Picture 71: Shakespeare in Love (1998)

1998 and, in one of the biggest Academy Award shocks, the top prize went to Shakespeare in Love in place of Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan. It is therefore time for a romantic comedy set in Elizabethan England rather than a gruesome march through the 1944 D-day landings with Tom Hanks and Matt Damon.

It’s 1593 and a 29-year-old Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) is struggling to find a flowing iambic pentameter. He leans on Christopher Marlowe (Rupert Everett) for advice and plot ideas but the cost-of-living and cruel capitalist world of Tudor theatre seem to be against him.

His next play has to be a hit and the pressure is getting to him. Finally he finds inspiration after meeting Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow) by chance at a ball. She is set up to marry Lord Wessex (Colin Firth) but Will is in love at first sight. In true Shakespearean style, after the ball, Shakespeare climbs the balcony to Viola’s apartment and confesses his deep attraction for her. Viola can’t help but admit that she feels the same way. Viola’s flowing blonde hair inspires Will to be his best self and overcome his writer’s block.

William refashions his floundering play about pirates into none other than Romeo and Juliet. Incidentally and completely realistically, his new love interest Viola also disguises herself as a man named Thomas Kent and stars in his new play as Romeo. Her cringeworthy passion for theatre knows no bounds.

Will Kent’s true indentity be revealed? Will Viola follow her heart or her duty to marry Wessex? Will she continue to be an irritating character? Will Romeo and Juliet be a hit on its release day? The answers are revealed over 123 minutes of sporadically entertaining theatre, costumes and historical references.

Judi Dench won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for just 5 minutes and 52 seconds of screen time. Her authoritative, regal performance is impressive and anchors the film in its historical context. The rest of the A-list cast also do a reasonable job in their ode to the British theatrical tradtion.

It is an entertaining 2 hours, boosted by its depiction of one of the best plays in history, but it lacks the depth to challenge for the upper echelons of the list below. At times, it belongs more in a Taylor Swift music video than in the annals of cinematic history. There are moments of genuine emotion, but Hamnet 2025 is a deeper and far more affecting Shakesperian piece. Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard’s effort is the lowest scoring film on this blog for 18 years and has also ruined the chances of the 1990s beating the record average of 8.5/10 set by the 1970s. Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Rating: 6/10

Oscar Best Picture Rankings:

1.     The Godfather (1972)

2. Schindler’s List (1993)

3. Casablanca (1943)

4. The Apartment (1960)

5. Rebecca (1940)

6. The Godfather: Part II (1974)

7. The Sound of Music (1965)

8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

9. Ordinary People (1980)

10. A Man for All Seasons (1966)

11. Gandhi (1982)

12. The Deer Hunter (1978)

13. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

14. The English Patient (1996)

15. Titanic (1997)

16. Ben-Hur (1959)

17. The Last Emperor (1987)

18. Unforgiven (1992)

19. Lost Weekend (1945)

20. Platoon (1986)

21. Gone With the Wind (1939)

22. Rocky (1976)

23. Annie Hall (1977)

24. Amadeus (1984)

25. All About Eve (1950)

26. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

27. Hamlet (1948)

28. How Green Was My Valley (1941)

29. Braveheart (1995)

30. Out of Africa (1985)

31. West Side Story (1961)

32. Mrs. Miniver (1942)

33. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

34. Wings (1928)

35. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

36. You can’t take it with you (1938)

37. Patton (1970)

38. Terms of Endearment (1983)

39. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

40. On the Waterfront (1954)

41. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

42. Midnight Cowboy (1969)

43. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

44. Rain Man (1988)

45. Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

46. Forrest Gump (1994)

47. Dances with Wolves (1990)

48. Marty (1955)

49. Oliver! (1968)

50. Cimarron (1931)

51. Grand Hotel (1932)

52. The French Connection (1971)

53. An American in Paris (1951)

54. Shakespeare in Love (1998)

55. From Here to Eternity (1953)

56. It Happened One Night (1934)

57. My Fair Lady (1964)

58. Gentleman’s Agreement (1947)

59. Cavalcade (1933)

60. The Sting (1973)

61. The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

62. Going My Way (1944)

63. The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

64. Chariots of Fire (1981)

65. All the King’s Men (1949)

66. In the Heat of the Night (1967)

67. Gigi (1958)

68. Around the World in 80 Days (1956)

69. The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)

70. The Broadway Melody (1929)

71. Tom Jones (1963)

Previous or current ranking leaders are in bold.

With credit and thanks to the patrons of the Best Picture Film Club:

Dr Sophie Bloomfield – Fashion Correspondent

Dr Caspar Briault – Head of Cynicism

Dr Conrad Charlton

Dr Sophie Clarke

Dr Kate Diomede

Dr Fionnuala Durrant

Dr Josh Fisher

Dr Joseph Gallaher – CEO and Founder

Dr Joseph Hamilton

Dr Adam Holland – Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Dr Sid Mohan - Divisional Lead for the 1980s

Dr Hannah Morrison

Dr Meera Radia