A date with Shakespeare

Everyone, at least for once, have come across the works of William Shakespeare or have in the least heard about him. Also, there are many, who are familiar with the name of Shakespeare, but might not have got a chance to witness his work through a book, a play or a movie.

To introduce such people to the world of the greatest dramatist of all time and to commemorate his 400th death anniversary, six movies from different internationally acclaimed director were recently screened in the CD Deshmukh Auditorium at India International Centre (IIC) in the national Capital.

The film screening ‘A Date with Shakespeare’ was the part of IIC annual festival ‘The IIC Experience-2016’.

The films screened included Macbeth, King Lear, All Night Long, Hamlet, Throne of Blood and Othello, which were directed by Roman Polanski, Peter Brook, Basil Dearden, Grigori Kozintsev and Iosef Shapiro, Akira Kurosawa and Orson Welles respectively. Each film was critically acclaimed at its time and had bagged many awards. Othello had received Grand Prize of the Festival at Cannes Film Festival in 1952.

The films, which are considered as classics now, are individualistic. While some portay the plays in traditional manner, others transport the action to other periods and setting. For example, Basil Dearden’s All Night Long, translate ‘Othello’ to the smoky world of sixties London jazz clubs, showing just how current and relatable the themes of Shakespeare’s work continue to be.

King Lear (1971) is a noted tragedy in black and white, which delivered the saga of the aging, self-deluding regent in a evocative manner. Whereas Othello (1951) rearrange the order of the tragedy and starts with the funeral of the protagonist, thereby turning it into a film noir as the murder investigation takes place to find out the cause of their deaths. The movie concluded the film festival.

William Shakespeare’s plays remains highly popular and are constantly studied, performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political context throughout the world. 

Around 400 films based on Shakespeare have been made and shared online. Shakespeare has an annual commercial value of over $ 1 billion with over 5,000 individual stage production each year.