Scuffles, Swagger and Shakespeare: The Hidden Story of English (2019)
Shakespeare is often credited with revolutionising English, but is the real story more complex?
Genre : Documentary
Runtime : 29M
Director : Chris Nikkel
Synopsis
The English language is spoken by 450 million people around the globe, with a further one billion using it as a second language. It is arguably Britain’s most famous export. The man often given credit for the global triumph of English, and the invention of many of our modern words, is William Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s plays first hit the stage four centuries ago, as the explorers of Elizabethan England were laying the foundations for the British empire. It was this empire that would carry English around the world. Language historian and BBC New Generation Thinker Dr John Gallagher asks whether the real story of how English became a global linguistic superpower is more complex.
Scotland, 11th century. Driven by the twisted prophecy of three witches and the ruthless ambition of his wife, warlord Macbeth, bold and brave, but also weak and hesitant, betrays his good king and his brothers in arms and sinks into the bloody mud of a path with no return, sown with crime and suspicion.
War widow and pre-teen daughter leave home of tyrannical father-in-law in Florida, get lost on a detour, and find shelter at a nudist colony.
Renowned Shakespearean actor Patrick Stewart features as the eponymous anti-hero in this Soviet-era adaptation of one of Shakespeare's darkest and most powerful tragedies.
Feature film adaptation of Shakespeare's Scottish play about General Macbeth whose ambitious wife urges him to use wicked means in order to gain power of the throne over the sitting king, Duncan.
An old king, stepping down from the throne, disinherits his favorite daughter on a mad whim and gives his kingdom to his two older daughters, both of whom prove treacherous.
An adaptation of the play by William Shakespeare. Prospera (a female version of Shakespeare's Prospero) is the usurped ruler of Milan who has been banished to a mysterious island with her daughter. Using her magical powers, she draws her enemies to the island to exact her revenge.
A Scottish warlord and his wife murder their way to a pair of crowns.
A film adaptation by Max Reinhardt of his popular stage productions of Shakespeare's comedy. Four young people escape Athens to a forest where the king and queen of the fairies are quarreling, while meanwhile a troupe of amateur actors rehearses a play. When the fairy Puck uses a magic flower to make people fall in love, the whole thing becomes a little bit confused...
Shakespeare's comedy of gender confusion, in which a girl disguises herself as a man to be near the count she adores, only to be pursued by the woman he loves.
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother remarrying the murderer, his uncle.
Henry IV is dead and Hal is King. With England in a state of unrest, he must leave his rebellious youth behind, striving to gain the respect of his nobility and people. Laying claim to parts of France and following an insult from the French Dauphin, Henry gathers his troops and prepares for a war that he hopes will unite his country. Gregory Doran continues his exploration of Shakespeare's History Plays with Henry V performed in the 600th anniversary year of the Battle of Agincourt. Following his performance as Hal in Henry IV Parts I & II Alex Hassell returns as Henry V.
One fateful night in a small English regional theatre during World War II a troupe of touring actors stage a production of Shakespeares King Lear. Bombs are falling, sirens are wailing, the curtain is up in an hour but the actor/manager Sir who is playing Lear is nowhere to be seen. His dresser Norman must scramble to keep the production alive but will Sir turn up in time and if he does will he be able to perform that night? The Dresser is a wickedly funny and deeply moving story of friendship and loyalty as Sir reflects on his lifelong accomplishments and seeks to reconcile his turbulent friendships with those in his employ before the final curtain.
MacHomer is a one-person play by Rick Miller which blends William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth with the animated television series The Simpsons.
Journey into "Hamlet"-the play and the man-through the experiences of some of the major actors and directors who have brought Shakespeare's great tragedy to life. Christopher Plummer, David Tennant, John Nettles, John Simm, Sir Trevor Nunn, Franco Zeffirelli, Philip Saville, and others explore the enduring appeal of the Prince of Denmark more than 400 years after his stage debut.
Mel Gibson teaches Hamlet to a group of high school drama students.
Television adaptation of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night
An art dealer is seduced by a wealthy art collector to steal a pair of prestigious paintings. She enlists the help of her ex-lover and curator to accomplish the task. Deception and betrayal ensues.
Omar and Mokhles are childhood friends, but as of late, a growing sense of Omar's superiority over him drives Mokhles jealous as he tries to ruin both Omar's business and his relationship with Dina.
It’s 1606 and William Shakespeare is stuck in quarantine with his unpaid apprentice, Francis. It would be a GREAT time to write King Lear…if he weren’t plagued with writer’s block. In through the window climbs Jane Anger, the Cunning Woman, with a large sack and a mind to change history forever.
An art dealer is seduced by a wealthy art collector to steal a pair of prestigious paintings. She enlists the help of her ex-lover and curator to accomplish the task. Deception and betrayal ensues.
