In the Hand of Dante

An ambitious, but maddening, attempt to tell two parallel stories where the leading actors play dual roles. One is set in the 14th century (in glorious color) where Dante Alighieri…

Hamnet: Haunting Hamlet

Photo: Focus Features There isn’t much we know about the life of Anne Hathaway, wife of William Shakespeare. That gave author Maggie O’Farrell an opening to imagine her personality, actions…

Black Adder: Hilarious History

Tony Robinson and Rowan Atkinson. Photo: BBC At a time when Rowan Atkinson chooses to make another Johnny English, one needs to be reminded of an era when he was…

The Tudors

After writing two movies about Elizabeth I, Michael Hirst turned his attention to another Tudor, the Queen's father, the guy who was married six times and had two of his…

Shakespeare in Love: Bringing the Bard to Life

Gwyneth Paltrow. Photo: Miramax Let’s say William Shakespeare knew how to time travel. Let’s say he came to 1998, went to the movies and saw John Madden’s film Shakespeare in…