Pages

Saturday, May 02, 2020

A Shakespeare's Birthday Tag!

Movies Meet Their Match tagged me with this last week.  Shakespeare's birthday is past now, but you know what?  I don't care.  I'm going to do this anyway!


(Mine from my Instagramming adventures)

The Rules: 

1. Answer truthfully, and then "Thou canst not then be false to any man." (I'll try!)

2. Tag at least three people and let them know that they've been tagged. "For he today who does this tag with me shall be my brother..."  (We'll see...)

3.Link back to the person who tagged you (done!) and post a link to your post in the comments of this original post at The Tearoom blog, where the tag started.  (Will do!)

The Questions: 

1. What was the first exposure you ever had to Shakespeare?

Watching West Side Story with my mom -- does that count?

If not, then this: when I was about 16, our homeschool group went to see a presentation by some traveling theater troupe that was all about how Shakespeare affects and informs storytelling today, basically.  I discovered that afternoon that a LOT of Classic Star Trek episodes got their titles from Shakespeare, and I decided to read all his plays and figure out all the episode titles that referenced his works.  This was before Google, I couldn't just look it up -- this was the dark ages of the mid-'90s.  So I got this giant volume of his works from the library and just began at the beginning.  Which I think was Two Gentlemen from Verona.  I only got partway through that tome, maybe read 6 or 7 plays, before I got to Hamlet and sort of got stuck.  Read it twice, bought my own chunkster volume of his works when I was 17, memorized a soliloquy or two... and didn't read any others of his plays until I got to college a year or so later.  Just sort of dwelt on that one.



2. How many of Shakespeare's plays have you seen?

A lot.  No, seriously.  A lot.

(I'm including some retellings, and I've linked titles to my reviews where applicable.)

Watched live on stage:

Antony and Cleopatra
Otello (opera version of Othello)
The Tempest
Twelfth Night
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado About Nothing 
Hamlet (2009 -- Law)
Hamlet (2018 -- Innerst)


Watched on film:

Antony and Cleopatra (1972)
The Banquet (2006 retelling of Hamlet)
Hamlet (1948 -- Olivier)
Hamlet (1964 -- Burton)
Hamlet (1969 -- Williamson)
Hamlet (1980 -- Jacobi)
Hamlet (1990 -- Gibson)
Hamlet (1990 -- Kline)
Hamlet (1996 -- Branagh)
Hamlet (2000 -- Hawke)
Hamlet (2000 -- Scott)
Hamlet (2002 -- Lester)
Hamlet (2004 opera based on Alexandre Dumas' adaptation of the play)
Hamlet (2009 -- Tennant)
Hamlet (2011 -- Ramsey)
Hamlet (2015 -- Cumberbatch)
Henry V (1989)
Julius Caesar (1953)
Kiss Me, Kate (1953 retelling of The Taming of the Shrew)
Love's Labours Lost (2000)
Macbeth (2015)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (2020 live-stream production)
Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
Ophelia (2018 retelling of Hamlet)
Richard III (1995)
Romeo and Juliet (1968)
Romeo + Juliet (1996)
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990 sort-of retelling of Hamlet)
10 Things I Hate About You (1999 retelling of The Taming of the Shrew)
A Thousand Acres (1997 retelling of King Lear)
Titus (1999 movie version of Titus Andronicus)
West Side Story (1961 retelling of Romeo and Juliet)
The Wild and the Dirty (1968 retelling of Hamlet)



3. What is your favorite Shakespeare play?

In case you couldn't guess from the name of this blog and the lists above, it's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.


4. What is your favorite non-Shakespearean play? {musicals are permissible}

Hmm.  Probably The Odd Couple by Neil Simon.  He's my other favorite playwright.


5. What is an adaptation of one of Shakespeare's plays that you like? Why?

You think I can choose ONE?  ONE???  Hahaha.  Inconceivable.

How about my top five filmed versions:

Hamlet (2011 -- Bruce Ramsay)
Hamlet (2000 -- Ethan Hawke)
Hamlet (2015 -- Benedict Cumberbatch)
Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
Ten Things I Hate About You (1999)


6. Who is your favorite Shakespearean character?

Take a wild guess ;-)


7. What is your favorite Shakespeare quote?

"The readiness is all." -- Hamlet

(Also mine from my Instagramming adventures)

8. If you were in a Shakespearean production, which play would you want to be in, and which character?

Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing would be really fun.

9. Have you read any of Shakespeare's sonnets and, if so, which is your favorite?

I have read quite a few, but I don't have a favorite.

10. Have you ever written/tried to write a play?

I've written several short plays and some radio dramas, none shareable ;-)  That was long ago.  I stick to novels and short stories these days.

11. Cast one of the big five {Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Richard III, or Much Ado About Nothing} with modern actors from either the stage or the screen. {you only have to do main characters.}

I will, shock of all shocks, share an ideal modern Hamlet casting:

Hamlet -- Michael Fassbender
Horatio -- Armie Hammer
Laertes -- Chris Evans
Ophelia -- Rosamund Pike
Claudius -- Brian Cox
Gertrude -- Helen Mirren
Polonius -- Ian McKellen

(They're all almost a bit old for these roles now, so probably we should have filmed this 10 years ago.)


(Oh man, now I just WANT THIS to be a real movie.)

If you're curious, I did an ideal 1940s casting for a film noir version of Hamlet a few years ago.  I've wanted to see Alan Ladd as Hamlet since a decade before I was obsessed with him, isn't that funny?  Ever since I saw him in This Gun for Hire the first time somewhere around 2005.  I still want it.  Sigh.  Where's my time machine?

Anyway, this was such a fun tag!  Thank you for nominating me, MovieCritic!

I'm not actually going to tag anyone because... I don't feel like it.  And Shakespeare's birthday is past for the year anyway.  But if you want to snurch this and do it yourself, go for it!

22 comments:

  1. Switch out Rosamund Pike, and I'm totally onboard with that Hamlet! LOL! I've been building towards a rewatch of the Ramsey one, and really want to watch Ophelia again. So much good Shakespeare stuff here!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DKoren, I was having trouble find an actress who would look like she was Chris Evans' sister and Ian McKellen's daughter, and kind of look good with Fassbender. Who would you suggest instead?

      DEFINITELY need to rewatch Ophelia. I want that second viewing before I review it. And I very much want to review it!

      And I'm almost always in the mood for the Ramsey.

      Delete
  2. That's awesome that you came to love Shakespeare because you wanted to know the references in Star Trek! Most creative answer ever.

    I tagged you because I was sure that of anyone I know you have seen the most versions of his plays. Yep, I was right. The 2015 Hamlet sounds quite wonderful!

    Ah!!! That cast needs to happen!! I haven't seen Michael Fassbender in anything, but he looks like he would do a good job and everyone else would be perfect!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MC, lol! I was a pop culture junkie even then.

      The 2015 Cumberbatch version of Hamlet IS quite wonderful! I keep hoping they'll release it to DVD. I've seen it twice in the theater now, special Fathom Events showings, and it's excellent. If they ever show it again (often pops up in the winter), and you get a chance to see it, GO!

      Michael Fassbender is ridiculously talented. If you're into superhero movies at all, he's wonderful as Magneto in the newer X-Men movies. But really, you should just find his Jane Eyre and watch that. It's wonderful.

      Delete
    2. (Yeesh, I used the word "wonderful" three times in that reply. I need sleep.)

      Delete
    3. I can see how you would go see it twice! I watched the Frankenstein with him almost twice when they offered it free on YouTube last week. I'll check my theaters to see if they'll ever play that Hamlet!

      I haven't gotten into X-Men yet, but I want to because of James McAvoy! ;-)

      (I do that all the time! To quote The Last Jedi, "Doing talking is not my forte.")

      Delete
    4. MC, oh, I bet he was marvelous in Frankenstein!

      It took me a while for McAvoy to grow on me in the X-Men movies, but Days of Future Past really endeared him to me.

      (Hee.)

      Delete
  3. Great answers!
    Twist answer on which character you would most like to play though. ;D

    I need to see more film adaptations of Shakespeare I guess!

    I love your cast! I don't really like Chris Evans, but I would be curious to see what he would do with Laertes.

    Thank you for taking part in my tag!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PioneerGirl, thank you! Yeah, I wouldn't mind playing Horatio in Hamlet (and I've seen a female Horatio work pretty well), but most of the other roles in it don't appeal to me. Beatrice, though, would be such fun!

      Chris Evans does sympathetic and determined both quite well, so I think he'd be a nice Laertes. Maybe even up there with my favorite Laertes of all time, Liev Schreiber.

      Thanks for making this tag! 'Twas great fun :-)

      Delete
  4. I think you are more into Shakespeare than any other person I've met--except POSSIBLY the head of the English department at my university. I think that's really cool. <3

    I liked reading about how you first got into "Hamlet." It reminded me of when I was a teenager discovering different great classics for the first time, like "Persuasion," and marveling that Human Beings were Able to Write Like That.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Katie, well, that is a high compliment indeed, comparing me to an English department HEAD. Wow.

      Yeah, Hamlet just sort of swallowed me whole and has never spat me back out, heh. I still revel in it whenever possible.

      Delete
    2. Well, and I mean it. <3 You and he would get along great.

      Delete
  5. My first exposure to Shakespeare was my high school English class. Mostly, the plays didn't make much sense to me. It wasn't until I saw them performed on film, that I could appreciate them at all. On another note, have you read Speak Easy, Speak Love? It's a reimagined version of Much Ado About Nothing set during Prohibition that is so much fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittaney, yes! SEEING them makes them so much more understandable, rather than reading them, especially when you're just getting into Shakespeare. I had the same experience.

      I LOVE Speak Easy, Speak Love. Just adore it. Brilliant book. I reread it last year and loved it even more. If you want my gushier thoughts on it, I reviewed it here on my book blog :-) SO nice to meet up with someone else who has read it! That book deserves many, many fans.

      Delete
  6. Ha, it's crazy that this just came out, as my friends and I just started filming an abridged version of Macbeth and I'm Lady Macbeth. I have unfortunately only read Macbeth, but I absolutely love all of Shakespeare's poetry. Rather entertaining tag. I should do a Shakespeare post some time.... I can't wait to share all my favorite quotes... :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Grays Harbor, that's so cool! I've never performed Shakespeare, though I've been known to spout soliloquies from memory upon occasion, lol. That sounds like such fun!

      Totally a fun tag. Feel free to do it yourself if you like!

      Delete
  7. Ok, just reading this makes me understand WHY your blog is named after Hamlette haha. I can't believe how many movies of it you've seen! :O

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gabby, lol, yes, I took a feminine version of Hamlet's name for my own, and since a soliloquy is a speech where a character reveals their thoughts to the audience, and a blog is the same thing, really, there you go.

      Yes, I have seen a LOT of versions. I even have a page here that lists them all and a bit about what I think of them.

      Delete
  8. I've only really seen !0 things I Hate about You and that's probably not the best example of Shakespeare. Oh wait I did watch Much Ado About Nothing ( a play version with David Tennant) and I loved it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Skye, oooooh, I would like to see the Tennant version of Much Ado! I liked him so well in Hamlet.

      Delete
  9. Love your Hamlet casting! Especially Ian McKellan as Polonius :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Catherine! Wouldn't he be good? A sly, yet twinkly Polonius kind of like Hume Cronyn played him, I think.

      Delete

Agree or disagree? That is the question...

Comments on old posts are always welcome! Posts older than 7 days are on moderation to dissuade spambots, so if your comment doesn't show up right away, don't worry -- it will once I approve it.

(Rudeness and vulgar language will not be tolerated.)