Shakespeare in the East

[Nesacat]

Shakespeare has fascinated movie makers in the East as well as in the West. Here are three movies that I have seen and liked and I'm curious if there are any more out there and to find out how people who have seen these fell about them.

Akira Kurosawa's Throne Of Blood which is his take on Macbeth. It is for me one of the best adaptations I have ever seen of my favourite Shakespearean play. The other being Roman Polanski's version.

Feng Xiaogang's Banquet, which is based on Hamlet. I must say that I've never had a fondness for Hamlet as a character though the play has some memorable lines. However, the Banquet is stunning and deserves a look if only for it's visual splendour and attention to detail.

Vishal Bharadwaj's Omkara which is India's version of Othello. I don't watch many Bollywood movies and only watched this one because it was a media preview. I'll admit to being rather pleasantly surprised at the movie and the fact that it was clearly recognisable as being an adaptation of Othello.

[j. d. worthington]

Not seen this one, but I've heard mention of it: The Bad Sleep Well, another Shakespeare adaptation by Kurosawa, Ran being another:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bad_Sleep_Well

This also provides a bit more info on it:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054460/

[Nesacat]

I've not seen The Bad Sleep Well but I have seen Ran. Kurosawa's adaptation of King Lear. Ran was well done but King Lear is not one of my favourite Sakespearean works so is probably why I don't always make the connection. It's funny because I like Ran very much indeed.

[Foxbat]

I like a bit of Shakespeare but never seen any eastern takes on it. I do like Macbeth and Othello. although my favourite has to be Titus Andronicus (Aaron makes Darth Vader look like a pussycat). Are there any Eastern adaptations of this?

I really should try and watch some of these movies sometime.

[Nesacat]

I like Titus Andronicus as well. Absolutely blood-thirsty and vengeful. As far as I know there are no Eastern adaptations of this one though I am sure Kurosawa could do this very well indeed. The only adaptations that I know are these:

The TV movie Titus Andronicus (1985), directed by Jane Howell with Trevor Peacock and Eileen Atkins as Titus and Tamora. Part of the BBC Shakespeare Plays series.

The film Titus (1999), directed by Julie Taymor with Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange as Titus and Tamora. - I have seen this one and both Hopkins and Lange play their parts with chilling reality.

The film Titus Andronicus (1999), directed by Christopher Dunne

The film Titus Andronicus (2000), directed by Richard Griffin

[j. d. worthington]

Interesting that Titus has been mentioned now, as I was just using something from that play as a metaphor with someone else yesterday... Though not a cinema adaptation, there is a Japanese production of Titus that seems to have garnered some pretty strong reviews:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/a..._feature.shtml

And, yes, it's one of my favorites among his plays, as well ... but then I'm prone to the revenge tragedies to begin with.....

[ravenus]

Vishal Bharadwaj earlier made Maqbool, his adaptation of Macbeth and I must say I think it's a MUCH better film than his Othello adaptation (although I may feel that to an extent because I like the story of Macbeth more). The changes he brings in to the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and their reasons for their murderous deeds are for the better. Definitely stands with other adaptations of Macbeth like Kurosawa's ToB and Polanski's Macbeth.

[Nesacat]

Ravenus ... I admit to being biased and somewhat protective towards adaptations of Macbeth as it is a tale I love more than all the rest of Shakespeare's works. I'll call my mom up and if we have Maqbool at home. If we don't there's always the pirates downstairs. Thanks.

[world in progress]

Originally Posted by Nesacat

The film Titus (1999), directed by Julie Taymor with Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange as Titus and Tamora. - I have seen this one and both Hopkins and Lange play their parts with chilling reality.

Taymor is a visual genius (as Frida or her stage adaptation of The Lion King attests) but I thought Hopkins hammed it up something awful in Titus.


Ran I liked the second time I watched it. It was too stylised and slow-moving for me to get into as a teenager, but watching it again last year I got a lot more out of it.