Pop Shakespeare

Pop Shakespeare

6 Episodes

Every era gets its own Shakespeare, from the genius championed by the Romantics to the Bard who inspired Orson Welles and Laurence Olivier—and the age of MTV is no exception. Beginning in the late 1970s, modern-dress adaptations on both sides of the Atlantic spliced Shakespeare’s plays with the shiny trappings of contemporary pop culture. From indie luminaries (Gus Van Sant) and exploitation artists (Abel Ferrara) to stage-trained specialists (Kenneth Branagh) and superhero showmen (Joss Whedon), everyone wanted a crack at the English language’s greatest poet and dramatist. With their earworm-packed soundtracks, razzle-dazzle anachronisms, and dreamy casts, these ecstatically inspired films are such stuff as dreams are made on.

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Pop Shakespeare

6 Episodes

  • My Own Private Idaho
    1:44:15
    My Own Private Idaho
    Episode 1

    My Own Private Idaho

    Episode 1

    Directed by Gus Van Sant • 1991 • United States
    Starring River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, William Richert

    River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves star in this haunting tale from Gus Van Sant about two young street hustlers: Mike Waters, a sensitive narcoleptic who dreams of the mother who abandoned him, and ...

  • The Tempest
    1:35:21
    The Tempest
    Episode 2

    The Tempest

    Episode 2

    Directed by Derek Jarman • 1979 • United Kingdom
    Starring Peter Bull, David Meyer, Neil Cunningham

    Derek Jarman transforms William Shakespeare’s final great play—about the magician Prospero (Heathcote Williams), who lives on an enchanted island with his daughter, Miranda (Toyah Willcox), and exa...

  • China Girl
    1:30:33
    China Girl
    Episode 3

    China Girl

    Episode 3

    Directed by Abel Ferrara • 1987 • United States Starring James Russo, Richard Panebianco, Sari Chang

    Auteur of sin and sleaze Abel Ferrara brings his inimitable brand of pulp poetry to this gritty,...

  • Tempest
    2:22:13
    Tempest
    Episode 4

    Tempest

    Episode 4

    Directed by Paul Mazursky • 1982 • United States
    Starring John Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands, Susan Sarandon

    Paul Mazursky updates the Bard in this loose, modern-day interpretation of Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST. After he discovers that his wife (Gena Rowlands) is having an affair, New York architect ...

  • Love’s Labour’s Lost
    1:34:03
    Love’s Labour’s Lost
    Episode 5

    Love’s Labour’s Lost

    Episode 5

    Directed by Kenneth Branagh • 2000 • United Kingdom
    Starring Kenneth Branagh, Alessandro Nivola, Adrian Lester, Matthew Lillard, Alicia Silverstone

    A Y2K-era adaptation of Shakespeare’s sixteenth-century romantic comedy done in the style of a classic 1930s musical? Celebrated Shakespearean Sir K...

  • Much Ado About Nothing
    1:48:58
    Much Ado About Nothing
    Episode 6

    Much Ado About Nothing

    Episode 6

    Directed by Joss Whedon • 2012 • United States Starring Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Nathan Fillion

    Joss Whedon brings a feisty screwball energy to this sly and sexy modern update of Shakespeare’s cla...

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