Opening as a performance at the Globe theater, Olivier's first stab at Shakespeare morphs into a living, breathing Medieval painting, and then bursts into a live-action feast for the eyes.

The first, and still the best, interpretation of "Hamlet" ever placed on film. A moody, noirish masterpiece, gorgeously shot in black-and-white by the legendary Laurence Olivier.

Olivier's love-it-or-hate-it interpretation of the Moor of Venice is indisputably captivating, but the real reason to see this version of "Othello" is Frank Finlay's subtle, shark-toothed portrayal of the treacherous puppet-master Iago.

Filmed in the wake of his pregnant wife Sharon Tate's death at the hands of the Manson Family, Polanski's version of "Macbeth" is drenched in an atmosphere of violence and pessimism about the future that brought the full impact of the play home to me for the first time.

Olivier wisely offset his sometimes overly thatrical performance as Shakespeare's master manipulator by surrounding himself with a supporting cast of acting greats (Gielgud and Richardson are particular standouts here) in the definitive screen version of "Richard III."

Never before or since has such an exuberant celebration of young love been captured on film. Whiting and Hussey overcome their inexperience to deliver endearing performances that give the tragic climax the cinematic equivalent of a sucker punch. Simply put, Shakespeare as it should be.