Shakespeare in Contemporary Movies Essay

How does Pacino reshape the representation of the fall of man to echo Shakespeare’s warning about ambition?

Shakespeare's works have persistently influenced humanity for the past four hundred years. Quotations from his plays are used in many other works of literature and some common phrases have even become integrated into the English language. Most high schoolers have been unsuccessful in avoidance of him and college students are rarely afforded the luxury of choice when it comes to studying the bard. Many aspects of Shakespeare's works have been researched but one of the most popular topics since the 1960s has been the portrayal of women in Shakespeare's tragedies, comedies, histories and sonnets.

Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a story about a king that was murdered by his brother and the prince has been asked by his father?s ghost to avenge his murder. The original story line has been altered a few times since it has been written. The original Hamlet the play and the altered Hamlet the movie are shown differently in many different ways. Hamlet the movie with Mel Gibson shows different things than the play, but there are three major differences between the two. The three major differences are in the way both of the productions start out, differences in the scene that the players put on a play, and differences in the way the productions end.

Shakespeare’s King Richard III and Al Pacino’s 1996 documentary ‘Looking for Richard’ enhance a deeper understanding of ambition and identity through depicting explicit connections between each text and their audience. Enhancement of each text is gained through differing contexts and text types which are presented through literary and cinematic techniques. Both composers use anachronisms to parallel beliefs and values such as ambition and identity which transcend both contexts.

In one scene of the play Pacino and Kimball travel to England and visit the house which Shakespeare grew up in, in hope that they would achieve some sort of epiphany of knowledge about the plays. Linking back to the point that the British believe they ‘own’ the knowledge on Shakespeare. However they find that they did not feel any epiphany or difference at all, proving again that the British do not hold all the power and knowledge over Shakespeare and his plays and that actors like himself can possibly hold more knowledge that the academics and scholars.

The discussion about American actors and their inferiority complex also highlight the centrality of power in the film. There is a debate about how Shakespeare causes some of the best actors to become self-conscious as they have been told ‘they cannot do Shakespeare’. There is a struggle for American actors as they ‘feel inferior to the British’ and these hurdles that must be overcome by the American actors highlight the significance of power in the play, and in the production of the play.

Texts are shaped by their compositional context and thus offer new insights about the composer’s era. However, as there are ongoing concerns of humanity, key ideologies resonate over time and are affirmed between texts as shown in William Shakespeare’s play ‘King Richard III’ (1591) and Al Pacino’s docudrama ‘Looking For Richard’ (1996). King Richard III examines the irrational behaviours and moral ramifications of a power lust Richard to explore ideas of the relentless pursuit of power, betrayal and deceit, reflective of the theocentric context of the Elizabethan society. Centuries later, Looking For Richard explores Pacino’s journey to reshape a Shakespearean text that is representative of the changing contextual norms and values of a contemporary American audience who are confused and sceptical about the relevance of Shakespeare’s plays. Both texts provide an image of Richard’s deceit reflective of their distinctive contexts. However, despite the disparity of time, both texts display how key ideas such as deceit, endure and resonate over time.

William Shakespeare’s play King Richard III and Al Pacino’s docu-drama Looking for Richard have enriched my understanding of how context shapes the values inscribed within each text. In light of this, the connection that exists between the two texts is: how the central character of the texts embodies the values of theatricality and language in order to attain their own perception of power as shaped by their respective contexts. Whereas Richard III relentlessly pursues political power in the context of a late 16th century

Examine the different ways in which Shakespeare presents the attitude towards marriage in the play, ‘The Taming of the Shrew.’

Oliver parker's Othello came out in 1995 with Laurence Fishburne as Othello this is also the first time Othello was played by a coloured actor, Kenneth Branagh as Iago and Irene Jacob as Desdemona. Parker kept the original plot and language intact, however the movie seemed to give Othello life through visual and audio aids. Parker's Othello enables the viewer to associate on a personal level and compliments to the anticipation and imagination of those who have read the play before watching the movie.

The pursuit of individual recognition in the form of power and authority remains intrinsic in texts despite the change in contexts. This is evident in William Shakespeare’s 16th century play, King Richard III and Al Pacino’s 19th century docu-drama, Looking for Richard. Both texts explore that the pursuit of individual recognition can be initiated by an individual’s flaw in character caused by the corruption of their sense of morality in order to gain power. This is depicted through the malicious and treacherous nature of the central character, Richard in both texts. There are central ideas conveyed in these texts, including the nature of authority, the acquisition of power and the significant impact determinism plays in one’s decisions and actions. However, due to the difference in cultural context, Pacino reshapes these values to make Shakespeare accessible to a modern day audience. As a result, Pacino sequentially follows the plot of King Richard III in order to emphasise the relevance of Shakespeare’s plays in a modern society. Pacino addresses this through an emphasis on film techniques instead of dramatic techniques. Therefore, it is evident that the comparative study of these texts allows the responder to appreciate the connection between contexts and values, allowing the responder to reflect upon their own society’s concerns.

The lack of information that is available about his life is quite minimal and has been the backbone of the attacks and arguments against Shakespeare's legitimacy (Hastings 480). "Shakespearean scholars have often had to deal with arguments that Shakespeare did not have the birth, breeding, or education necessary to write the plays" (Friedman XV). However, the information about his occupation and his life in business and real estate gives evidence to his life as an actor (Whalen 3). As a business man, it is argued that Shakespeare was invoked in "petty transactions" rather than being a playwright. The is an inadequate amount of facts in regards to claims of Shakespeare's petty

“How would a modern audience view this play in a different way to an audience in Shakespeare’s time, particularly in relation to the role and status of women and attitudes to marriage and courtship?

William Shakespeare is one of the world 's most influential people to ever live. “BBC audience survey names Shakespeare as Britain 's Man of the Millennium.” (Andrews 2) Shakespeare’s works continue to be evident globally in modern society. Hundreds of years after William Shakespeare’s death, his influence continues to make an effect in the modern day English language, modern movies and film, and authors or artists today.

To act is to breath life into a story that is otherwise a corpse, filled with the paradox of potential energy. Also known as one of the most difficult crafts to master, acting is many things, but overall the skill of adapting words into a visual experience that audiences then digest and carry with them as they continue in their own lives. When a non-actor thinks about acting, one may assume it is an easy job, but the conscious psychological work (skilled) actors put forth in their performances is no easy feat, especially if they are able to come across so authentically that viewers assume acting is easy. However, acting is difficult, and even more difficult when playing a role that was adapted from a novel, as scholar Dudley Andrew asserts in his chapter “Adaptation” in James Naremore’s book “Film Adaptation.” He points out that because the novel has a large fan base before it is adapted, there is also a group of people waiting to scrutinize the film once made. This, in turn, grants the novel a greater sense of superiority over the adaptation, because viewers- fans of the novel- assume that the film will be worse.