Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28525 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-08-10
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 123 minutes

Amazon.com
One of the most winning and intelligent romantic comedies of the '90s, Shakespeare in Love is filled with such good will, sunny romance, snappy one-liners, and devilish cleverness that it's absolutely irresistible. At the 1999 Academy Awards, this dark-horse costume comedy sneaked off with seven Oscars, besting the highly favored Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture. With tongue placed firmly in cheek, at its outset the film tracks young Will Shakespeare's overwrought battle with writer's block and the efforts of theater owner Philip Henslowe (Geoffrey Rush, in rare form) to stage Will's latest comedy, Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter. Most of the jokes in the first one-third of the film are along these lines: Will's anachronistic therapist session, a mug inscribed "A Souvenir from Stratford-Upon-Avon," Henslowe's battles to pay off his debts, and the backstage high jinks of pre-production. However, once Will sets his eyes on the beautiful Viola De Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow), joking takes a backseat to ravishing romance. Well, almost--turns out Viola wants to break into the world of male-only theater, and disguises herself as a young man to wangle herself an audition. She wins the part of Romeo and, after much misunderstanding, the playwright's heart. Soon enough, Will's pirate comedy becomes a beautiful, tragic romance, and Ethel is shoved aside for a woman named Juliet. Will and Viola's romance, however, is equal parts comedy and tragedy--he's married, and she's betrothed to the slimy Lord Wessex (Colin Firth), and it doesn't take an English major to figure out that it's not all's well that ends well.

Like Shakespeare's work itself, the film is instantly accessible to everyone, from the raucous groundlings looking for low comedy to the aesthetes hankering for some intellectual bite behind their entertainment. The way that Oscar-winning screenwriters Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard enfold their story within the parameters of Romeo and Juliet (and even Twelfth Night) is nothing short of brilliant--it would take a Shakespearean scholar to dissect the innumerable parallels, oft-quoted lines, plot developments, and thematic borrowings. And most amazingly, Norman and Stoppard haven't forgotten to entertain their audience in addition to riding a Shakespearean roller coaster. Director John Madden (Mrs. Brown) reigns in his huge ensemble with a rollicking energy that keeps the film's momentum going at top speed for its entire two hours. Along the way there are small gems to be found: Ben Affleck's riotous egotistical actor, Imelda Staunton's nimble nurse, and of course Judi Dench's eight-minute, Oscar-winning turn as a truly regal Queen Elizabeth. However, the key element of Shakespeare in Love's success rests on the milky-white shoulders of its two stars. Fiennes, inexplicably overlooked at Oscar time, is a dashing Will as we might expect him at the early stage of his career, bundled full of comedy and tragedy but unsure of how to harness his talent. And as for Best Actress winner Paltrow... well, nothing she'd done before could have prepared viewers for how amazing she is here. Breathtakingly beautiful, fiercely intelligent, strong-willed, and lovestruck--it's a performance worthy of Shakespeare in more ways than one. By the film's end, you'll be thoroughly won over--and brushing up your Shakespeare with newfound ardor. --Mark Englehart

From The New Yorker
A ripely emotional comedy-fantasia-concocted by director John Madden and screenwriters Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard-of how Shakespeare came to write "Romeo and Juliet." In 1593, young Will (Joseph Fiennes), a stud with liquid eyes and full lips, is just an unhappy and unproductive hack, jealous of the greater Christopher Marlowe (Rupert Everett). At first the movie comes at us too broadly, with many facetiously anachronistic jokes about the grubby professional routines of the theatre. But Will falls in love with the fictional heiress Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow), and when these two poeticizing lovers climb into bed, and Shakespeare's quill begins to fly, the cleverness catches fire and "Shakespeare in Love" turns into an exciting literary-erotic entertainment. With Geoffrey Rush as the theatre manager Henslowe, Ben Affleck as the egotistical actor Ned Alleyn, Colin Firth as Gwyneth Paltrow's surly aristocratic suitor, and Judi Dench, topping her recent Victoria, as a supremely intelligent and wittily dominating Queen Elizabeth. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

A golden film
Shakespeare in Love is a film for anyone who loves art and literature
with a passion. Aside from being a beautiful love story, the film
itself is a "love letter" to the arts. I can only describe
it as a "golden" film, because that's what I think of when I
picture scenes from the movie...pure gold. I love Shakespeare, and
the brilliant screenplay manages to make a flesh and blood person out
of such an enigmatic historical figure - it may not be real, but it's
a lot of fun nonetheless. The acting is superb - Gwyneth Paltrow is
glorious, Judi Dench is fabulous, Geoffrey Rush is hilarious, and
Joseph Fiennes is the hottest thing to come along since his older
brother! I love the ending especially - Twelfth Night is my favorite
Shakespearean play, and the last line just speaks volumes: "For
she will be my heroine for all time, and her name will be Viola."
Perhaps the best thing about the film is the way it blends comedy and
tragedy together in such a bittersweet way.

One final note: I too
was surprised that this film won Best Picture, because I also loved
Saving Private Ryan. Both films were cinematic masterpieces of very
different kinds, and both were equally worthy. I'm glad the Academy
shook things up a little.bfounded while the final credits rolled. Marc
Norman and Tom Stoppard must have loved their subject matter,
researched the period with zeal as well as having the ability to
create a moving romantic drama.

The whole thing was created
out of the barest glimmer of fact concerning Shakespeare's life. It
focuses on the gap between his marriage in London as a young man and
his eventual return to London as a successful playwright. The theory
states that "suffering is the mother of creativity", so
Young William must have had a great deal of hardship indeed. Hence,
the opportunity for a wonderful movie to be made.

A handsome
young Shakespeare is introduced to us during a black period of
writer's block. He is portrayed as any other writer we could imagine;
poor, horny, suffering from professional jealousy and not particularly
respectable. He's over-committed to two theatres and selling vaporware
for all he's worth. Poorly named vaporware at that, "Romeo and
Ethyl the Pirate's Daughter".

But fate has more in store
for this hopeful scribbler than even he would dream. Enter stage left,
the love of his life, in the guise of an actor, shyly auditioning for
a part in his new play. (Shades of Blackadder here). He is immediately
taken by this youthfull stage strutter because of a seeming preference
for Bill's work over that of the leading playwright of the day,
Christopher Marlowe.

This interest takes him to the actor's
home, where Tomas Kent transforms himself into Viola De Lesseps the
refined daughter of a wealthy merchant. This magic act is only
possible because of the artful protection offered by Viola's nurse and
part time confidant, played by Imelda Staunton. And as with Clarke
Kent, no one can penetrate the cunning disguise of Mr Thomas Kent,
except for a friendly ferryman. And it is this very ferryman that puts
William on the right path in his pursuit of the lady Viola.


And so we get the privilege of watching William Shakespeare give
birth to the Famous Romeo and Juliet as a counterpoint to his torrid
and dangerous affair with a woman betrothed to Lord Wessex; one of the
most influential and powerful men in the city. The ups and downs, ins
and outs of this relationship, and its eventual end, are all
delightful to watch as well as being grist for the mill of
Shakespeare's future plays.

For anyone that has even a passing
familiarity with the Bard's work or just likes a good romance, take
the time to enjoy this special movie. In fact, take a few times
because it gets better with every viewing.

Hilarious, intelligent, irreverent
I honestly did not know what to expect when I first sat down to watch "Shakespeare In Love." Perhaps that was for the best, since this film teems with unexpected moments and twists, turning literary history upside down and giving it a clever and bawdy twist.

Gywenth Paltrow plays a young noblewoman who is expected to be demurely betrothed, but who wants none of the life ahead of her. She yearns for the theater, and, in her headstrong, ambitious drive, dresses like a boy to obtain a part in Will Shakespeare's newest drama. Of course, the two fall in love (hence the title!) and their duplicity leads to plot complications that get more and more outrageous. Literary jokes abound, but you don't need to know a whit about Shakespeare to enjoy this romp. This is a romantic comedy cloaked in Elizabethian times, an anachronism that is thoroughly satisfying.

Paltrow's Viola is gutsy, intelligent, and torn, a portrayal that deservedly earned her an Oscar. Joseph Fiennes makes a lovable, bumbling Will Shakespeare. The two display a chemistry that brings the witty script to life and elevates this film to a level above most romantic comedies.

This film should appeal to a wide range of viewers - even those who hated studying Shakespeare in school.

Will Shakespeare At His Best
This movie really hit home for me. I just sat there in awe of the acting, the way the story unfolded. It totally engrossed me. I saw it three times at the movies and could have easily gone to see it again and again. When it won so many Academy Awards, I wasn't surprised except I thought Saving Private Ryan should have won Best Picture. I also felt that Tom Wilkinson didn't get the praise he deserved. His performance was, as usual for Tom, understated and perfect. I thought he should have been nominated instead of Geoffrey Rush, for best supporting actor, and I'm an aussie.

I also felt Joseph Fiennes should have got a Best Actor gong. Gwyneth was great but Joseph's performance of Will was exceptional to say the least.

The highlights for me were the unfolding of the two stories, (Romeo and Juliet & Will and Viola). Then the actual performance of Romeo and Juliet and the intertwining tragedy of Will and Viola. The way the audience reacted at the end said it all.

I think that 'Shakespeare In Love' is mainly a movie that females thoroughly love. The males in my circle of friends and family didn't quite GET IT so to speak.

Also deserving of mention were Colin Firth and the actor with the the stutter, which miraculously disappeared at the start of the play.