Shakespeare on Film

Overview

Catch The Bard on the big screen in ACMI this July, as the British Film Institute and the University of Melbourne present Shakespeare on Film. Commemorating four centuries since the playwright's passing, this specially curated film program will showcase more than a century's worth of Shakespeare adaptations, from the seminal to the downright strange.

Leading the two week lineup are a number iconic titles, including Laurence Olivier's Hamlet, Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet, and Kenneth Branagh's Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing. Also on the program is last year's stunning Macbeth adaptation, followed by a Q&A (via Skype) with director Justin Kurzel.

For those after something a little more obscure, ACMI will also screen campy '70s horror film Theatre of Blood, featuring Vincent Price as an actor who uses the murders in Shakespeare's plays as inspiration in his quest to bump off the theatre critics of London. But perhaps the most intriguing session is a collection of silent short films, including 1899's King John, believed to be the first Shakespearean screen adaptation ever made.