Shakespeare in Love (1998)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

John Madden

Writers (WGA):

Marc Norman (written by) and
Tom Stoppard (written by)

Release Date:

8 January 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

...A Comedy About the Greatest Love Story Almost Never Told...

Plot:

A young Shakespeare, out of ideas and short of cash, meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays.

Plot Keywords:

Play | William Shakespeare | Actress | Inspiration | 16th Century

Awards:

Won 7 Oscars. Another 43 wins & 60 nominations

Cast

Geoffrey Rush	...	Philip Henslowe
Tom Wilkinson	...	Hugh Fennyman
Steven O'Donnell	...	Lambert
Tim McMullan	...	Frees
Joseph Fiennes	...	Will Shakespeare
Steven Beard	...	Makepeace - the Preacher
Antony Sher	...	Dr. Moth
Patrick Barlow	...	Will Kempe
Martin Clunes	...	Richard Burbage
Sandra Reinton	...	Rosaline
Simon Callow	...	Tilney - Master of the Revels
Judi Dench	...	Queen Elizabeth
Bridget McConnell	...	Lady in Waiting
Georgie Glen	...	Lady in Waiting
Nicholas Boulton	...	Henry Condell

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality.

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Iceland:L | Philippines:PG-13 | Brazil:14 | USA:R (certificate #36421) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Denmark:7 | Finland:K-12/9 | France:U | Germany:6 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIB | Hungary:14 | Ireland:15 | Italy:T | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:M | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | South Korea:18 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Barnes, London, England, UK

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Judi Dench won an Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for her role as Queen Elizabeth, although she is on-screen for only about eight minutes in four scenes. This is the second-shortest performance to win a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. The shortest ever performance was by Beatrice Straight in Network (1976), as she appeared in only six minutes of the film.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: The audio for the choirboys in Marlowe's funeral is a line ahead of the visual.

Quotes:

William Shakespeare: Can you love a fool?
Viola De Lesseps: Can you love a player?

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Monsters vs Aliens (2009)

Soundtrack:

The Play & the Marriage

An excellent film in all aspects.

I had high hopes for this film from the first time I saw the trailer. I am happy to say that the film lives up to the previews. Although it is an art house flick of sorts, it manages to be profound and accessible at the same time. So many art house films manage to be merely pretentious, as if aimed at those that want to believe that they are having an intellectual experience rather than those who are really open to one. This film shows that you can make a film of substance that is at the same time very entertaining.

One thing that stood out was the way they showed enough of the performance of Romeo and Juliet so that you could understand what the play is about, without making it a film of the play per se. There are many parallels between the fictional play and the events of the film, and this goes to underscore the relevance of great literature to the human condition. The actual performance of the play was acted so well that there were times when a character in the play was in a fight and I said to myself "they're really fighting, that guy really got stabbed!" So often a play within a movie is acted in a very staged manner, so this was a welcome surprise. And for anyone who is a fan of Shakespeare, it is easy to find little tidbits to reflect upon - such as the fact that Shakespeare himself was fond of the "play within a play" theme that we see in this film.

The performances are excellent throughout, including minor characters. In the midst of tragedy there is genuine comic relief, just as in Shakespeare. The historical details that surround the conjectural main plot are accurate down to the names of the actual people with whom Shakespeare crossed paths. In the end "Shakespeare in Love" causes us to feel as well as think, to think as well as to be entertained.