David Farnor | On 20, Apr 2016

With Saturday 23rd April marking the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, the UK is going into overdrive celebrating the Bard, and the British Film Institute is no exception. This month, the BFI presents Shakespeare on Film, a UK-wide series of 300 special screenings and events celebrating the enormous impact the playwright’s life, work and legacy has had on cinema.

Events range from a Q&A with Kenneth Branagh beamed live to cinemas from Belfast’s Queen’s Film Theatre to spectacular screenings in castles, and silent films set to bold new scores from leading contemporary artists. There’s an exploration of Macbeth courtesy of Glasgow Film Theatre, with a series of outdoor screenings showcasing, amongst others, the Shakespeare interpretations
of Roman Polanski and Orson Welles. There’s a sideways look at the bard as part of the tenth Flatpack Film Festival in Birmingham, incorporating spoken-word, animation and artists. And there’s Shakespeare’s Sister in London, an exploration of gender – both behind and in front of the camera – courtesy of Curzon. Front and centre of the whole thing is a screening of Richard Loncraine’s stunning 1995 version of Richard III on 28th April, followed by a Q&A with star Ian McKellen broadcast to cinemas across the country.

But 400 years after his death, the BFI is also bringing the Bard to VOD, with a whopping 57 films added to its online collection on the BFI Player. The streaming platform has a wide range of Shakespeare titles available to stream for different prices. BFI Player, its pay-per-view store, has everything from Michael Fassbender’s Macbeth to 1954’s Romeo and Juliet by Renato Castellani available to rent. The BFI’s subscription VOD service, BFI Player+ (£4.99 a month, with a 30-day free trial), includes Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood and Patrick Stewart’s 2009 Macbeth, among others. And, most exciting of all, are BFI Player’s collection of free shorts, which range from historical archive footage of Shakespeare celebrations and Stratford-upon-Avon across the last century to a unique collection of short adaptations of old Bill’s plays, dating as far back as 1899.

Whether you’re planning to participate in the BFI’s events across the UK, or curling up on the sofa to admire a silent version of Hamlet, here’s the full line-up of BFI Player’s Shakespeare on Film:

BFI Player (Rent)

Macbeth (2015)
Bill (2015)
The Tempest (1979)
Richard III (1995)
Peg of Old Drury (1935)
The Angelic Conversation (1985)
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
All Night Long (1962)
Food of Love (1997)
Romeo of the Spirits (1976)
Romeo and Juliet (1954)
You Made Me Love You (1933)
The Banquet (2006)
Men Are Not Gods (1936)
National Youth Theatre (1966)
Music Box (1957)

BFI Player+ (Subscription)

Macbeth (2009)
Throne of Blood (1957)
Henry V (1944)
The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
Julius Caesar (2012)
Macbeth (2001)
Time Flies (1944)

Free

Introductions and Interviews
Sir Ian McKellen introduces All Night Long
Sir Ian McKellen introduces Richard III
Then and Now: Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey (1967)
Toyah Wilcox on The Tempest (2014)

Shorts
King John (1899)
Julius Caesar (1908)
King Lear (1909)
Hamlet (1910)
King Lear (1910)
The Twelfth Night (1910)
Richard III (1911)
Hamlet (1913)
The Winter’s Tale (1913)
Oh’Phelia: A Cartoon Burlesque (1919)
Taming of the Shrew (1923)
Romeo E Giulietta (1927)
Next (1989)

Historical archives
Around the Town No. 110 (1922)
British and Best (1928)
Shakespeare’s Country (1926)
Shakespeare at Harrow (1957)
Beauty and Brightness No. 4 (1925)
Warwick Pageant (1906)
A Link with Shakespeare (1950)
Shakespeare Land (1957)
St. George’s Day at Stratford-upon-Avon (1915)
Shakespeare’s Country (1940)
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre (1926)
The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Foundation Stone (1929)
Stratford upon Avon (1958)
Shakespeare Land (1910)
Stratford-on-Avon (1925)
Glastonbury Past and Present (1921)
Memorial Procession in English Country Town (1915)

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