The Various Columns

Thursday, April 23, 2015

A Look at the Academy Award Nominated Films Involving Shakespeare

Joseph Fiennes in Shakespeare in Love

It seems rather amazing that 399 years afters his death, writer William Shakespeare continues to provoke the creative arts. In the 52 years of his life, he produced an astounding amount of plays that would become the textbook for theater for centuries to come and lead the world to acting a specific way. Much like how he updated the themes that came before, cinema has found various ways to make his work more accessible to a modern audience whether through traditional tales or loose basis. The following is a look - by story - of the many, many films that have been based off of Shakespeare's work. From Romeo & Juliet to The Lion King, this is a comprehensive list that proves why he remains influential all these years later.

"Romeo and Juliet"
Claire Danes in Romeo + Juliet

Romeo and Juliet (1936)

Nominations: 4
-Best Picture
-Best Supporting Actor (Basil Rathbone)
-Best Actress (Norma Shearer)
-Best Art Direction

West Side Story (1961)

Wins: 11
-Best Picture
-Best Supporting Actor (George Chakiris)
-Best Supporting Actress (Rita Moreno)
-Best Art Direction
-Best Cinematography
-Best Costume Design
-Best Director (Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins)
-Best Editing
-Best Original Score
-Best Sound
-Brilliant Achievements in the Art of Choreography on Film

Nominations: 1
-Best Adapted Screenplay

Romeo and Juliet (1968)

Wins: 2
-Best Cinematography
-Best Costume Design

Nominations: 2
-Best Picture
-Best Director (Franco Zeffirelli)

Romeo + Juliet (1996)

Nominations: 1
-Best Art Direction-Set Direction

Shakespeare in Love (1998)

Wins: 7
-Best Picture
-Best Actress (Gwenyth Paltrow)
-Best Supporting Actress (Judi Dench)
-Best Art Direction
-Best Costume Design
-Best Original Score (Musical or Comedy)
-Best Original Screenplay

Nominations: 6
-Best Director (John Madden)
-Best Supporting Actor (Geoffrey Rush)
-Best Cinematography
-Best Film Editing
-Best Makeup
-Best Sound

"Hamlet"
Laurence Olivier in Hamlet (1948)
To Be or Not to Be (1942)

Nominations: 1
-Best Score (Drama or Comedy)

Hamlet (1948)

Wins: 4
-Best Picture
-Best Actor (Laurence Olivier)
-Best Costume Design (Black or White)
-Best Art Direction-Set Direction (Black or White)

Nominations: 3
-Best Director (Laurence Olivier)
-Best Score (William Walton)
-Best Supporting Actress (Jean Simmons)

To Be or Not to Be (1983)

Nominations: 1
-Best Supporting Actor (Charles Durning)

Hamlet (1990)

Nominations: 2
-Best Art Direction-Set Direction
-Best Costume Design

The Lion King (1994)

Wins: 2
-Best Original Song ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight")
-Best Original Score (Hans Zimmer)

Nominations: 2
-Best Original Song ("Circle of Life")
-Best Original Song ("Hakuna Matata")

Hamlet (1996)

Nominations: 4
-Best Art Direction
-Best Costume Design
-Best Original Score (Patrick Doyle)
-Best Adapted Screenplay

"The Tempest"
Leslie Nielsen in Forbidden Planet
Forbidden Planet (1956)

Nominations: 1
-Best Special Effects

The Tempest (2010)

Nominations: 1
-Best Costume Design

"Richard III"
Olivier in Henry III (1955)
Henry III (1955)

Nominations: 1
-Best Actor (Laurence Olivier)

Henry III (1995)

Nominations: 2
-Best Art Direction-Set Direction
-Best Costume Design

"Othello"
Scene from A Double Life
A Double Life (1947)

Wins: 2
-Best Actor (Ronald Colman)
-Best Score (Drama or Comedy)

Nominations: 2
-Best Director (George Cuckor)
-Best Original Screenplay

Othello (1995)

Nominations: 4
-Best Actor (Laurence Olivier)
-Best Supporting Actor (Frank Finlay)
-Best Supporting Actress (Joyce Redman)
-Best Supporting Actress (Maggie Smith)

"Henry V"
Scene from Henry V (1989)
Henry V (1944)

Wins: 1
-Special Award for Bringing Henry V to the Screen

Nominations: 4
-Best Picture
-Best Actor (Laurence Olivier)
-Best Score (William Walton)
-Best Art Direction-Set Direction (Color)

Henry V (1989)

Wins: 1
-Best Costume Design

Nominations: 2
-Best Director (Kenneth Branagh)
-Best Actor (Kenneth Branagh)

"The Taming of the Shrew"
Scene from Kiss Me Kate
Kiss Me Kate (1953)

Nominations: 1
-Best Score (Musical)

The Taming of the Shrew (1967)

Nominations: 2
-Best Art Direction-Set Direction
-Best Costume Design

"King Lear"
Scene from Ran
Ran (1985)

Wins: 1
-Best Costume Design

Nominations: 3
-Best Director (Akira Kurosawa)
-Best Cinematography
-Best Art Direction-Set Direction

"Julius Caesar"
Marlon Brando in Julius Caesar (1953)
Julius Caesar (1953)

Wins: 1
-Best Art Direction-Set Direction (Black and White)

Nominations: 4
-Best Picture
-Best Actor (Marlon Brando)
-Best Cinematography (Black and White)
-Best Score (Drama or Comedy)

"A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)

Wins: 2
-Best Cinematography
-Best Editing

Nominations: 2
-Best Picture
-Best Assistant Director

Shakespeare By Numbers

Most Adaptations: "Hamlet" (6)
Most Wins: "Romeo and Juliet" (20)
Least Wins: "The Taming of the Shrew" (0)
Most Won Category: Best Costume Design (6)
Best Picture Wins: 3
Total Wins: 34
Total Nominations: 55
Total (Wins and Nominations): 89

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