BBC Shakespeare - All 37 Plays (1978-1985)
This is the only complete set of screen adaptations that I know of. These films may also represent the only available screen version for some of the Bard's lesser known work. The cast list contains many of the greats of British acting talent. They were produced and broadcast over a 7 year period in the UK from December 1978 to April 1985. They are now available as a DVD Box Set.
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37 titles
- DirectorElijah MoshinskyStarsCelia JohnsonIan CharlesonMichael HordernHelena loves Bertram but he's of noble birth, while she's just a doctor's daughter. But Bertram is at the court of the King of France, who is ill, and Helena has a remedy that might cure him and win her the right to marry Bertram. But does Bertram want to marry her?
- DirectorJonathan MillerStarsJohn PaulJonathan AdamsJane LapotaireAfter the murder of her lover Julius Caesar, Egypt's queen Cleopatra needs a new ally. She seduces his probable successor Mark Antony. This develops into real love and slowly leads to a war with the other possible successor, Octavius.
- 1978–19852h 31mTV-147.1 (356)TV EpisodeDirectorBasil ColemanStarsHelen MirrenBrian StirnerRichard PascoAfter the overthrowing of Duke Senior by his tyrannical brother, Senior's daughter Rosalind disguises herself as a man and sets out to find her banished father while also counseling her clumsy suitor Orlando in the art of wooing.
- DirectorJames Cellan JonesStarsCyril CusackCharles GrayNicolas ChagrinAegeon of Syracuse has come to Ephesus to seek his son, who went in search of his missing twin and mother months ago. Unfortunately, Ephesus has just declared war on Syracuse, and will instantly put to death any Syracusean found within their borders unless a ransom's paid. Meanwhile, the son, Antipholus, and his servant, Dromio (also an identical twin), keep running into strangers who seem to know them...
- DirectorElijah MoshinskyStarsPaul JessonRay RobertsLeon LissekA banished hero of Rome allies with a sworn enemy to take his revenge on the city.
- DirectorElijah MoshinskyStarsRichard JohnsonMichael PenningtonClaire BloomCymbeline (Richard Johnson), the King of Britain, is angry that his daughter Imogen (Dame Helen Mirren) has chosen a poor (but worthy) man for her husband. So he banishes Posthumus (Michael Pennington), who goes to fight for Rome. Imogen (dressed as a boy) goes in search of her husband, who meanwhile has boasted to his pal Iachimo (Robert Lindsay) that Imogen would never betray him. And Iachimo's determined to prove him wrong.
- 1978–19853h 30mTV-148.0 (666)TV EpisodeDirectorRodney BennettJohn GorrieStarsDerek JacobiClaire BloomPatrick StewartHamlet suspects his uncle has murdered his father to claim the throne of Denmark and the hand of Hamlet's mother, but the Prince cannot decide whether or not he should take vengeance.
- DirectorDavid GilesStarsJon FinchDavid GwillimRob EdwardsHenry Bolingbroke has now been crowned King of England, but faces a rebellion headed by the embittered Earl of Northumberland and his son, (nicknamed "Hotspur"). Henry's son, Hal, the Prince of Wales, has thrown over life at court in favor of heavy drinking and petty theft in the company of a debauched elderly knight, Sir John Falstaff. Hal must extricate himself from some legal problems, regain his father's good opinions, and help suppress the uprising.
- DirectorDavid GilesStarsJon FinchDavid GwillimRob EdwardsHenry Bolingbroke has now been crowned King of England, but faces a rebellion headed by the embittered Earl of Northumberland and his son (nicknamed "Hotspur"). Henry's son Hal, the Prince of Wales, has thrown over life at court in favor of heavy drinking and petty theft in the company of a debauched elderly knight, Sir John Falstaff. Hal must extricate himself from some legal problems, regain his father's good opinions, and help suppress the uprising.
- DirectorDavid GilesStarsJohn AbineriRobert AshbyTrevor BaxterIn the midst of the Hundred Years' War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.
- DirectorJane HowellStarsJohn BenfieldPeter BensonBrenda BlethynFollowing his father's early death and the loss of possessions in France, young Henry VI comes to the throne, under the protection of the Duke of Gloucester. He is unaware that there are other claimants to the throne, Plantagenet of York and Somerset of Lancaster, whose factions will ultimately cause the Wars of the Roses. Ignorant of the schisms, Henry tries to unite them in the Hundred Years' War, capturing Joan of Arc, before he marries Margaret of Anjou to unite England and France. However, there is no dowry, angering the court. Margaret finds the pious Henry a dull husband and embarks upon an affair with Somerset as well as crossing Gloucester's wife Eleanor. When Gloucester is arrested for alleged treason because of Eleanor, Henry is too feeble to prevent his death or the country slipping into civil war.
- DirectorJane HowellStarsJohn BenfieldPeter BensonAntony BrownFollowing his father's early death and the loss of possessions in France young Henry VI comes to the throne, under the protection of the duke of Gloucester. He is unaware that there are other claimants to the throne, Plantagent of York and Somerset of Lancaster, whose factions will ultimately cause the Wars of the Roses. Ignorant of the schisms Henry tries to unite them in the Hundred Years War, capturing Joan of Arc, before he marries Margaret of Anjou to unite England and France, but there is no dowry, angering the court. Margaret finds the pious Henry a dull husband and embarks upon an affair with Somerset as well as crossing Gloucester's wife Eleanor. When Gloucester is arrested for alleged treason because of Eleanor Henry is too feeble to prevent his death or the country slipping into civil war.
- DirectorJane HowellStarsJohn BenfieldPeter BensonGerald BlackmoreFollowing his father's early death and the loss of possessions in France young Henry VI comes to the throne, under the protection of the duke of Gloucester. He is unaware that there are other claimants to the throne, Plantagent of York and Somerset of Lancaster, whose factions will ultimately cause the Wars of the Roses. Ignorant of the schisms Henry tries to unite them in the Hundred Years War, capturing Joan of Arc, before he marries Margaret of Anjou to unite England and France, but there is no dowry, angering the court. Margaret finds the pious Henry a dull husband and embarks upon an affair with Somerset as well as crossing Gloucester's wife Eleanor. When Gloucester is arrested for alleged treason because of Eleanor, Henry is too feeble to prevent his death or the country slipping into civil war.
- 1978–19852h 46mNot Rated7.2 (141)TV EpisodeDirectorKevin BillingtonStarsJohn StrideJulian GloverRonald PickupHenry VIII is a proud and wilful monarch who defies Rome's ban on divorce to marry his mistress Anne Boleyn. Cardinal Wolsey, the Powerful Lord Chancellor of England, attempts to bend Rome to the king's wishes in the matter of the divorce of Catherine of Aragon so he can marry Anne Boleyn. Later, near death, he repents his unpriestly activity. After Henry divorces her, Catherine is sent to Kimbolton Castle. Anne marries Henry and becomes his queen.
- 1978–19852h 41mTV-147.4 (259)TV EpisodeDirectorHerbert WiseStarsRichard PascoCharles GrayKeith MichellThe assassination of the would be ruler of Rome at the hands of Brutus and company has tragic consequences for Brutus and the republic.
- DirectorDavid GilesStarsLeonard RossiterWilliam WhymperMary MorrisKing John does whatever it takes to keep himself on the throne of England, making enemies of the pope, France, and his nephew along the way.
- DirectorJonathan MillerStarsJohn ShrapnelNorman RodwayMichael KitchenKing Lear (Sir Michael Hordern), old and tired, divides his kingdom amongst his daughters, giving great importance to their protestations of love for him. When Cordelia (Brenda Blethyn), youngest and most honest, refuses to idly flatter the old man in return for favor, he banishes her and turns for support to his remaining daughters. But Goneril (Gillian Barge) and Regan (Dame Penelope Wilton) have no love for him and instead plot to take all his power from him. In a parallel, King Lear's loyal courtier the Earl of Gloucester (Norman Rodway) favors his illegitimate son Edmund (Michael Kitchen) after being told lies about his faithful son Edgar (Anton Lesser). Madness and tragedy befall both ill-starred fathers.
- DirectorElijah MoshinskyStarsJonathan KentChristopher BlakeGeoffrey BurridgeA scholarly king and his three companions swear off the society of women for three years, only to have a diplomatic visit from a French princess and her three ladies-in-waiting thwart their intentions.
- DirectorJack GoldStarsBrenda BruceEileen WayAnne DysonMacbeth and his wife murder Duncan in order to gain his crown, but the bloodbath doesn't stop there, and things supernatural combine to bring the Macbeths down.
- 1978–19852h 25mNot Rated7.5 (232)TV EpisodeDirectorDesmond DavisStarsKenneth ColleyKate NelliganTim Pigott-SmithWhen the Duke of Vienna takes a mysterious leave of absence and leaves the strict Angelo in charge, things couldn't be worse for Claudio, who is sentenced to death for premarital sex. His sister, Isabella (a nun-in-training), however, is a very persuasive pleader. She goes to Angelo, but instead of freeing her brother, she gets an offer from Angelo to save Claudio's life if Isabella sleeps with him. The only sympathetic friend Isabella has is a priest who, in actuality, is the Duke in disguise...and he has a plan.
- DirectorJack GoldStarsJohn Franklyn-RobbinsJohn Rhys-DaviesAlan DavidA rich merchant, Antonio is depressed for no good reason, until his good friend Bassanio comes to tell him how he's in love with Portia. Portia's father has died and left a very strange will: only the man that picks the correct casket out of three (silver, gold, and lead) can marry her. Bassanio, unfortunately, is strapped for cash with which to go wooing, and Antonio wants to help, so Antonio borrows the money from Shylock, the money-lender. But Shylock has been nursing a grudge against Antonio's insults, and makes unusual terms to the loan. And when Antonio's business fails, those terms threaten his life, and it's up to Bassanio and Portia to save him.
- DirectorDavid Hugh JonesStarsAlan BennettRichard O'CallaghanTenniel EvansWhen Sir John Falstaff decides that he wants to have a little fun he writes two letters to a pair of Windsor wives: Mistress Ford and Mistress Page. When they put their heads together and compare missives, they plan a practical joke or two to teach the knight a lesson. But Mistress Ford's husband is a very jealous man and is pumping Falstaff for information of the affair. Meanwhile the Pages' daughter Anne is besieged by suitors.
- DirectorElijah MoshinskyStarsEstelle KohlerNigel DavenportHugh QuarshieThe adventures of four young lovers, a group of amateur actors and their interactions with fairies come to light in a moonlit forest.
- DirectorStuart BurgeStarsLee MontagueTim FaulknerCherie LunghiBenedick and Beatrice fight their merry war of words. But when Beatrice's friend, Hero, is humiliatingly jilted by Benedick's best friend, Claudio, Benedick has to choose which side he's on. But unknown to all, Claudio's been tricked by the bastard Don John, and (unfortunately), it's up to Dogberry and Verges to solve the case.
- DirectorJonathan MillerStarsAnthony PedleyBob HoskinsGeoffrey ChaterGeneral Othello (Sir Anthony Hopkins) becomes convinced that his wife is having an affair, even though there is no evidence.