Shakespearean Star

This is the first study to comprehensively analyse Laurence Olivier's Shakespearean films alongside his unique Shakespearean star image. It offers an in-depth examination of Olivier's unmade Macbeth together with his adaptations of Henry V, Hamlet and Richard lll, explores Olivier's life writing and is supplemented by numerous illustrations.

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Laurence Olivier was one of the best-known and most pioneering actor-directors of Shakespeare on screen. This is the first study to provide a comprehensive analysis of Olivier's Shakespearean feature films and his unique Shakespearean star image. Through an examination of Olivier's unmade film Macbeth, as well as his adaptations of Shakespeare's Henry V, Hamlet and Richard III, Jennifer Barnes offers a detailed exploration of Olivier's entire cinematic Shakespearean oeuvre in relation to his distinctive form of stardom. Considering the development of Olivier's image in relation to the industrial and cultural contexts of the wartime and post-war British film and theatre industries, the volume also analyses Olivier's life writing and published autobiographies and is supplemented by numerous illustrations.