Based on the Play by William Shakespeare

This four-film series presents loose and more faithful adaptations of two of Shakespeare’s best-known works: Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare’s plays have inspired filmmakers since the beginning of the cinema, and we've chosen films by some of the world’s most accomplished directors: Akira Kurosawa, Robert Wise, Franco Zeffirelli, and Roman Polanski.

Throne of Blood
(Akira Kurosawa, 1957)
Thursday, April 5 | 7 PM

Transposing Macbeth to medieval Japan, Throne of Blood stars Toshiro Mifune as an ambitious general who aspires to be Emperor, prompted by a ghostly prophesy and a scheming wife. (110 mins, 35mm)

West Side Story
(Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins, 1961)
Thursday & Friday, April 12 & 13 | 7 PM

Set on the streets of Manhattan, West Side Story brings the timeless musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet to the screen with outstanding cinematic flair. 70mm print! (152 mins.)

Romeo and Juliet
(Franco Zeffirelli, 1968)
Thursday, April 19 | 7 PM

Zeffirelli’s passionate and intense Romeo and Juliet is one of the best-known and beloved of all the Shakespeare adaptations produced for the screen. (138 mins., 35mm)

Macbeth
(Roman Polanski, 1971)
Thursday, April 26 | 7 PM

Polanski’s Macbeth is a bloody realization of Shakespeare’s tale of a Scottish lord who becomes king through treachery and murder. (140 mins., 35mm)

Based on the Play by William Shakespeare is programmed in conjunction with The Year of Shakespeare, which celebrates the culmination of the initial three-year partnership between The Ohio State University and the Royal Shakespeare Company and is sponsored by Ohio State's Arts Initiative as part of that partnership. Cosponsors for The Year of Shakespeare are the Wexner Center for the Arts, the School of Music, the Department of Theatre, and the Jerome Lawrence & Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute at the Ohio State University Libraries.