In honour of Shakespeare’s 450th birthday, many are having a look at some of Shakespeare’s best work, as well as films and other works inspired by the man himself. Let’s have a quick look at one of the most successful Shakespeare inspired films of all time, Shakespeare in Love. Starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Dame Judi Dench and Geoffrey Rush, the film was a massive success and scored Judi and Gwyneth top acting honours.
The casting directors got some of the finest to be in this film, including Dame Judi Dench, Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Imelda Staunton, along with Ben Affleck, Mark Williams, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Rupert Everett. Both Gwyneth and Judi won Oscars for their roles, for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress respectively. The film was praised for its brilliant acting, as well as its writing, costumes and script. Shakespeare in Love also won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Best Costume Design, as well as Best Original Screenplay.
With an ensemble that worked well together, along with a decent script, consistent story, decent score, the film worked out. Humour was placed at the right moments throughout, and is often considered a film that would make Shakespeare himself proud. It’s not very often that a film is so polar amongst critics, film viewers and especially fans of the original author that this particular film revolves around. Shakespeare in Love is definitely a film that should be watched, by all film lovers, Shakespeare lovers and even just someone just wanting to watch a film.