Shakespeare Films

Reexamines the recognized “canon” of films based on Shakespeare's plays, arguing that it should be broadened. Emphasis is shifted from the director's contribution, to the film's social, cultural and historical contexts. The work of the auteurs is reevaluated within contemporary contexts, preserving the established canon while proposing new criteria for inclusion.

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This study reexamines the recognized "canon" of films based on Shakespeare's plays, and argues that it should be broadened by breaking with two unnecessary standards: the characterization of the director as "auteur" of a play's screen adaptation, and the convention of excluding films with contemporary language or modern or alternative settings or which use the play as a subtext. The emphasis is shifted from the director's contribution to the film's social, cultural and historical contexts. The work of the auteurs is reevaluated within present-day contexts, preserving the established canon while proposing new criteria for inclusion.