In Search of Shakespeare
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Movie Reviews of In Search of Shakespeare
Movie Review: The Life and Times of Shakespeare
Summary: 5 Stars
Simply put, one of the best documentaries I've seen. I was one of those kids who suffered through Shakespeare in high school, but that began to change one warm, tranquil summer night when the local university staged outdoors a production of A Midsummers' Night Dream; so moving and atmospheric, it was the way Shakespeare should be appreciated--not cooped in some classroom reading it from a book. And so too this documentary captures the essence of Shapespeare the man and the Elizabethan England in which he lived (as a subversive, no less). Shakespeare was NOT the man that centuries of scholars and changing moral tastes have made him into; he was a dynamic man, one who lived at times on the fringes of society, a man in many respects at odds with his changing times. He was, therefore, a person that youth of any generation in truth should be able to identify with, and this ultimately is what this fine documentary reveals. One can only wonder what a difference this documentary would have made had I been able to see it when I was in high school.Movie Review: Michael Wood puts flesh on dusty old bones
Summary: 5 Stars
I love Michael Wood. In his wonderful legacy series and in his books also, he puts a friendly arm around the viewer/reader and takes him/her on a voyage to old places which he makes new by his up-close show-and-tell-style. By jove, I never knew so many of Shakespeare's haunts were still standing, nor had I ever been so immersed in the traditions that are still going strong from Shakespeare's times. M. W. takes us inside dozens of town halls, old manors and castles to the very spots where the Bard first performed as a boy, applied for a wedding license, played for the queen, etc. By placing Shakespeare squarely in his dangerous times and showing us the political and religious plots that swirled around him, Shakespeare became beautifully real for me. M.W. shows us Shakespeare's writing may be for all times but the Bard was very much a product of his times. Beautifully photographed, also, and oh yes, Anglophiles will love all the neat old places. Thanks Michael.Movie Review: Best Documentary I Have Ever Seen
Summary: 5 Stars
I was an English major in college and remain a Shakespeare fanatic, so I have studied Shakespeare quite a bit. Still, this documentary is loaded with historical information about both Shakespeare himself and the times he lived in that I never came across in my studies. Despite the depth of the information, it is all told in an accessible, engaging style that anyone from high school students to English professors could appreciate.
Given Michael Woods' performance in this documentary, as well as two of the Conquistador documentaries I have seen, I would actually say he is a better documentarian than Ken Burns. Not to take anything away from Ken Burns, but the depth Woods can go into on a subject without losing the average viewer is amazing.
Movie Review: Highly informative
Summary: 5 Stars
I have owned this DVD for a few years now and I have watched it several times. I do not see how it could be improved upon. My wife was an English teacher who turned me on to Shakespeare years ago and I was always frustrated at the lack of a reliable source of information on Shakespeare and the world he inhabited. This DVD satisfied my curiosity as it explores the life of his father, his home life, his marriage to Anne Hathaway, the police state that was the Elizabethan age, his friends and competitors like Christopher Marlowe, and the Catholic vs. Protestant split that defined the times. Outstanding.Movie Review: A Life Lived in a Conflicted World
Summary: 5 Stars
An excellent film that documents the ideas and pressures that tore at Shakespeare's soul in Elizabethan England. The photography is colorful and well done. The use of modern day actors to present dialogue from his plays gives the film a "flesh and blood" reality. This, interposed with actual documents concerning the Shakespeare family, adds reality to the narrative. I have read biographies about Shakespeare and have read his plays. The film puts a clearer face on the man and his art. I found it to be a wonderful and revealing film.