CINEMA: PULP ELIZABETHAN FICTION

WANT YOUR SHAKESPEARE R-RATED? TRY A SEXY OTHELLO AND A RICHARD III SO WITTILY VIOLENT YOU COULD CHOKE WITH LAUGHTER

SEX? VIOLENCE? WE GOT 'EM FOR you, and in the King's English. As every teacher knows, kids won't touch Shakespeare unless he is made all hot and gaudy and R-rated. So let's get with it, moviemakers! If the Bard writes about a Moor who loves a Venetian lady, show them naked in bed together, and have Iago woo Emilia from the rear. If the subject is villainy on a royal scale, as in Richard III, cram the screen with ingenious murders. Everyone says that if Shakespeare were alive today, he'd have been a screenwriter. But would he be Joe Eszterhas? Would...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!