Richard III (1995)
Starring: Ian McKellen, Annette Bening
Director: Richard Loncraine
Comparable modernization of Shakespeare play also about royal manipulations.

Romeo + Juliet (1996)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Updating of Bard's popular romantic tragedy also features young leads, aims for teen audience and accessibility.

Titus (1999)
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange
Director: Julie Taymor
Equally stylish, cross-era adaptation of author's less popular Elizabethan-horror revenge-drama; more intense, grisly.

Creative Movie Matches

Hamlet (1948)
Starring: Laurence Olivier, Eileen Herlie
Director: Laurence Olivier
Olivier's Oscar-winner features more compelling performance, classic interpretation.

Hamlet (1996)
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Highly acclaimed, lavish telling features more complete Shakespeare text than other variants.

Macbeth (1971)
Starring: Jon Finch, Francesca Annis
Director: Roman Polanski
More graphic "Scottish Play" also filtered through director's atypical, imaginative perspective.

Prospero's Books (1991)
Starring: John Gielgud, Michael Clark
Director: Peter Greenaway
Lyrical art-house take on Shakespeare's The Tempest also marked by strong visuals; much more demanding.