Shakespeare Week: Films inspired by Shakespeare plays

As it is Shakespeare Week, here are some film recommendations that are all inspired by or based on a play by William Shakespeare.

If you're like me, you might not have heard about Shakespeare Week before. However, I recently came across the national annual celebration on LinkedIn and decided it would make a good topic for a blog post.

March 23rd to March 29th is a weekly celebration of William Shakespeare to celebrate the incredible writer's career, and to give primary school children opportunities to learn about Shakespeare and his work.

During school, I wasn't too fond of Shakespeare; I much preferred reading Lord of the Flies to Macbeth. However, as I've gotten older, I've come to appreciate Shakespeare more and more, especially since reading If We Were Villains.

Therefore, for Shakespeare Week, I thought I'd share some film recommendations with you that have been inspired by works of Shakespeare.

So, if you fancy a new film to watch and are interested in Shakespeare, then check out the recommendations below.

'O'

Inspired by: Othello

Stars: Mekhi Phifer, Julia Stiles, Martin Sheen, Josh Hartnett

O tells the story of Odin, a black student-athlete, at a predominantly white high school. Everything is going well for Odin: he has a beautiful girlfriend, Desi, and is the MVP of the school's basketball team. However, when Hugo becomes jealous of Odin's success, he puts things in motion which ultimately result in Odin's undoing.

John Tucker Must Die

Inspired by: The Merry Wives of Windsor

Stars: Sofia Bush, Brittany Snow, Arielle Kebbel, Ashanti, and Jesse Metcalfe

The Merry Wives of Windsor is probably a lesser-known Shakespeare play with very few adaptations. However, John Tucker Must Die takes inspiration from Shakespeare's comedy and puts a romantic comedy twist on the story with four women playing a notorious player at his own game.

Warm Bodies

Inspired by: Romeo and Juliet

Stars: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, Dave Franco

This zombie movie puts a sci-fi twist on the classic tragedy of Romeo and Juliet when one day, R meets Julie, and they become star-crossed lovers from different species. The female protagonist's name echoes that of Shakespeare's FMC, Juliet, and the famous balcony scene is also recreated.

Anyone But You

Inspired by: Much Ado About Nothing

Stars: Glen Powell, Sydney Sweeney

Anyone But You is another romantic comedy inspired by Shakespeare, and this time it's Much Ado About Nothing. The movie follows Ben and Bea (shortened versions of Shakespeare's original characters, Benedick and Beatrice) after their meet-cute, which ends in disaster. They're reunited at a destination wedding and decide to fake date, acting out the enemies-to-lovers trope that is present in the Shakespeare play.

She's the Man

Inspired by: Twelfth Night

Stars: Amanda Bynes, James Kirk and Channing Tatum

Another romantic comedy inspired by Shakespeare, She's the Man follows Viola as she is separated from her twin, attending a different school, and pretends to be a boy in order to play on the all-male soccer team. However, she quickly falls for her roommate, Duke, who only sees her as his male teammate. This movie is definitely a modern take on Twelfth Night, but it was a great success and a staple of early 2000s romcoms.

10 Things I Hate About You

Inspired by: The Taming of the Shrew

Stars: Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik

Again, another romcom, but this time it's inspired by The Taming of the Shrew. Kat and Bianca are sisters, but Bianca can't date anyone unless her older sister begins to as well, so Cameron pays Patrick, played by Heath Ledger, to date Kat, so he can ask Bianca out. It is again a modern high-school take on the classic, but there are a lot of Shakespearean references throughout, and I, in particular, enjoyed this one.

The Lion King

Inspired by: Hamlet

Stars: James Earl Jones, Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons

This Disney musical is a classic in its own right, but it is inspired by Hamlet. It is about a king murdered by his brother and a young prince who plans to avenge his father. This animated musical echoes the story of Hamlet while bringing joy through its songs and characters.

I have seen a few of the above films, mostly the romantic comedies, and did enjoy them, but it's interesting to see how Shakespeare inspired them. There are, of course, many more films I could have included, such as West Side Story (Romeo and Juliet), and there are lots of straight-up adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, too.

But I hope that if you're feeling inspired by Shakespeare this Shakespeare Week, you find these films enjoyable and interesting.

Until next time...