I am off to America in February and so am cobbling together an Amazon order. I own Romeo Plus Juliet (with Leonardo DeC), and the new Richard III and a new Midsummer Night’s Dream. (I don’t like that one.)
I also like Clueless which is based on some Bronte story or another. Roxanne (with Steve Martin) is Cerano DeB of course.
So we see a trend here. What other movies are out on DVds that set classic storeis in a modern setting?
Modern Hamlet.
Modern Romeo and Juliet.
Modern Othello.
10 Things I Hate About You is a modern-day retelling of “The Taming of The Shrew,” set in a high school. “Padua High School,” if I recall correctly. I enjoyed this one. Not nearly as brainless as most teen movies of late.
Of course, there’s always Bob & Doug McKenzie’s retelling of Hamlet, “Strange Brew…” 
OK, I will pick up the Hamlet, but the Othello got poor reviews and I have a R+J.
What else?
(BTW, The Lion King is Hamlet, right?)
From the “of that ilk” category: look for a film by Alex Cox, called Revengers Tragedy. The author of the story is commonly accepted* to be Thomas Middleton, a peer of Shakespeare’s (Middleton is also assumed to have written the two long witches’ poems in MacBeth). If you like Romeo + Juliet, you’ll probably enjoy this one, too.
I don’t know how “modern” you’ll think this, but West Side Story is supposed to be a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, too. There are a number of Hamlet films. I find I prefer Kenneth Branagh’s, but I think I’m in the minority there, and it doesn’t quite fit your specs - it’s not really a modern retelling, it’s the whole original text of the play, but set visually in the 1930s. Ethan Hawke did a remake of Hamlet not too long ago.
(*there is a whole 'nother camp of intellectual-types who are certain it was written by Cyril Turneur, but more believe it was Middleton.)
Another vote for 10 Things I Hate About You, which I liked quite a bit.
BTW, Al Pacino has a Merchant of Venice that may be in the theaters while you’re here – I saw the previews over the weekend, and it looks gorgeous; and this week’s Entertainment Weekly liked it. (YMMV, but I often agree with them.)
Jane Austen’s Emma, actually.
*Well, O Brother, Where Art Thou? is based on The Odyssey.
Not really, although it’s often compared to it. The protaganist is a young, irresponsible lad who runs away from his responsibilities, and learns by the end that his father’s strength lives on in him, and goes to take up the mantle of leadership he had foresworn. The thing that got it compared to Hamlet was that an evil uncle killed the king and took over the kingdom. The young prince must (eventually) decide whether or not to confront his uncle. Similar character relationship, but there’s no real connection beyond that. There’s no Horatio, Ophelia or Laertes characters, for example, and the Queen most definitely is not in collusion with the Uncle/King. There’s a chattery sidekick that I suppose one could liken to Polonius, but it’s a stretch.
Perhaps it’s Hamlet, The Early Years, when he was off goofing around at school with Rosencranz and Gildenstern (Timon and Pumbaa. Or is it Pumbaa and Timon? 
)
While it’s not modern, Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing is one of my favorite, favorite Shakespear movies. It’s just darn good fun, especially if you can consider Keanu Reeves deliciously bad instead of plain ol’ bad. Everyone else, including Denzel Washington and Michael Keaton, is just simply fantastic.
I highly recommend Scotland, PA, which is a retelling of MacBeth set in the 1970’s fast food industry. A first rate dark comedy. Christopher Walken plays MacDuff as a vegetarian police detective investigating the murder of prominent restraunteer Norm Duncan.
Also, I just found that the Reduced Shakespeare Company has released a DVD of their stage production, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare - Abridged. It’s a three man production of every single play Shakespeare ever wrote. With just a few necessary edits, of course. A bit weak in parts, but worth it for their take on Romeo and Juliet, and their four different takes on Hamlet, one of them in reverse.
For a more conventional Bard, there’s Kenneth Brannagh’s Much Ado about Nothing. It’s a decent adaption, despite the prescense of Keanu. I liked Michael Keaton’s Dogberry, but a lot of people felt he was out of place. Still, worth it for Brannagh and Uma Thurman’s Beatrice and Benedick.
For Hamlet, I recommend the Mel Gibson version. Gibson, whatever his other flaws, is a damned good actor, and isn’t afraid to abandon the conventions of the stage play to take advantage of the process of film editing. The Brannagh version is more faithful, but I think the film suffers in the long run.
Ian McKellan did a version of Richard III set in a pseudo-WWII Britain that was highly acclaimed, but left me cold. Still, it is Sir Ian, and is worth a look just for his Son of York monologue.
Speaking of the hunchback, see if you can lay hands on Al Pacino’s Looking for Richard, which is not so much an adaptation of the play, as a film about how to adapt the play. There’s a lot of fascinating discussion by some first-rate actors about what the play means, and how they interpret their characters. Kevin Spacey really stands out, which should hardly be surprising.
Roamn Polanski did a supremely creepy version of MacBeth. Weak in some regards, but Polanski really played up the supernatural elements. Not really a remake, in that it is set in the appropriate era, but it’s still Polanski.
For lighter fare, try this version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Kevin Kline absolutely nails Bottom. (That sounds a bit dirty, doesn’t it?)
You could argue that The Lion King is an animated Hamlet, but I think it’s more of a remake of Bambi starring carnivores. Besides, it has a happy ending. It’s not Hamlet if more than one major cast member is still standing by the end.
And, of course, don’t forget about Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Tom Stoppard does Hamlet by way of Waiting for Godot. Doesn’t get much better than that.
And, what the hell. Shakespeare in Love treats the Bard the same way he treated his own “historical” characters, with good result.
Erm. I think you mean Emma Thompson.
:smack:
O got better reviews than Hamlet. I quite liked O. Haven’t seen that version of Hamlet.
I’ll go along with those who liked 10 Things I Hate About You.
Another entry in the modernized Shakespeare stakes is Titus, which freely mixes modern and ancient settings and costumes. Compelling movie, but not for the squeamish.
I’ll give a shout out for ‘10 Things…’ as well. Using ‘I Want You to Want Me’ as it’s theme was a masterstroke.
‘Scotland, PA’ is another VERY worthwhile effort. Creepy and funny all at the same time.
I didn’t like Gibson’s ‘Hamlet’ but that’s most likely because I’ve always felt it wasn’t the masterpiece every one else seems to think. The only truly sympathetic characters are Rosencrantz and Gilderstern and look what happens to them! At the end when everyone else is dead all I could think was ‘Good, they’re all dead.’
I absolutely have to second Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are Dead. Brilliant!
And I have to second “Shakespeare in Love.” The first time I saw it I was underwhelmed, but I bought a copy for 7.99 at TArget, and my wife and kids started watching, watching, and re-watching it, and I was eventually won over. It’s a much better film than I originally thought.
Mel Gibson’s Hamlet starts out well, but fizzles.
“Ten things…” is a great movie.
I can’t post without mentioning the Star Trek film that quoted the hell out of Shakespeare–The Wrath of Kahn. With all those stolen lines, it must have been profound, right? And it was the best of the ST movies.
It was Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country ("…from whose bourn no traveler returns"), not Wrath of Khan, that was full of Shakespeare references.
This is the best modern Shakespeare I’ve ever seen. See also imdb. It’s been run on PBS a couple of times and is just outstanding.
Not a contemporary story, but another “reworking” of Shakespeare is Throne of Blood set in medieval Japan, starring Toshiro Mifune. Made in the 50’s I think. Kurosawa, the director, also did Ran, which I did not see, but was supposed to be a Japanese King Lear.
For a fun diversion, get hold of Vincent Price’s THEATRE OF BLOOD (co-starring Diana Riggs)- Shakespearian ham actor gets revenge on critics by killing them with Bardic M.O.s. Robert Morley’s TITUS-inspired dispatching is just fabulous!
I do so wish my little doggy-woggies were here!