Falstaff (Chimes at Midnight) is a 1966 period comedy drama film directed by and starring Orson Welles. The Spanish-Swiss co-production was released in the United States as Chimes at Midnight and in most of Europe as Falstaff. The film’s plot centres on Shakespeare’s recurring character Sir John Falstaff and the father-son relationship he has with […]
Bard Movies 19
Big Business is a 1988 American comedy film starring Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin, each playing two roles, as sets of identical twins mismatched at birth. The nature versus nurture farce adapts The Comedy of Errors, but with female siblings in contemporary society: one of each twin being reared in a wealthy urban setting, while […]
Bard Movies 18
The Boys from Syracuse is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and based on the play The Comedy of Errors, as adapted by librettist George Abbott. The score includes swing and other contemporary rhythms of the 1930s. The show was the first musical based on a Shakespeare play. The […]
Christine McVie
I am interrupting my present series to celebrate the life and music of Christine McVie, whose death at 79 was announced today. She was one of my musical heroes. Her singing on ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ was seminal in introducing me to the blues. This is my tribute to her. Christine McVie (nee Perfect) was […]
Bard Movies 17
Mean Girls is a 2004 American teen comedy movie directed by Mark Waters and written by Tina Fey. It is based in part on Rosalind Wiseman’s 2002 non-fiction self-help book, Queen Bees and Wannabes, which describes female high school social cliques, school bullying, and the damaging effects they can have on students. Fey also drew […]
Bard Movies 16
Men of Respect is a 1990 crime drama film, an adaptation of Macbeth and was directed by William C. Reilly. It stars John Turturro as Mike Battaglia, a powerful lieutenant in the D’Amico crime family, executes a large-scale hit on the family’s enemies, earning a promotion to a caporegime and the undying respect of his […]
Bard Movies 15
Throne of Blood is a 1957 Japanese film co-written, produced, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film transposes the plot of Macbeth from Medieval Scotland to feudal Japan, with stylistic elements drawn from Noh drama. The film stars Toshiro Mifune and Isuzu Yamada in the lead roles. Generals […]
Bard Movies 14
The King is a 2019 film directed by David Michod, based on several plays from Shakespeare’s ‘Henriad’. The screenplay was written by Michôd and Joel Edgerton, who both produced the film. The King includes an ensemble cast led by Timothee Chalamet as the Prince of Wales and later King Henry V of England. The film […]
Bard Movies 13
My Own Private Idaho is a 1991 American independent film written and directed by Gus Van Sant, loosely based on Henry IV part I and II, and Henry V. Van Sant wrote the screenplay in the 1970s, but discarded it after reading John Rechy’s 1963 novel City of Night and concluding that Rechy’s treatment of […]
Bard Movies 12
O is a 2001 American drama film, and a modern adaptation of Othello, set in an American high school. It stars Mekhi Phifer, Julia Stiles and Josh Hartnett. It was directed by Tim Blake Nelson and written by Brad Kaaya. The film contains many different styles of music, ranging from rap to opera. It was […]