Shakespeare in Love

Theatrical Release Date: 1998 12 11 (USA)

UPC: 031398134664

Summary: William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) is on a cold streak. Not only is he writing for Philip Henslowe (Geoffrey Rush), owner of "The Rose," a theatre whose doors are about to be closed by sadistic creditors, but he's got a nasty case of writer's block. Shakespeare hasn't written a hit in years. In fact, he hasn't written much of anything recently. Thus, the Bard finds himself in quite a bind when Henslowe, desperate to stave off another round of hot-coals-to-feet application, stakes The Rose's solvency on Shakespeare's new comedy, "Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter." The problem is, "Romeo" is safely "locked away" in Shakespeare's head, which is to say that not a word of it is written. Meanwhile, the lovely Lady Viola (Gwyneth Paltrow) is an ardent theatre-goer -- scandalous for a woman of her breeding -- who especially admires Shakespeare's plays and, not incidentally, Bill himself. Alas, she's about to be sold as property into a loveless marriage by her mercenary father and shipped off to a Virginia tobacco plantation. But not before dressing up as a young man and winning the part of Romeo in the embryonic play. Shakespeare soon discovers the deception and goes along with it, using the blossoming love affair to ignite his muse. As William and Viola's romance grows in intensity and spirals towards its inevitable culmination, so, too, does the farcical comedy about Romeo and pirates transform into the timeless tragedy that is Romeo and Juliet. ~ Merle Bertrand, Rovi

Category: Comedy Drama

Awards: Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – null Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical – null Best Screenplay – null Best Screenplay – null Best Screenplay – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Original Screenplay – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Original Screenplay – Broadcast Film Critics Association Breakthrough Performer – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Costume Design – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Makeup – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Makeup – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Musical or Comedy Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Silver Bear for Outstanding Individual Performance – Berlin International Film Festival Silver Bear for Outstanding Individual Performance – Berlin International Film Festival Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Actress - Runner-up – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Screenplay – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Screenplay – Chicago Film Critics Association Most Promising Actor – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress – National Society of Film Critics Best Screenplay (Runner-up) – National Society of Film Critics Best Screenplay (Runner-up) – National Society of Film Critics Best Actor – Screen Actors Guild Best Actress – Screen Actors Guild Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Screen Actors Guild Best Supporting Actress – Screen Actors Guild Best Ensemble Acting – Screen Actors Guild Best Cinematography – American Society of Cinematographers Best Screenplay – New York Film Critics Circle Best Screenplay – New York Film Critics Circle Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Supporting Actor – Screen Actors Guild Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Shakespeare in Love

Format: DVD

Release Date: 04/15/2011

Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, 2 PCM stereo

Runtime: 123 Minutes

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
0. Chapter Selection
1. Program Start [:16]
2. Henslowe's Dilemma [:25]
3. Will [3:23]
4. Writer's Block [2:53]
5. The Chamberlain's Men [2:34]
6. Poetry, Adventure and Love [3:29]
7. It's a Mystery [:53]
8. Titles [2:08]
9. The De Lesseps House [2:32]
10. At First Sight [4:40]
11. Inspiration [3:37]
12. Arrangements [3:41]
13. How Do You Love Her [3:26]
14. Better Than a Play [3:39]
15. Reading Lines [4:20]
16. Good Title [3:40]
17. Her Majesty [5:27]
18. Writers' Quarrel [4:41]
19. Bad News [4:38]
20. To Church [3:51]
21. How Much I Loved You... [4:18]
22. The Final Draft [3:11]
23. Confrontation [3:16]
24. The Proposition [3:32]
25. Opening Night [2:38]
26. Juliet [5:36]
27. Star-Crossed Lovers [5:06]
28. Public Lewdness [4:13]
29. Lady Wessex [2:42]
30. Twelfth Night [6:57]
31. End Credits [:12]

Bruce Eder

In a decade in which Shakespearean subjects had become increasingly popular, John Madden's Shakespeare In Love ripped the envelope and then some. Madden's treatment of Marc Norman's and Tom Stoppard's screenplay reminded audiences that Shakespeare's plays were works of flesh and blood, and their playwright a living, breathing human being who faced practical problems and used his best creative impulses, sometimes on the spur of the moment, to solve them. Joseph Fiennes's Shakespeare is a realistically human portrayal, the jumping-off point for one of the more robustly believable movie depictions of Elizabethan life, true to history in large measure, yet not afraid to allow some laughter and incorporate a historical conceit or two in telling its story. The movie won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Gwyneth Paltrow as Best Actress, and Judi Dench in a brief but memorable turn as Queen Elizabeth, revealed to be as quirkily and dimensionally human as Shakespeare himself. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Cast and Crew: John Madden  Director 
Marc Norman  Producer 
Marc Norman  Screenwriter 
Tom Stoppard  Screenwriter 
Bob Weinstein  Executive Producer 
Harvey Weinstein  Producer 
Edward Zwick  Producer 
David Parfitt  Producer 
Stephen Warbeck  Composer (Music Score) 
Donna Gigliotti  Producer 
Julie Goldstein  Executive Producer 
Joseph Fiennes  Actor 
Gwyneth Paltrow  Actor 
Geoffrey Rush  Actor 
Judi Dench  Actor 
Simon Callow  Actor 
Colin Firth  Actor 
Imelda Staunton  Actor 
Ben Affleck  Actor 
Tom Wilkinson  Actor 
Jim Carter  Actor 
Martin Clunes  Actor 
Rupert Everett  Actor 
Antony Sher  Actor 

Country: UK,USA