9In English classrooms across the country, Shakespeare gets a bad rep because no one can figure out what he’s saying. But the release of Macbeth, starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, hath us in a distinctly Elizabethan mood. Turns out, some of our favorite films were inspired by the Bard’s plays. Here are some of our favorite Shakespeare-inspired films!
Courtesy Everett Collection2/9West Side Story
Not only was West Side Story Stephen Sondheim’s Broadway debut, but this adaptation of Romeo and Juliet marked the beginning of a new era of musical theater. It’s about rival gangs (the Jets and the Sharks) on New York City’s Upper West Side, and follows the love story of Tony, a former Jet, and Maria, the sister of a Shark. It's a classic for a reason — and the music is really good.
Courtesy Everett Collection3/910 Things I Hate About You
In one of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s earliest roles, he plays Cameron, who wants to date Bianca. Bianca can’t date unless her sister Kat dates. So Cameron tries to get Kat to go out with Patrick Verona, the high school bad boy. But there’s one problem: Kat doesn’t date at all, because she’s afraid of getting her heart broken again. It’s an early-2000’s take on The Taming of the Shrew, and features one of the greatest monologues in teen-movie history.
©DreamWorks/Courtesy Everett Collection4/9She’s The Man
Not only is this Channing Tatum’s first leading role, but it’s also a modern take on Twelfth Night. The story follows Viola (Amanda Bynes) who pretends to be her brother, Sebastian, in order to play on his school’s boy’s soccer team. What she doesn’t count on is falling for her roommate, Duke Orsino (Channing Tatum), who thinks she’s a guy.
©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection5/9Romeo + Juliet
Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet sparked what came to be known as Leomania in the 1990’s, which was later amplified by DiCaprio’s role in Titanic. The film uses the Elizabethan dialogue word-for-word, but sets the story in Verona Beach, California, in a drug-cartel-esque mafia war. The innovative production choices (and the amazing acting) set this adaptation aside from the rest. At a decadent Halloween party, the two lovers meet eyes through an aquarium, and the famous balcony scene takes place at a swimming pool.
©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection6/9The Lion King
Yes, even Disney turns to the Bard for inspiration. The Lion King is actually a feline version of Hamlet, a story about a young prince plotting revenge against his uncle Claudius, who has murdered his brother and stolen the Danish throne. The Lion King is basically the same, but with, y'know, wild animals.
©Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection7/9Shakespeare in Love
In Gwyneth Paltrow’s Oscar-winning role, she plays Viola, a young woman who pretends to be a man in order to perform with Shakespeare’s troupe. Meanwhile, Shakespeare is having trouble finishing Romeo and Juliet, and finds his forbidden romance with Viola to be the perfect cure for writer’s block. It’s especially cool because not only does the film draw from Twelfth Night and Romeo and Juliet, but Shakespeare himself is a character, so there are tons of references to The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, and Macbeth, if you listen closely enough to the dialogue.
Summit Entertainment/courtesy Everett Collection8/9Warm Bodies
Yes, really. A zombie falls in love with a human girl. It doesn’t get more star-crossed than that. How does Romeo die if he's already undead, however? Well, you'll just have to watch and find out.
