Time Out's 25 Best Shakespeare-To-Screen Adaptations

Time Out's 25 Best Shakespeare-To-Screen Adaptations's icon

Created by AaronP.

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It would seem a no-brainer: Combine the world's most revered dramatist with today's most popular medium. Alas, translating the Bard to the big screen has proved trickier than anyone ever thought. In ranking the 25 most successful attempts, TONY tapped its Film and Theater experts. Their only ground rule: No plots about the playwright himself would be eligible. (Sorry, Shakespeare in Love fans). But any adaptations of the plays themselves, loose or faithful, were fair game.

So if top-25 lists be the food of love, read on.

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  1. 17 new

    Romeo + Juliet

    1996, in 7 top lists Check
  2. 3 new

    Ran

    1985, in 25 top lists Check
  3. 10 new

    Romeo and Juliet

    1968, in 5 top lists Check
  4. 6 new

    My Own Private Idaho

    1991, in 10 top lists Check
  5. 15 new

    Forbidden Planet

    1956, in 9 top lists Check
  6. 5 new

    Kumonosu-jô

    1957 — a.k.a. Throne of Blood, in 16 top lists Check
  7. 14 new

    Much Ado About Nothing

    1993, in 0 top lists Check
  8. 9 new

    Hamlet

    1948, in 10 top lists Check
  9. 19 new

    Hamlet

    1996, in 0 top lists Check
  10. 11 new

    Hamlet

    2000, in 2 top lists Check
  11. 7 new

    Henry V

    1989, in 2 top lists Check
  12. 21 new

    The Merchant of Venice

    2004, in 1 top list Check
  13. 1 new

    Campanadas a medianoche

    1965 — a.k.a. Chimes at Midnight, in 11 top lists Check
  14. 25 new

    Julius Caesar

    1953, in 4 top lists Check
  15. 12 new

    Richard III

    1995, in 2 top lists Check
  16. 2 new

    The Tragedy of Macbeth

    1971, in 2 top lists Check
  17. 4 new

    The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice

    1951 — a.k.a. Othello, in 6 top lists Check
  18. 18 new

    The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fifth...

    1944 — a.k.a. Henry V, in 12 top lists Check
  19. 8 new

    Richard III

    1955, in 6 top lists Check
  20. 13 new

    Titus

    1999, in 1 top list Check
  21. 20 new

    A Midsummer Night's Dream

    1935, in 4 top lists Check
  22. 16 new

    Prospero's Books

    1991, in 4 top lists Check
  23. 24 new

    Twelfth Night or What You Will

    1996, in 0 top lists Check
  24. 22 new

    The Tempest

    1979, in 1 top list Check
  25. 23 new

    King Lear

    1970, in 2 top lists Check
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Last updated on Feb 14, 2014; source