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…

Richard III

In 1471, the Duke of Gloucester (Laurence Olivier) helps install his brother Edward (Cedric Hardwicke) as king, but sets in motion a scheme to grab the throne himself. After the…

Chimes at Midnight

In the early 1400s, King Henry IV (John Gielgud) is annoyed with his son (Keith Baxter) who spends most of his time in the company of a rowdy, lying knight…

Anyone but You

During a trip to Sydney where they are guests at a wedding, Bea and Ben (Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell), who once hooked up and now loathe each other, find themselves…

Hamlet: Besting Henry V

Laurence Olivier. Photo: Rank Film As Ethel Barrymore opened the envelope at the 1949 Oscars and learned that Hamlet had been selected by her peers as Best Picture of the…

Henry V: An Evening at the Globe

Laurence Olivier. Photo: United Artists In Donald Spoto’s 1991 biography on Laurence Olivier, the actor is described as having a somewhat disastrous turn as a soldier during World War II.…

Henry V: Branagh and the Bard

Photo: Renaissance Films When I was a teenager, my class was treated to a performance of Shakespeare’s ”Hamlet”. It was not a bad production; the young leading actors later became…

West Side Story: When Maria Met Tony

Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood. Photo: United Artists Stage director Jerome Robbins was a key reason why ”West Side Story” became a groundbreaking Broadway hit in 1957. When the time…

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…