There are conspiracy theories that he ripped off all his work from other playwrights, or that he never even existed at all, but as far as recorded history is concerned, William Shakespeare is one of the greatest storytellers who ever lived. Centuries after his plays debuted, they’re still being adapted for the screen.
Stories like Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet hit on such a deep human level that they can be recontextualized to entirely different settings and time periods and still resonate with audiences. Not every Shakespeare adaptation is a straightforward translation of the original text. So, here are the 10 best loose movie adaptations of Shakespeare plays.
10 Warm Bodies (2013)
After Twilight tackled vampire romance to unfathomable levels of success, Warm Bodies gave audiences a zombie romance. And against all odds, it wasn’t disturbing; it was actually a pretty sweet love story.
This was partly thanks to the charming lead performances by Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer, as well as the chemistry they shared, but it can also partly be attributed to the tried-and-true forbidden love story arc lifted from Romeo and Juliet.
9 Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)
As the title would suggest, the animated romcom Gnomeo & Juliet is actually a pretty straightforward adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, but the characters in the original Romeo and Juliet weren’t garden gnomes, so it’s still pretty loose.
It may not be a Pixar-level masterpiece on par with Finding Nemo or Up, but Gnomeo & Juliet is a perfectly serviceable animated movie with an impressively star-studded cast including the vocal talents of Emily Blunt, James McAvoy, Michael Caine, Maggie Smith, Patrick Stewart, Jason Statham, and even Ozzy Osbourne.
8 A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy (1982)
The first of 13 Woody Allen films in which he co-starred with Mia Farrow, A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy tells the hilarious intertwining tales of three couples enjoying a weekend getaway in upstate New York at the turn of the 20th century.
Allen’s film was primarily influenced by Ingmar Bergman’s 1955 comedy Smiles of a Summer Night, but a few story elements (and the title) were taken from Shakespeare’s subplot-heavy play A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
7 O (2001)
When you hear the name Tim Blake Nelson, you probably think of his acting roles in films like O Brother, Where Art Thou? or The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (if you’ve even heard of him at all), but he’s also a director.
In 2001, he helmed an adaptation of Othello entitled O that took place in a high school. The warriors were swapped out for students. The cast is rounded out by greats like Mekhi Phifer and Julia Stiles, with Martin Sheen appearing in a supporting role.
6 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Out of all the teen movies that have been adapted from Shakespeare’s works — from She’s the Man to Just One of the Guys — 10 Things I Hate About You is by far the best one. It places the story of The Taming of the Shrew in a high school setting.
The idea of a man “taming” a woman is certainly an outdated one, but Heath Ledger’s charms were more than enough to offset the problematic relationship politics of the story.
5 Forbidden Planet (1956)
The elevator pitch for Forbidden Planet would be “The Tempest in space!” It’s an early example of “techno-horror,” in which scientific concepts and technology are the source of the story’s terror.
According to the authorized biography of Gene Roddenberry, Forbidden Planet was one of the main influences on his creation of the Star Trek franchise.
4 My Own Private Idaho (1991)
Although its extended surreal sequences and tangential vignettes deviate wildly from the source material, Gus Van Sant’s touching drama My Own Private Idaho was based on Shakespeare’s plays Henry IV and Henry V.
Real-life best friends River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves make for a compelling duo in the lead roles, while Van Sant’s visual panache makes the film an involving viewing experience.
3 West Side Story (1961)
Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents’ stage musical West Side Story retold the story of Romeo and Juliet through singing street toughs, and Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins’ 1961 film adaptation retold that story on the big screen.
Steven Spielberg is directing a remake that’s set to be released later this year (although we’ll have to wait and see about that) with Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler playing the lead roles.
2 Ran (1985)
Akira Kurosawa recontextualized three Shakespeare plays for a Japanese setting throughout his career. He adapted Macbeth as Throne of Blood in 1957, Hamlet as The Bad Sleep Well in 1960, and King Lear as Ran in 1985. All three are fine films, but the latter is the finest.
From the bright colors in its costume design to the Lord of the Rings-sized battle sequences, Ran is a stone-cold masterpiece with breathtaking visuals; every frame is a sumptuous feast of imagery. The Shakespearean narrative ensures that there’s plenty of substance to back up the spectacle.
1 The Lion King (1994)
In addition to the biblical tales of Moses and Joseph, The Lion King was heavily influenced by William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The Bard’s story of a prince’s quest for revenge after his evil uncle kills his father and takes his throne has pretty clear parallels with the iconic Disney animated musical.
The story of Simba’s quest to overcome the grief from the sudden childhood loss of his father Mufasa and the journey he has to go on before confronting his uncle Scar is as timeless and brilliantly crafted as the Shakespeare play it was loosely based on.
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