Watching Shakespeare movies is not going well. Need suggestions.

[Perry]

I'm just starting a unit on Shakespeare with dd, 16. Our plan is to cover Richard III, Macbeth, Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado about Nothing, Taming of the Shrew, and The Tempest. I had planned to have her read a few and watch the rest. This morning we started a BBC version of Macbeth. After 5 minutes neither of us had any idea what was going on. Mainly we couldn't understand what the actors were saying.

 

I took a Shakespeare class in college and read most of these, although I don't remember much other than the basic plot. I did review the Sparknotes for Macbeth and gave dd a synopsis before starting the film. It didn't help.

 

Anyone else have this problem? Dd and I are both math/science, not language people. But I've seen other Shakespeare plays and was able to follow them okay.

 

Should we read each play before trying to watch it? Is this just a bad version of the play? Are there any others that are particularly easy to understand? Where do you find them? Our library only has these BBC DVDs.

 

All suggestions welcome.

[Laura Corin]

With my boys, it was a several stage process, even though they are language-based students. First we read a children's version. Then we watched the animated versions (BBC productions, many available on Youtube). Only then did we watch the films/see the live play.

 

Now that Calvin has seen quite a few, he understands what is going on without the preamble.

 

Laura

[Cosmos]

Is the accent an issue? I often find it difficult to hear actors in films, especially if they have a different accent, and I find using subtitles very helpful. I would start the film over again with subtitles first off and see if that helps.

[8filltheheart]

Our approach is to read along with an audio of the play prior to watching a performance. It really helps.

 

FWIW, last yr we absolutely loved the Shakespeare study we did. Michael Wood's In Search of Shakespeare (available through Netflix) and Joseph Pearce's Quest for Shakespeare ( http://www.ewtn.com/vondemand/audio/seriessearchprog.asp?seriesID=7136&T1= )

and Asquith's book Shadowplay. We spent time with those prior to the plays and it really enhanced our understanding.

 

HTH

[Perry]

With my boys, it was a several stage process, even though they are language-based students. First we read a children's version. Then we watched the animated versions (BBC productions, many available on Youtube). Only then did we watch the films/see the live play.

 

Now that Calvin has seen quite a few, he understands what is going on without the preamble.

 

Laura

 

 

Thanks. We've read the children's version in the past, and I had her re-read it this morning. I'll try the animated version.

 

 

Is the accent an issue?

 

 

Yes, definitely. Subtitles would be great, but this film doesn't have them.

[Candid]

I would certainly encourage you to shop around and try some different videos of plays to make sure that the problem is yours and not one video.

 

Also, Macbeth begins in medias reas, which I think means that at first you are at sea a bit, partly by the author's intention.

[StephanieZ]

I have pulled up on online scene by scene summary on my laptop, then I skim it as we go along, keeping it in view for ds to do likewise. I will stop the film for a moment, or just talk over it, to point out things I think ds might be missing, or to emphasize important points.

 

Ideally, I'd also read through a child's version first, but I have been tight on time, so doing it as above has worked fine. We are not studying the plays in depth, but are just using them for LLOTR, and so just a general knowledge is all I need.

 

Fwiw, the new version of the tempest is awesome. It came out in 2010 or so, and it was totally worth the $15 to buy it, as it was not available online to rent. If you can get it from your library, do it, or buy it. It is great. Soooooo much better than the bbc and PBS ones we'd watched for other films.

[claire up north]

If you have an iPad, check out "Shakespearience" app. I am going to invest in these. You can download a free sample.

 

http://www.mediabistro.com/appnewser/sourcebooks-launches-the-shakespearience_b27173

[Jen in NY]

This new "Shakespeare Uncovered" has some wonderful introductory lessons and play-specific lessons..... or you could just watch the series as broadcast on PBS and see where it leads. It was absolutely fascinating to me!

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/shakespeare-uncovered/education/

[Lizzie in Ma]

Some plays are easier than others, they should have no trouble following Much Ado or Midsummer if you get the Kenneth Branagh editions.

Best Shrew version is still the Taylor/Burton one in my opinion. Subtitles are awesome. I have yet to find a Macbeth I like.

Branagh's Hamlet is fantastic, so is the one with Mel Gibson. The Hollow Crown version of the Histories are the best I've seen but I don't know if they are available in the US as yet.

[*Michelle*]

For own understanding, I've had much success with the SmartPass audiobook versions. Listening to the performance while reading the play plus hearing the commentary really increased my understanding. I also read Asquith's Shadowplay and that added another level to my reading. Watching a performance after all of that was an awesome experience.

[flyingiguana]

We recently watched Hamlet with David Tennant. We liked it a lot better than the Branagh version, because we could understand the dialogue better. The only thing we liked better about the Branagh version was the sets.

 

But Branagh's Much Ado is very understandable.

 

 

ETA: here's the David Tennant Hamlet

http://video.pbs.org/video/1473795626/

So you don't have to depend entirely on what your library has. (The PBS site has a lot of stuff. It's possible they have other versions of Shakespeare's plays.)

 

 

Something to keep in mind -- I find that every time I watch a Shakespeare play, I'm completely lost for the first half hour. After that a few things start to make sense, and then more. Not that I get everything with a first viewing.

 

We're currently watching the Patrick Stewart version of Macbeth (solely because that's the one on netflix). It's not an easy play. It's hard to understand, and then there's all the violence. It would not be the one I'd chose to start with if I were just beginning Shakespeare.

 

If you are ok with foul language and nearly R-rated sex scenes, you might try Slings and Arrows. It's a Canadian comedy about putting on Hamlet, Macbeth, and Shakespeare. I think this show has helped my understanding of these plays more than anything else. (It's also on netflix -- although it looks like a lot of it has been posted on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owfeSoW-DmY )

[SarahW]

Some movies are better than others.

 

I've tried out more than one Shakespeare movie, and quite a few make me quickly look for the Stop button.

 

It's not on your list, but besides the one's recommended above, I love love love this movie of Twelfth Night: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117991/ Very understandable and very funny (and Helena Bonham Carter, so duh). Also, The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino (but there are more "mature themes" in that one).

[JeanM]

I have pulled up on online scene by scene summary on my laptop, then I skim it as we go along, keeping it in view for ds to do likewise. I will stop the film for a moment, or just talk over it, to point out things I think ds might be missing, or to emphasize important points.

 

Ideally, I'd also read through a child's version first, but I have been tight on time, so doing it as above has worked fine. We are not studying the plays in depth, but are just using them for LLOTR, and so just a general knowledge is all I need.

 

Fwiw, the new version of the tempest is awesome. It came out in 2010 or so, and it was totally worth the $15 to buy it, as it was not available online to rent. If you can get it from your library, do it, or buy it. It is great. Soooooo much better than the bbc and PBS ones we'd watched for other films.

 

 

Do you know who was in the version of the tempest that you are recommending? Was it Helen Mirren & Russell Brand (2011)? Or maybe Christopher Plummer & Geraint Wyn Davies?

[Miss Marple]

I don't remember who recommended it here recently, but I got the Shakespeare Retold series on Netflix for the boys. In the past, when I had control of the tv/remote, we watched various Shakespeare plays on Netflix. The boys weren't thrilled to have to re-watch any, but they really enjoyed the Shakespeare Retold series. The retellings were fun to try to figure out how where they would go with the story line in order to stay true to the original. Since these are set in modern times, the boys found them more accessible than the traditional plays. I wouldn't use them as a substitute, but they have been good as an additional resource.

[Kendall]

Much Ado about Nothing with Branagh is very understandable and funny. It made reading the play much easier.

[StephanieZ]

 

Do you know who was in the version of the tempest that you are recommending? Was it Helen Mirren & Russell Brand (2011)? Or maybe Christopher Plummer & Geraint Wyn Davies?

 

It's the Helen Mirren one.

 

AWESOME. 1000 times better than the typical PBS/BBC ones.

[jhschool]

Try Romeo + Juliet (Leonardo diCaprio and Clare Danes (sp?))

and

Coriolanus (Ralph Fiennes)

 

they are some of our all-time favorites, and quite easy to understand.

[Nan in Mass]

I think it helps if you pick a version that is done by actors that have the same regional accent as you do.

Your brain will help you to figure out an accent or a language pattern IF it has enough data to work with. You can't figure out a complex pattern from just a little bit of data because there isn't enough repetion for the repeating patterns to start to be recognized. I'm doing a bad job of explaining, I think. What I am trying to say is that you probably have to listen to quite a lot of Shakespearian language before you start understanding it. (Or lots of something similar like the King James Bible.) I would begin by reading a few plays aloud in parts (with a copy of the play on each lap so everyone can follow along). Then pick the play you are LEAST interested in and watch that one. Go through it from the beginning trying to figure out what is going on. You probably won't understand as much because you aren't used to it yet. Soon afterwards, listen to another one. As you go along, your ability to understand should increase. Hopefully, anyway. There are going to be bits that you don't understand because the words just aren't in our modern vocabulary. That's why it is a good idea to read the plays first in a version that has footnotes to explain the unfamiliar words. If you don't want to take the time to do that (which I understand), then you will just have to make do. They make versions of the plays that have Shakespearian English on one page and modern English on the facing page. I always found them too cumbersome to use, but they might be helpful. Our library had them.

 

Have fun!

[Cinder]

I have pulled up on online scene by scene summary on my laptop, then I skim it as we go along, keeping it in view for ds to do likewise. I will stop the film for a moment, or just talk over it, to point out things I think ds might be missing, or to emphasize important points.

 

 

We've done it this way using the notes at Pink Monkey.

[cathmom]

I find that it takes ten minutes or so to get accustomed to Shakespeare's language again once I start watching a play or movie.

[HelenNotOfTroy]

I think that the tragedies and the historicals are harder to understand. I would start with the comedies, although the Romeo and Juliet mentioned above with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes is very nice.

 

I think that going to a local/regional production (there are Shakespeare festivals all over) done by the right people can really open up Shakespeare.

[Miss Marple]

All my men-folk are sitting enthralled in the Coriolanus (Ralph Fiennes) movie on Netflix instant right now. I can't get into it. Thinking that they were not enjoying it either, I offered to change it to something else (Shakespeare comedy). Imagine my surprise when ds#3 said he was actually really enjoying it and would we all just be quiet because he had to really focus to understand the language. LOL! Who would have thought it...

[dovrar]

With my boys, it was a several stage process, even though they are language-based students. First we read a children's version. Then we watched the animated versions (BBC productions, many available on Youtube). Only then did we watch the films/see the live play.

 

Now that Calvin has seen quite a few, he understands what is going on without the preamble.

 

Laura

 

 

I second the idea of a children's version first to get the gist of the plot and an introduction to the characters. (It works for me :blush: ) I personally like Kenneth Branagh's versions of Shakespeare movies, but you may want to preview them 1st)

[Faithr]

I think the first intro to Shakespeare should be going to see an actual play. They are much more accessible that way! Midsummer's Night's Dream is popular. Over the years we've seen it put on at a local college, a local homeschoolers' group and a local community theater. My kids just knew the story from the Jim Weiss retelling beforehand. Then we read the No Fear edition of it. The kids all loved it!

 

For using movies, I have found Henry V to be the most accessible. We read up on Henry V (I used Wikipedia the last time as our source). Then we watched the movie. Then we read the No Fear version of the play, then we watched the movie again.