Summary

• Shakespeare's plays have had a profound cultural impact and have been adapted into various forms of media, including movies and TV shows.
• Many movies, such as "Warm Bodies" and "She's the Man," have been inspired by Shakespeare's plays, with unique twists on the original stories.
• Movies like "The Lion King" and "10 Things I Hate About You" are successful adaptations of Shakespeare's works, with clear similarities to the original plays.

The works of William Shakespeare have served as inspiration for many other literary works, TV shows, movies, and more, and there are many movies that, instead of being true adaptations, were brilliantly inspired by the works of Shakespeare. William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest writer in history, and his plays are still the subject of many studies and continue to be performed all over the world. The Bard’s works include 39 plays, 154 sonnets, and three long narrative poems, and his cultural impact is such that his plays have been translated into every major living language.

Of course, Shakespeare’s plays have also been adapted to other media for many, many years, and there are countless TV and film adaptations of his most famous works, such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Othello. While these and many others have had various true adaptations in film, they have also served as the basis and inspiration for many other movies, of which some are so different that many people have no idea they were based on a Shakespeare play. These movies go from dramas to comedies and even teen movies, all of them with their unique charm and a couple of hints of their Shakespearean origins.

10 Big Business - The Comedy of Errors

Directed by Jim Abrahams. Starring Bette Midler & Lily Tomlin.

Big Business is a 1988 comedy film that follows two sets of twins who are mixed up at the hospital, and both pairs are named the same: Rose and Sadie. One pair is raised by the wealthy Sheltons, while the other grows up in a rural town. After a series of mixups at the airport, both pairs of sisters cross paths and help each other. Big Business is based on The Comedy of Errors, which is the story of two sets of identical twins who were accidentally separated at birth. When one pair arrives at the other pair’s hometown, they go through a series of mishaps as a result of mistaken identities.

9 Warm Bodies - Romeo & Juliet

Directed by Jonathan Levine. Starring Nicholas Hoult & Teresa Palmer

Romeo and Juliet has been adapted to all types of media numerous times, and among them is the romantic zombie comedy Warm Bodies. Based on Isaac Marion’s 2010 novel of the same name, inspired by Shakespeare’s play, Warm Bodies follows the romance between a living young woman named Julie and R, a zombie, with their love being enough to slowly turn R back into a human. Romeo and Juliet is all about their tragic romance as their families are enemies, yet they do what they can to defy their families and be together. Julie and R’s relationship mirrors that of Romeo and Juliet but with a very different ending.

8 She’s The Man - Twelfth Night

Directed by Andy Fickman. Starring Amanda Bynes & Channing Tatum

She’s the Man is a rom-com teen movie that centers on Viola Hastings, a teenager playing for the girls' soccer team at her high school. When the team gets cut and she’s not allowed to the boys’ team, she enters her twin brother’s new boarding school and pretends to be him so she can play in the boys’ soccer team. There she meets Duke, and she does her best to not get too close to him while posing as her brother while also trying to get to know him as Viola.

She’s the Man is based on the comedy Twelfth Night, where twins Viola and Sebastian are separated in a shipwreck and Viola, disguised as a man, falls in love with Duke Orsino, who is in love with a Countess… who falls for Viola thinking she’s a man.

7 My Own Private Idaho - Henry IV, Henry V

Directed by Gus Van Sant. Starring River Phoenix & Keanu Reeves

The adventure drama My Own Private Idaho follows street hustlers Mike and Scott, who go on a journey of personal discovery that takes them from Oregon to Idaho and then to Rome as Mike searches for his mother. My Own Private Idaho is loosely based on Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, and Henry V, which deal with the rise of Henry Bolingbroke, his tumultuous reign as king, and the better fortune of his son, Henry V.

6 The Northman - Hamlet

Directed by Robert Eggers. Starring Alexander Skarsgård, Anya Taylor-Joy, & Nicole Kidman

The Northman tells the story of Amleth, a Viking prince on a quest to avenge the murder of his father, during which he discovers some dark family secrets. The Northman is based on the legend of Amleth, the direct inspiration of Hamlet. Shakespeare’s play follows Prince Hamlet and his attempts to exact revenge against his uncle, Claudius, after he murdered his father to take the throne and marry Hamlet’s mother. As one of the most influential literary works in history, Hamlet has inspired many other well-known movies.

5 The Lion King - Hamlet

Directed by Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff. Voices by Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, & James Earl Jones.

Another movie based on Hamlet is Disney’s The Lion King. Set in a kingdom of lions in Africa, The Lion King tells the story of Simba, the son of King Mufasa and the nephew of Scar, Mufasa’s evil brother who wants to take the throne. In one of the most tragic scenes in Disney's history, Scar kills Mufasa and tricks Simba into thinking it was his fault so he will flee into exile, allowing him to take the throne. The Lion King is one of the most popular and successful movies based on Hamlet, and the similarities are quite obvious once you know what Shakespeare’s play is about.

4 10 Things I Hate About You - The Taming of the Shrew

Directed by Gil Junger. Starring Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, & Joseph Gordon-Levitt

10 Things I Hate About You is a teen rom-com that follows Cameron, the new kid at school who is smitten with Bianca – however, Cameron is informed that Bianca isn’t allowed to date anyone. After Bianca’s insistence, her father changes his rules on dating: Bianca can date, but only if her older sister Kat does. Cameron and his friend Michael then come up with an elaborate plan to pay Patrick Verona to take Kat out, while also getting rid of arrogant senior Joey, who also wants to go out with Bianca.

10 Things I Hate About You is an adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew, which follows the courtship of Petruchio and headstrong Katherina, while different suitors compete for the affection of Katherina’s sister, Bianca.

3 Throne of Blood - Macbeth

Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Starring Toshiro Mifune & Isuzu Yamada

Throne of Blood is a Japanese jidaigeki that tells the story of Taketoki Washizu, a warrior who kills his sovereign at the urging of his ambitious wife after a spirit tells him he will become Lord of Spider’s Web Castle. Throne of Blood is based on Macbeth, which tells the story of the title Scottish general who receives a prophecy from three witches that he will become King of Scotland one day. Driven by ambition and pushed by his wife, Macbeth kills King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne.

Akira Kurosawa delayed Throne of Blood after learning that Orson Welles was also working on an adaptation of Macbeth.

2 Chimes at Midnight - Various

Directed by Orson Welles. Starring Orson Welles, Keith Baxter, & John Gielgud

Chimes at Midnight is a period comedy-drama that follows Henry IV, who after setting in motion the War of the Roses, faces a rebellion led by Hotspur. Meanwhile, his son, Prince Hal, is more focused on drinking and causing mischief with his lower-class friends, especially his father figure, Sir John Falstaff. Instead of being based on one specific Shakespeare play, Chimes at Midnight was based on the characters of Falstaff, Hal, and Henry IV, and the script featured text from Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, Richard II, Henry V, and The Merry Wives of Windsor.

1 Ex Machina - The Tempest

Directed by Alex Garland. Starring Oscar Isaac, Domnhall Gleeson, & Alicia Vikander

Ex Machina is a sci-fi psychological thriller that follows Caleb Smith, a programmer who is invited by Nathan Bateman, the CEO of the company he works for, to ister the Turing test to Ava, an AI android created by Nathan. Ex Machina is inspired by The Tempest, where a sorcerer named Prospero uses his magic to control his island. Nathan can be seen as Prospero in the sense of being the evil genius who uses his knowledge and skill to enchant the world with his technology. Ava is like Miranda, Prospero’s daughter, and Caleb is the equivalent of Ferdinand, the first man Miranda ever saw aside from her father.