Have a Shakespeare festival with recent Blu-rays

Last April was the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death. His uncannily thoughtful and brilliantly poetic reworking of old stories, historical lives, and original material into immensely popular stage productions have inspired numerous films over the past century. These range from close adaptations of Shakespeare’s texts to fresh and unusual interpretations to very loosely incorporated plot and character elements in completely different settings. Not surprisingly, last year and the past couple of years saw several of these films receive Blu-ray releases.

“Macbeth” has long been one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, both for production and school reading assignments. The story of a young soldier’s ambition to become king after he and his best friend hear an unexpected prophesy from three strange sisters, and the aggressive support of his equally-ambitious wife to gain the throne, provides a timeless psychological character study with political overtones.

Japanese director Akira Kurosawa turned “Macbeth” into a memorable samurai power struggle starring movie icon Toshiro Mifune with “Throne of Blood” (1957), which had an impressive Blu-ray release by Criterion in 2014 and a reissue in 2015. Bonus features include a booklet, a commentary, a trailer, and a documentary on the making of the film.

THRONE OF BLOOD Blu-ray – Movie: A- / Video: A+ / Audio: A / Extras: B

The recent UCLA restoration of Orson Welles’ curious low-budget production of “Macbeth” for Republic Pictures in 1948 made its Blu-ray debut in September of 2012 from Olive Films with an excellent picture transfer but no bonus features whatsoever. Welles himself plays the title role with Jeanette Nolan as Lady Macbeth. In November 2016 Olive re-released the film in its “Signature Edition” series as a two-disc set including Welles’ original cut and a 1950 theatrical release shortened by about eight minutes and re-dubbed with less heavy Scottish accents, plus optional subtitles and a number of worthwhile bonus features. There’s an audio commentary on the long version, and six featurettes including an interview with retired UND Shakespeare and film professor Michael Anderegg, as well as an illustrated booklet. 

MACBETH (1948) new Blu-ray – Movie: B / Video: A+ / Audio: A / Extras: A

The Criterion Collection released Roman Polanski’s striking and somewhat infamous version of “Macbeth” (1971) in September 2014. Made by Playboy Productions for Columbia Pictures, Jon Finch stars in the title role with Francesca Annis as Lady Macbeth. Polanski’s film remains one of the strongest screen adaptations of the play. Bonus features include a new documentary and a 1971 documentary on the film, a couple of vintage TV interviews, and a leaflet. 

MACBETH (1971) Blu-ray – Movie: A- / Video: A / Audio: A / Extras: A

Director Justin Kurzel’s 2015 film of “Macbeth” came to Blu-ray in March 2016 from Starz/Anchor Bay. This powerful and surprisingly low-key version of Shakespeare's classic “Scottish play” has an interesting new take treating Macbeth as a victim of PTSD. Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard deliver amazing and very moving performances. Unfortunately the only bonus features are an eight-minute featurette on the making of the film and a 20-minute interview with Michael Fassbender, but they do give a lot of insight into the production.

MACBETH (2015) Blu-ray – Movie: A / Video: A / Audio: A / Extras: B-

Also known as “Falstaff,” after its central character, “Chimes at Midnight” (1965) was one of the last feature-length productions Orson Welles was able to complete, starring himself as the lusty and rotund ne’er-do-well knight and friend of the wild young Prince Hal who would eventually become the more serious King Henry V. Welles' artful blend of Shakespeare's “Henry IV” parts I & II, “Henry V,” “Richard II,” and “The Merry Wives of Windsor” brings the often dry-seeming history plays to life with strong performances and brilliant cinematography. A new restoration of the film came to Blu-ray in August 2016 from Criterion. Bonus features include a trailer, four new interviews, a 1965 TV interview with Welles, and a leaflet essay by Michael Anderegg. 

CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT Blu-ray: A / Video: A / Audio: A- / Extras: A-

Laurence Olivier directed and starred in what is often considered the definitive film version of “Richard III” (1955), which Criterion issued on Blu-ray in April 2013. It’s an interesting production with good performances by veteran actors, but it frequently drags throughout its 158-minute running time and despite some effective sets and a few outdoor scenes it more often than not seems to be simply a film record of a stage performance. Bonus features include a booklet, audio commentary, trailers, production stills, a restoration featurette, and a 1966 TV show about Olivier. 

RICHARD III (1955) Blu-ray – Movie: B- / Video: A- / Audio: A / Extras: B

Ian McKellen’s drastically different and far more effective “Richard III” (1995) was also based on his stage interpretation but is substantially more cinematic and fast-paced, moving right along with a 104-minute runtime. It came to Blu-ray in April 2015 from Twilight Time. Directed by Richard Loncraine, this audacious version of Shakespeare's classic scheming villain is updated to an alternate-universe 1930s England paralleling the rise and fall of Nazi Germany (and Jimmy Cagney in “White Heat”!), with an outstanding cast, striking visuals, and dynamic sound mix. Bonus features are simply a booklet, trailer and isolated music-effects track. 

RICHARD III (1995)Blu-ray – Movie: A- / Video: A / Audio: A / Extras: C-

While strictly speaking not a true Shakespeare film, Vincent Price is at his best in “Theatre of Blood” (1973) a wickedly dark comedy/horror film about a flamboyant Shakespearean actor who decides to take vengeance on the critics who panned his performances by killing them off in Shakespearean ways appropriate to their personalities and the plays from his repertory season. The cast of noted British character actors playing the critics and Diana Rigg as his daughter make it even more fun. Twilight Time released the Blu-ray in August 2016. The sparse bonus features include a booklet, audio commentary, isolated score, and a trailer. 

THEATRE OF BLOOD Blu-ray -- Movie: A- / Video: A- / Audio: A- / Extras: C+