Adaptations Books

Shakespeare In Hollywood 1929-1956 is an informative historical study of five major productions and several offshoots of Shakespeare's plays by the Hollywood film studio system. The thesis is that studios like MGM and Warner Bros. make Shakespeare-based films in order to enhance their images as creators of artistic (as opposed to populist) entertainments. The films during this time span also reflect such Hollywood phenomena as contract players, overproduction, adaptations based on popular genres, that came to characterize Hollywood as an industry. Robert Wilson, professor of English at the University of Missouri - Kansas City, writes with an impressive blend of insight, scholarship, and skill to fully engage the attention of the reader. Shakespeare In Hollywood 1929-1956 is highly recommended reading for students of Hollywood film making history, Shakespearean studies, and the non-specialist general reader with an interest in how the greatest literary writer in the history of the English language fared at the hands of Hollywood movie moguls during the "Golden Age" of film and the studio system.

Fun to read and even more fun when tracking down unfamiliar films and when revisiting classic movie versions of Shakespeare's plays. Following in the tradition of critics like Kenneth Rothwell and Samuel Crowl, Buhler is warmly appreciative of most efforts to translate Shakespeare into film. Along with such theory-alert scholars as Courtney Lehmann and Richard Burt, he is also interested in how the "Shakespeare industry" fits into larger cultural movements. The chapter on the contest between Laurence Olivier and Orson Welles as directors -- and on what Kenneth Branagh learned from that battle -- is especially insightful and provocative.

What a relief! Just a few years ago the rate of publication of books about Shakespeare on film began, for the first time, to exceed the number of new films derived from Shakespeare's plays. If in one respect this suggests a field of study that has come of age, it also presents an immense problem for those who might want to teach both the original text and its adaptations into film. Most of these recent books, it seems to me, expound particular theories of film or of adaptation of works of literature and are becoming increasingly specialized, intended for a fairly narrow readership of specialists.

Here at last is a sensibly-organized and well-written guide to the materials available to researchers, students and teachers. Teachers, especially, will find something as mundane as writing a syllabus far less taxing as a result of this helpful, comprehensive work (of course, no book of its scope could hope to cover everything, but it uses its pages well).

For those of us who value elegance of presentation and utility, this book, and what I assume will be periodic updated editions, will be indispensable. Besides, Kenneth Rothwell's engaging preface is alone worth the price.

This is an important and very clever analysis of what Shakespeare has been used for in recent film. I got it for my course and after I had watched Luhrmann's Romeo and juliet again. I liked it very much and so did my family, more than Richard Burt's or Mark Burnett's books on the same subject which are more unchaste in manner and can be offputting as a result.

accomplished contribution, adding new insights to the well worked field, at times relentlessly funny, ...idiosyncratic, and deeply felt. an absolute must-read!

This beautiful and lovingly produced edition of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is an ideal vehicle for introducing children to the delights of Shakespeare. And in the bargain, adults will draw a share of delight for themselves. The prose rendition is intelligent and lively and true to its source, and the illustrations provide a spirited reflection of the play's world.

A wonderful book for kids & adults. Fascinating to learn the stories that inspired Shakespeare. We read them with the kids and the compare them to Shakespeare stories (condensed and written for kids of course). Our 5 & 6-year olds (so far) seem to be enjoying Shakespeare! Maybe they won't hate it when they get to high school.

It's hard to peg the age range for this retelling of Shakespearean drama: Stephen Lambert's color drawings break up the text and Birch's modern retellings makes it accessible for a younger audience than the traditional stories would; but much print makes it an unlikely picturebook choice. Parents will want to consider Shakespeare's Tales for read-aloud to kids beyond the picturebook age: Shakespeare's Tales brings the Shakespeare concepts to life with modern tellings and accessible plots.

The serious student of Shakespeare's most popular plays cannot dispense with this superlative anthology. While not every play is present here, 20 or so of the most popular are, and each play is accompanied by the most extensive study material I've ever seen, including notes on themes, staging challenges, and film versions...way beyond the typical historical and critical introductions found in other anthologies (although those are included too). The text is richly illustrated with artwork and photography and the texts of the play themselves are in David Bevington's popular format. Best of all, the generous margins coupled with large type face make reading and personal annotating a joy. Highly, highly reccomended!

Although this book is out-of-print, taking the trouble to find it will be worth it. Charles Lamb gives concise summaries of the plots of three Shakespearean plays: Romeo & Juliet, The Tempest, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. There are a few big words, so it is best to read this book along with children, but the stories are short and exciting enough to hold attention. In addition, the illustrations by Judy Mastrangelo are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. Shakespeare himself would have been proud.