36 | SHAKESPEARE ON FILM

A concise and accessible introduction to the range of cinematic adaptations of Shakespeare's works, this volume analyses Shakespearean cinema in four major contexts – performance, adaptation, film style and popularisation – and interprets his unique ability to penetrate cultures, mindsets and languages from across the world. The book reveals Shakespeare's continuing currency in contemporary culture, and critically examines the dialogues between cultures, mediums and historical periods that emerge within a study of Shakespeare on film. Includes analysis of Orson Welles' Othello, Roman Polanski's Macbeth, Akira Kurosawa's Ran and Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet.

July 2007
144 pages

978-1-905674-14-5 (pbk)

£12.99

£11.04 with 15% online discount - add to basket

Carolyn Jess-Cooke is Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Sunderland.

'No. 36 in the [Short Cuts series] surveys the astonishing array of movies based on Shakespeare’s plays. We learn that there have been around five hundred film adaptations since the bard was first presented in cinema over a hundred years ago, and all the major ones are analysed in this fascinating book.'
– Peter Haigh, Cinema Retro

'Those who know Shakespeare, films and theory, will marvel at this wonderfully intelligent, concise and helpful book. Those who are beginning will be drawn in by its clarity and its abundant insights.'
– Richard Vela, University of North Carolina at Pembroke

'With remarkable economy, this volume spans a century of screen history, while providing the reader with a user-friendly guide to an impressive array of cinematic techniques and critical methodologies. Arguing the ongoing importance of approaching Shakespeare on film as a unique genre of adaptation, it offers insightful readings of a broad range of carefully chosen films and successfully integrates the study of both disciplines without compromising the integrity of either; it is a classic in its own right.'
– Courtney Lehmann, University of the Pacific, Stockton