'A fascinating analysis of a wondrous subject, this book is an essential contribution to the library of all serious film buffs and Shakespearean anoraks alike. From the Italianisation of Shakespeare via Franco Zeffirelli, right through to the rigorous historicising and politicisation of Shakespeare's media configurations (of which there are indeed many), these seventeen essays are simply crucial.' David Marx
Introduction: Shakespeare, films and the marketplace Russell Jackson; Part I. Adaptation and its Contexts: 1. From play-script to screenplay Russell Jackson; 2. Video and its paradoxes Michèle Willems; 3. Critical junctures in Shakespeare screen history: the case of Richard III Barbara Freedman; 4. Shakespeare and movie genre: the case of Hamlet Harry Keyishian; Part II. Genres and Plays: 5. The comedies on film Michael Hattaway; 6. Filming Shakespeare's history: three films of Richard III H. R. Coursen; 7. Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear on film J. Lawrence Guntner; 8. The tragedies of love on film Patricia Tatspaugh; Part III. Directors: 9. The Shakespeare films of Laurence Olivier Anthony Davies; 10. Orson Welles and filmed Shakespeare Pamela Mason; 11. Grigori Kozintsev's Hamlet and King Lear Mark Sokolyansky; 12. Franco Zeffirelli and Shakespeare Deborah Cartmell; 13. Flamboyant realist: Kenneth Branagh Samuel Crowl; Part IV. Critical Issues: 14. Looking at Shakespeare's women on film Carol Chillington Rutter; 15. National and racial stereotypes in Shakespeare films Neil Taylor; 16. Shakespeare the illusionist: filming the supernatural Neil Forsyth; 17. Shakespeare's cinematic offshoots Tony Howard; Further reading; Filmography.