Ayyyy! Puzzle corner
By Spirit FingersThis week we pay homage to the Bard of Avon with the theme “Shakespeare in the movies.” Your task is identify the movies below and prove yourself to be a mental Colossus that doth bestride the narrow world.
Answers to be put up on Wednesday morning. In the meantime I will wait in my dark cavern with a bubbling cauldron at the ready.
March 31st, 2008 at 11:28 am
1. much ado about nothing
2. hamlet (the julia stiles/ethan hawke version)?
3. midsummer night’s dream
5. romeo and juliet
6. othello?
7. shakespeare in love
9. the taming of the shrew
10. hamlet?
March 31st, 2008 at 12:54 pm
1. Much Ado About Nothing (1993) 2. 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) 3. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1999) 4. Hamlet (1996) 5. Romeo And Juliet (1968) 6. Richard III (1995) 7. Shakespeare in Love (1998) 8. Merchant of Venice (2004) 9. Taming of the Shrew (1967) 10. Macbeth (?)
March 31st, 2008 at 1:44 pm
#1 is Much Ado About Nothing, #5 is Romeo & Juliet. I’m having a mental meltdown now….will return later….
March 31st, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Ok, this one’s right up my alley, as a theatre major with no social life. Sorry, guys.
1. Much Ado About Nothing (1993 Branagh version - really cute, totally worth seeing, made when Kenneth B. and Emma T. were still madly in love. Also, another poor Keanu Reeves appearance, and note our brittish sweetie who plays Hero is none other than Ms. Bekinsale. Micheal Keaton is loveable as Dogberry.)
2. Love’s Labor’s Lost (2000, also Branagh. KB was WAY too old to play the enginue, but it’s funny to see him and Alicia Silverstone in a Shakespeare musical. Funny if you’re me, probably boring if you’re not.)
3. A Mid Summer Night’s Dream (1999, Michael Hoffman - pretty, lots of people you know, but not as good as the 1935 version with Micky Rooney as the spritly Puck.)
4. Hamlet (1996, Branagh - pretty, long, pretty, and long. Good for a melencholly Sunday afternoon.)
5. Romeo and Juliet (1968 Zeffirelli - you know it, you love it.)
6. Richard III (1995 Richard Loncrain - Ian McKellen at his most wicked. The concept is WWII era Britain, if it was a facist regime. I love this one.)
7. Shakespeare in Love (not actually written BY shakespeare, but wonderful and romantic. I <3 Joseph Finnes.)
8. Merchant of Venice (2004, Radford Classified as a “comedy” because noone dies, however it’s kinda controversial now because the comedic foil is jewish. Hard to do this one without seeming anti-semetic, or changing the plot. This is where “for a pound of flesh” comes from. Eeeewwww….)
9. Taming of the Shrew (colorized, 1967, Zefirelli - It’s been years since I’ve seen this, and it was in B&W, so this was the hardest. I thought that it might be Ms. Taylor in that dress, though. She gives another one of her lovely spit-fire performances in this one.)
10. Henry V (1989, Branagh - Saw clips of this in college, and hated his bowl cut so much I blocked it from my mind.)
I really love Titus, directed by Julie Taymore and starring Anthony Hopkins (bloody and disturbing, but fantastic none the less). Also, it may be heretical, I’m a fan of the Baz Luhrmann Romeo + Juliet. It’s innovative, sexy, and has a kicking sound track.
March 31st, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Spirit Fingers, you might as well just hand out the prize right now. Leah’s just pwned all our asses.
March 31st, 2008 at 3:33 pm
#2 is 10 Things I Hate About You, one of my favorites, and Heath Ledger’s American film debut
March 31st, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Leah hands down! Girlfriend knows the Bard.
March 31st, 2008 at 11:01 pm
I’m not as good as the rest of you but I basically knew these just from the one clip.
1. Much Ado About Nothing
2. 10 Things I Hate About You (Taming of the Shrew)
3. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
4. ?
5. Romeo + Juliet
6. Othello
7. Shakespeare in Love
8. The Taming of the Shrew
9. ?
10. ?
March 31st, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Yeah I guess technically 5. Is not Romeo + Juliet but rather, the original which I saw in 10th grade Romeo and Juliet.
March 31st, 2008 at 11:24 pm
Best puzzle corner ever! I’m havin’ me a blockbuster night
April 1st, 2008 at 2:53 am
Absolutely, positively the only one I know is #10, which is as Leah said, Henry V, which is a magnificent piece of filmmaking. Indeed, this is one of the tenderest, strangest love scenes in all of cinema. When I saw it with my roomie afterwards we looked at one another and I said, “You know, that was his wife that he cast as Catherine.” and she said, “I know.” And we both, in unison, said, “BUT SHE WAS REALLY GOOD!”
I know someone who saw him play Edward and her play the Fool in Lear, and I’d give my right arm to be him.
April 1st, 2008 at 4:56 am
Ahhhh, SHAKESPEARE
3) Midsummer Night’s Dream (Michelle Pfeiffer): I LOVED this version. Fabulous cast, even if Calista Flockhart will always be Ally McBeal. And Kevin Kline is the best.
4) Hamlet: I hated this version. I thought Kenny B. did an awful job, and that’s a shame, because he’s great. But big love to Billy Crystal. Oh, hated the play too.
7) Shakespeare in Love (Gwyneth Paltrow): Yeah yeah yeah, Romeo and Ethel the Pirate’s Daughter
9) Taming of the Shrew (Richard Burton, Liz Taylor): Even if I hadn’t seen the movie, that ridiculous outfit of Richard Burton just screams PETRUCHIO’S WEDDING DAY. Another Shakespeare play I didn’t like.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:18 am
Oh, I love love love Branagh’s Henry V. It was released when I was a senior in high school and my girlfriends and I were all, “It’s so weird: At the beginning of the movie you’re like, He has no lips and he’s kind of pasty, but by the end, when he says ‘If thou would have such a one, take /
me; and take me, take a soldier; take a soldier, / take a king. And what sayest thou then to my love? / speak, my fair, and fairly, I pray thee,’ you’re like, ‘TAKE ME, take ME!”
Man, now I’m really in a mood to watch Branagh carry a teenaged Christian Bale across the battlefield at Agincourt!
April 1st, 2008 at 10:31 am
D’oh! #2 IS 10 things I hate about you!! Which was also one of my favorite movies (Heath singing on the bleachers?? You had me at “You’re just too good to be true…”). I think I was on the Branagh kick.
Oh - and if you live anywhere NEAR NYC - Patrick Stewart is in an upcoming production of MacBeth. At $111/ticket (after fees) it’s kinda breaking my bank, but… well… Patrick Stewart!!
April 1st, 2008 at 10:49 am
Oh man — I would give my front teeth, my back teeth, and raincoaster’s teeth (sorry, hon) to see Patrick Stewart getting his Shakespeare on!
Then again, I’d probably ruin the show, as I’d either be squealing with glee or gasping with lust the entire time.
April 1st, 2008 at 11:26 am
Atari, how in the world do you hate Kenneth Branagh’s version of Hamlet? It’s incredible, and I, who have taught Hamlet for four years now to two classes a semester (16 viewings in class, many more on my own), would have every right to get tired of it. When you compare his portrayal of Hamlet (intelligent, sarcastic, reflective) to Mel Gibson’s (wide-eyed) and Ethan Hawke’s (YAWN!!!), Branagh is brilliant and takes every detail of the play into consideration.
April 1st, 2008 at 3:39 pm
1. Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
2. Love’s Labour’s Lost (2000)
3. Midsummer Night’s Dream (1999)
4. Hamlet (1996)
5. Romeo & Juliet (1968)
6. Richard III (1995)
7. Twelfth Night: Or What You Will (1996)
8. Merchant of Venice (2004)
9. Taming of the Shrew (1967)
10. Macbeth (1971)
Number 4 baffles me–but the black high-necked domino has to be Hamlet, maybe the play within the play–I was delighted to have even one clue, though! Fun!
April 1st, 2008 at 9:59 pm
The scene in number 4 is not the play within the play; it’s Act I, Scene ii. Claudius has just spoken to the court about the recent funeral/marriage. The scene is filled with colors, and the black that Hamlet wears separates him from the joy/carelessness of the rest of the cast.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:01 am
That’s okay, La Petite: I am so old that I have no teeth. But I have a large collection of fine bone porcelain sippy cups.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:06 am
Keanu? rowr………..
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Shakespeare in Love, gack! I thought it was one of the ladies in Twelfth Night. Oh, well! Wow, Anna, thanks for the heads up. I enjoyed this very much–something I had at least a clue about. Thanks!
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:57 pm
I’m with you, Leah, I thought #2 was “Love’s Labors Lost,” too, which I liked way better than “10 Things….” But that’s just me.