Question by Lila aka Cat Butt.: What are good things to point out when relating theater and film renditions of a Shakespeare text?
I am in a Shakespeare and Film class, and the teacher says we need to improve on the comments we make in postings online about the theater and film renditions of Shakespeare plays that we watch. He wants us to move beyond “I liked it” “this actor was convincing” etc. Do you have any ideas? We are doing Macbeth this week, not that that is particularly important for your comments. We watched a filming of the Ian McKellen and Judi Dench play.
Best answer:
Answer by mikethots
Usually for movies a lot of the lines from the play are rearranged or cut. You might note some of these lines and how their changes affect the overall themes of the story. Also, in Shakespeare movies they almost always use different time periods for the setting. Why do they do this? What does it change about the story? You might also note characters facial expressions in the film that aren’t speaking, because stuff like that is left wide open by the text. Does a character give another character a dirty look? What does that say about their motives. Anyway, you get the idea.
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