Filming Shakespeare's Plays: The Adaptations of Laurence Olivier, Orson Welles, Peter Brook and Akira Kurosawa / Edition 1

by Anthony Davies

Overview

Davies begins his study with a comparison of theatrical and cinematic space showing that the dramatic resources of cinema are essentially spatial. Central chapters focus on Welles' Macbeth, Othello, and Chimes at Midnight; Olivier's Henry V, Hamlet, and Richard III; Brook's King Lear; and Kurosawa's Throne of Blood. Davies then discusses the dramatic problems the sources for these films pose for the film maker and he examines how these films influenced later theatrical stagings. The book concludes by exploring the demands that distinguish the work of a Shakespearean stage actor from his counterpart's in film.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521399135
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	06/29/1990
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	236
Product dimensions:	5.94(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.67(d)

Table of Contents

List of illustrations; Preface; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Theatrical and cinematic space; 2. Laurence Olivier's Henry V; 3. Laurence Olivier's Hamlet; 4. Laurence Olivier's Richard III; 5. Orson Welles's Macbeth; 6. Orson Welles's Othello; 7. Orson Welles's Chimes at Midnight; 8. Peter Brook's King Lear and Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood; 9. The film actor; Conclusion; Notes; Select filmography; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"...valuable for anyone interested in this century's added dimension to the plays: the motion picture." The Book Report

From the Publisher