Top Ten Tuesday: The Best Shakespearean Film Adaptations

Happy Tuesday, dear readers! Each week, we’ll rank the top 10 films in a specific category. While we aim to tie these lists to big releases, that won’t always be the case. Our goal? For you to enjoy, share your own lists, and join in on a lively, friendly debate. This is an interactive space to build community here at The Contending.

No fancy intros, no long essays – just a category and a list. Sound good?

To adapt or not to adapt? That’s always the question when filmmakers take a swing at one of the greatest writers in history. Shakespeare’s work has been reimagined in every form you can think of, from faithful reproductions to wildly loose interpretations, and the results span the full spectrum.

With the limited release of Chloé Zhao’s masterpiece, Hamnet, trickling into select theaters this week, it’s the perfect moment to celebrate the man himself by looking back at some of the strongest big-screen takes on his work.

Zhao, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind Nomadland, turns Maggie O’Farrell’s novel into a raw, intimate portrait of love, grief, and creation. Paul Mescal gives a haunted, magnetic turn as a young Shakespeare, and Jessie Buckley delivers the performance of the year as Agnes, fierce and tender in equal measure, as the couple navigates the loss of their son Hamnet (the real tragedy that may have inspired Hamlet). Shot with Zhao’s unmistakable poetic eye across the misty landscapes of England and Wales and scored by Max Richter, the film is devastating and inspiring, already collecting festival prizes, rave reviews, and serious Best Picture buzz. Joey’s Telluride review has more.

If you’re anywhere near a theater showing Hamnet this week (check Focus Features for locations), make it a priority. And in the meantime, to borrow from Twelfth Night: if lists be the food of love, rank on. Here are the ten best Shakespeare film adaptations ever made.