Customer Reviews
Much Ado about Writing 
2008-09-21
Writing a play is a tiresome burden when you don't have the faintest idea what it is going to be about but you need to hand it over real soon. Fortunately, Will Shakespeare finds his muse and the authors of the screenplay also had at least a brief encounter with theirs.
Basically a romantic comedy SIL offers much more that the standard "boy meets girl, boy loses girl" scenario - they present it in a fantastically well rendered setting taking as much as they could from the Swan of the Avon.
A perfect way to spend an afternoon - you get your share of romance, adventure, and literary history (the latter should not be taken at face value, however). Do you need more?
Another great classic movie 2008-09-07
We purchased this for our daughter's birthday because she has said it is a classic. She loves the movie and we are happy that we were able to find it at Amazon.
Intelligently Written and Passionately Acted 
2008-09-05
Others reviewers have taken issue with how historically inaccurate "Shakespeare in Love" is, and even if they're right on every count, they're missing the point. This movie spins its own story, giving an improbable yet poignant context to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. It's not meant to be a documentary of the writer's life, nor does it boast that it tells a true story. The most history buffs could expect are a few grins here and there, what with the scene Christopher Marlowe plotting out "Romeo and Ethel the Pirate's Daughter" that nods to the "Shakespeare didn't write his own plays" theory, the inclusion of the sadistic child John Webster, and the many lines of dialogue Shakespeare hears and later incorporates into his plays. These are all quite enjoyable, and should help any uptight history buff to remove the stick etcetera etcetera so they can enjoy this film for what it is.
On the acting side, things are nothing but great. I, for one, hate the institution of "big name actors" and think that most small time television stars do better jobs than your Pitts or Damons, but I really can't complain about Gwyneth Paltrow in this film. She does a wonderful, wonderful job, but it truly serves to compliment the performance of Joseph Fiennes as Shakespeare. He is a force of life on film, giving a passionate, hilarious, and downright sad portrayal of what many people see as the greatest writer in the English language. In my opinion, it would have been impossible to do a better job.
It's an intelligently written and passionately acted film with attention to details in plot and character development that is truly impressive. This is very much worth owning on DVD.
8/10
Improbable plot: Shakespeare was high born 2008-07-07
What is interesting about this portrayal of William Shakespeare is that the historical figure was actually descended from the Saxon Earls of Wessex (and potentially from the Saxon Kings). Shakespeare's mother was a de Arden, after all, and the heiress of the hereditary family estate called Kingsbury in Wessex. Hence, it is surely at least ironic that the movie has him competing with the now Norman "Lord Wessex", pitting his Saxon pedigree against a Norman rival of similar rank. I wonder if the writers of the screenplay comprehended the irony (and implausibility) in this fictional rendition?
Awesome Movie!!! 2008-06-19
Love this movie. Typical chick flick, but my husband enjoy watching it just a much. Very funny!
Shakespeare In Love 2008-06-13
When Will Shakespeare needs passionate inspiration to break a bad case of writer's block, a secret romance with beautiful Lady Viola starts the words flowing like never before.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: R
Release Date: 3-MAY-2005
Media Type: DVD
A Primer for a New Generation. 2008-06-12
Although highly popular for its time (labelled the Best Film of the 90's), in those days anything even hinting at post modernism, (one aspect, mixing genres); a speculative tale about the Master experiencing "writer's block", falling in love and the beloved becoming his Muse for the greatest love story of all time, seemed, in my arrogance, too main- stream, even somewhat stupid. Well, what a fool, what a young fool. Seeing the DVD for the first time the other night exploded all my pre-conceived ideas - what a well-produced, directed and believable story.
This is a Romantic Comedy like no other.
Gweneth Paltrow as Viola De Lesseps was well deserving for Best Actress in a Leading Role as her understanding and feeling for all the roles she played (both Romeo & Juliet) and Viola, exceeded my expectations.
Joseph Fiennes, however, though an intense performance, was maybe too over acted, but done with passion, revealing the true passion of an artist and a true genius.
In fact, all the performances are first rate.
Personally, films done in a "theatrical format", have alway been intriguing, (Hitchcock's "Rope" for example) giving the audience (perhaps unconsciously), the perception that they're actually seeing a live perfomance.
The final scene in the actual play, performed in the film, (the death scene) was done very well and quite moving.
Shakespeare, as time moves forward, is becoming harder to teach, enabling that 'penny to drop' with students, understanding Old English. This film would be a good "primer" for the i-pod & cell phone generation to catch a glimpse of the English language read and spoken in its original beauty.
A wonderful and fun picture enabling a new generation to find, and perhaps continue, to appreciate the Master.
Excellent.
much ado about nothing 
2008-05-19
simply put , romeo and juliet was written before their were plantations in va. thus an underlying plot melodramatic pt was invalid, date of authorship is 1591 or 1596: our undying fascination with the british royalty amidst amazing poverty , with a relishing of the tudors brutality and sadism is far to prevalent in the media these days ie the other boleyn
Enjoying A Genius 2008-05-15
Watch this video. Start your journey today. Find out what Shakespeare has brought to the world. Okay, so this movie might not please the academics and the purists, but so what. Stoppard has put enough stuff here to please the wiser sort, yeah. The part about the rat and John Webster being just one of 'em.
The rest of the film is pure joy. You'll be swept along by Paltrow's earnest performance and Fiennes' certain charm as the bard and Romeo. Geoffrey Rush is mucho supremo--this guy could act as Casanova Frankenstein, and still be wonderful.
I can finally choose one "Desert Island (dvd) Disk" 2008-05-12
Who but Stoppard would think - or dare - to make a movie about the creative impulse itself? Why and how we transmute our experiences and express them in art, is the most exciting theme of this magnificent movie. Along the way he spoofs show business, creativity vs. money, and romance. There's the pageantry of the period piece, the sometimes slapstick humor, the love story, the tragedy, the "the show must go on" triumph, and most of all a reverence and wonder for the impulse that makes us spin all our trials and triumphs into gold.
With Stoppard, as always, you get an almost frightening attention to detail - there's never a wasted second in his work. For instance, there are several close-ups of Will's hands, which are stained as dirty as a field-hand's with ink: word-smithing, like blacksmithing, is hard and dirty work.
And the entire piece is crafted like one of Shakespeare's plays: there are many levels to appreciate, but he never forgets to "play to the pit" -- to have lofty and earthy moments, something for everyone.
