Shakespeare At The Movies
The Bard has inspired filmmakers since filmmaking was invented. Movies sometimes hang Shakespeare on their sleeves, but sometimes they try to hide their roots. Match the film with its source material. Quizzers take note! The 12 questions get more difficult as you progress.
- 1.
West Side Story
- A.
Coriolanus
- B.
Troilus and Cressida
- C.
Antony and Cleopatra
- D.
Romeo and Juliet
Correct Answer
D. Romeo and JulietExplanation
The Jets and the Sharks stand in for the Montagues and the Capulets, as Leonard Bernstein transports the tale of doomed teen love to New York City with a Latin beat.Rate this question:
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- 2.
The Lion King
- A.
Henry V
- B.
Hamlet
- C.
Merchant of Venice
- D.
Richard III
Correct Answer
B. HamletExplanation
A dead king and an evil, usurping uncle - but Simba's dose of "hakuna matata" made him a bit bouncier than the melancholy Dane and things surely turn out better for Nala and him than for Hamlet and Ophelia.Rate this question:
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- 3.
10 Things I Hate About You
- A.
As You Like It.
- B.
Taming of the Shrew
- C.
Midsummer Night's Dream
- D.
Comedy of Errors
Correct Answer
B. Taming of the ShrewExplanation
Padua turns into a rich California high school, with a frolicsome Heath Ledger (sigh) as Petruchio and Julia Stiles as a comely Kate.Rate this question:
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- 4.
My Own Private Idaho
- A.
Henry IV, Parts I and II
- B.
The Tempest
- C.
Winter's Tale
- D.
Measure for Measure
Correct Answer
A. Henry IV, Parts I and IIExplanation
Keanu Reeves gets to play the Prince Hal character in this tale of street hustlers, featuring the late River Phoenix as a narcoleptic. Director Gus Van Sant had to tone down the Shakespearean allusions to get the script financed.Rate this question:
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- 5.
A Thousand Acres
- A.
King Lear
- B.
King John
- C.
Macbeth
- D.
Pericles
Correct Answer
A. King LearExplanation
Jennifer Jason Leigh plays the virtuous daughter, while Michelle Pfeiffer and Jessica Lange make for a most handsome set of grasping daughters of a dying Jason Robards, with an Iowa farm standing in for Lear's troubled kingdom.Rate this question:
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- 6.
Scotland, PA
- A.
Cymbeline
- B.
Love's Labor Lost
- C.
All's Well that Ends Well
- D.
Macbeth
Correct Answer
D. MacbethExplanation
Shame on you if you missed this. The thane becomes a fry cook, and the prize is not a kingdom, but a diner in Nowheresville, PA.Rate this question:
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- 7.
Forbidden Planet
- A.
As You Like It
- B.
Timon of Athens
- C.
Othello
- D.
The Tempest
Correct Answer
D. The TempestExplanation
The tale of shipwreck was transported to interplanetary space in this 1956 science fiction classic, immortalized in the theme song of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". A modern remake is being promised by the Hollywood rumor mill.Rate this question:
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- 8.
A Double Life
- A.
Measure for Measure
- B.
Richard II
- C.
Othello
- D.
Merry Wives of Windsor
Correct Answer
C. OthelloExplanation
An actor who tends to get into his roles a little obsessively runs off the rails after playing Othello in this 1947 film noir by Hollywood hitmaker George Cukor.Rate this question:
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- 9.
Yellow Sky
- A.
The Tempest
- B.
Midsummer Night's Dream
- C.
Titus Andronicus
- D.
Taming of the Shrew
Correct Answer
A. The TempestExplanation
Hollywood must feel that the Bard's final comedy travels well. This time it's set not in space, but the Old West, with a great cast including Gregory Peck, Richard Widmark and Anne Baxter.Rate this question:
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- 10.
Carry On Cleo
- A.
Henry VI, Part 1
- B.
Julius Caesar
- C.
Anthony and Cleopatra
- D.
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Correct Answer
C. Anthony and CleopatraExplanation
Not a trick question after all. Made you hesitate, though, right? This was a British spoof of the Richard Burton/Elizabeth Taylor version of the tale, using sets leftover from that "blockbuster." Part of the goofy "Carry On..." franchise of British comedies, which for better or worse never found a foothold in America.Rate this question:
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- 11.
Ran
- A.
As You Like It
- B.
Henry V
- C.
King Lear
- D.
Macbeth
Correct Answer
C. King LearExplanation
After "Carry On Cleo" we had to restore our earnest credentials. The great director Akira Kurosowa reimagined Lear as the tale of a feudal Japanese warlord. Not the first time Kurosawa cribbed Shakespeare ("Throne Of Blood") - just as his seminal "Seventh Samurai" was later cribbed by American directors.Rate this question:
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- 12.
She's the Man
- A.
Comedy of Errors
- B.
Twelfth Night
- C.
As You LIke It
- D.
All's Well That Ends Well
Correct Answer
B. Twelfth NightExplanation
Ha! The question number was the clue. Illyria's a high school and Olivia's a soccer player in a film that shows that shifting Shakespeare into date-flick mode doesn't always work as well as it does in "10 Things I Hate About You."Rate this question:
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Current Version
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Mar 19, 2022Quiz Edited by
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Mar 25, 2010Quiz Created by
Whyy
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