Rating: 
Summary: Lookee!Lookee! Daddy bought me an Oscar!
Review: Like American Beauty, Shakespeare in Love paid off critics, bullied voters, and kissed posterior to win its Oscar, realizing its hilariously bad plot and absolutely wooden lead actress could have killed it if allowed a fair viewing. Basically ignoring the true originas of Romeo and Juliet (written for a man, by the way--the sonnets, anyone? wait, these are Hollywood critics) and basically putting in a hodgepodge of "Oh, we're famous, nominate us!" British actors.This movie supposes that if you make the scenery believable (i.e. the stink of the theater, the overcrowded conditions, etc.), an audience will ignore the fact that Gweneth Paltrow is amazingly clean shaven for a 16th century woman, and that the characters act as if they all tacitly took a time warp from a bad Reese Witherspoon Romantic comedy (but I repeat myself). The worst part of this movie is Paltrow, whose father bought her this oscar, thus continuing the Hollywood nepotism trick that earned Cage, Sorvino, and Monkey-lips (Anjolina Jolie) their undeserved Oscars. Quick, name any line any of thes acotrs said in their winning roles? Exaclt.y They didn't deserve one of them. Paltrow acts like a blond valley girl joining a sorority ("Oh my god, you guys, shutup, this is so serious!") so other morons who think buying friendship is important will go see it and pretend their deep. Never have I seen actress win so much acclaim for doing nothing--she'd be the female Kevin Spacey, but at least he's competant, if neither spectacular nor good. With Paltrow mucking up every line she tries to utter through her bullmia, a plot so bad it'd be laughable if it didn't make a writer cry, and smug cameos by actors who should know better, this movie was one of the five most overrated movies of the decade.
Rating:
Summary: SCHMALTZ.....
Review: Extremely overrated with little if any historical value - only IF you must ...
Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious, intelligent, irreverent
Review: I honestly did not know what to expect when I first sat down to watch "Shakespeare In Love." Perhaps that was for the best, since this film teems with unexpected moments and twists, turning literary history upside down and giving it a clever and bawdy twist. Gywenth Paltrow plays a young noblewoman who is expected to be demurely betrothed, but who wants none of the life ahead of her. She yearns for the theater, and, in her headstrong, ambitious drive, dresses like a boy to obtain a part in Will Shakespeare's newest drama. Of course, the two fall in love (hence the title!) and their duplicity leads to plot complications that get more and more outrageous. Literary jokes abound, but you don't need to know a whit about Shakespeare to enjoy this romp. This is a romantic comedy cloaked in Elizabethian times, an anachronism that is thoroughly satisfying. Paltrow's Viola is gutsy, intelligent, and torn, a portrayal that deservedly earned her an Oscar. Joseph Fiennes makes a lovable, bumbling Will Shakespeare. The two display a chemistry that brings the witty script to life and elevates this film to a level above most romantic comedies. This film should appeal to a wide range of viewers - even those who hated studying Shakespeare in school.
Rating:
Summary: not my favorite but quite nice
Review: It's a lovestory with convincing actors, especially the two main characters(played by Joseph Fiennes&Gwyneth Paltrow) and Judi Dench in her role of Queen Elizabeth I.
The audience gets an relatively realistic insight into the Elizabethan Age and its culture as far as this is possible in a movie.
The lovestory with Shakespeare has parallels to "Romeo&Juliet" that is written by Sh. during the movie. Result: Not my favorite one but quite nice
Rating: 
Summary: Do they have 7 stars for some movies?
Review: I really cannot understand why this magnificent movie draws such horrific comments from some people. It just strenghtens my opinion that the cultural level in the western world it's too low nowadays...
As for me, this movie is MY NUMBER ONE MOVIE OF ALL TIMES, but this is only a my subjective point of view.Anyway , I'm not exactly a newcomer in this art, viewing that I'm studying movie directing at the Media University in Bucharest.
Back to the movie, it is really difficult to begin with something, so numerous are the qualities of this movie.
It is simply THE GREATEST SCREENPLAY of all times, with countless gems, witty lines, twists (it is NOT PREDICTABLE OF ALL!), a really luminous down ending(which is a very rare thing). EVERYBODY, BUT I MEAN EVERYBODY, has something "to eat" in this movie!...No character is here by chance, from the kid John Webster to Will Shakespeare, the appearance of every character has some meaning. And the development of the plot, reallly of Shakespearean quality, is interweaved magnificently with Romeo and Juliet, the play wich we rediscover in this movie('cause too often we think we've seen all and we know everything about Shakespeare's plays but really we DON'T). It takes a genius of the dimensions of Tom Stoppard(let's not forget Marc Norman) to make this kind of devilishly clever script...
The Academy made, in that year, maybe one of it's smartest choices(alongside of the year when they gave the Oscar to Ordinary people). "Saving private Ryan" seemed to have the upper hand. It was very "american", with a patriotic message, spectacularly directed, and it was representing a very ambitious to win Steven Spielberg(probably the most powerful man in film industry right now). But no, the Academy voters were not stupid. They KNEW, they understood very well that Ryan had virtually no plot(or at least it looked like a heavy handed, mechanical , predictable plot, with a cheesy patriotic ending).
On the other hand , Shakespeare in love had all the odds against it. Released in december, it was representing nobody(except for Bob Weistein, the Miramax boss). John Madden was a nobody, Tom Stoppard was not very well known in America, Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow were not very known and beloved in America(compared to Tom Hanks), it was a British period piece...Some would have said "Come on, you really expect this to win over Saving private Ryan?!" But it did...Deservedly... Shakespeare in love has definitely the greatest original score of all times. I really cannot praise enough how great the music composed by Stephen Warbeck for this movie is...
The last twenty minutes in the movie are really one of the greatest moments of cinemamaking in history, and the final shot is THE GREATEST SINGLE FINAL SHOT OF ALL TIMES...
So, don't listen to the opinions of some uneducated guy, listen to somebody that KNOWS. Go and rent this movie, have a little patience at the beginning, 'cause after that, you will want to see it over and over again...
Rating:
Summary: nice movie
Review: shakespeare in love is a nice romantic movie, that should be watched with some girls and a lot of chocolate, for it is really sentimental. It also teaches you some facts about shakespeares time and maybe some people who like the language shakespeare uses will start to read romeo and juliet after watching this movie.
the actors performed very well.
Rating:
Summary: Me Thinks Thine Oscars Well Deserved....But Beware the DVD
Review: This review refers to the Miramax Dec 1998 release DVD edition of "Shakespeare in Love"..... Had I written this review 2 months ago I would certainly have gone five stars for this DVD package. The film alone is worth that as is this edition(see above) of the DVD, an outstanding quality transfer in regards to picture and sound alike. As I was looking for the product page, I now see that Miramax(same studio of production as this one), has now come out with a "Collector's Series"(just released 1/14/03),with lots of special features of this same film. I'm one that usually will go for the less expensive edition, as a good quality transfer of my favorite films is more important to me than the "Extras", however I do enjoy them if the price is right! But Aye...Here's the rub....The new "Collector's Series" with all it's "Bonus" material IS by far the less expensive one! Ah me! In 1998, "Oscar" had it's work cut out for him. Not only was it a controversial year (Elia Kazan was to recieve a "Lifetime Achievement Award" that year, but that's a story for another time), but the Academy had actually nominated films that were deserving of all the recognition they were to recieve. Although there were so many wonderful films to choose from that year(including "Gods and Monsters" and Affliction"), War movies and English Period pieces were the leading contenders. Leading the pack were two that were considered to be the most likely to win. Those were Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" and John Madden's "Shakespeare in Love". Terrance Malick's beautiful film "The Thin Red Line" was also in consideration. "Shakespeare" was leading the nods by 2(could this possibly be due to the fact that there were no women in "Saving Ryan" to nominate?) So the competetion would be pretty much head to head. When Spielberg picked up his Best Director Oscar for his wonderful tribute to the soldiers of WWII, we all thought, Well, there it is, he'll be back on stage one more time. But it was not to be, "Shakespeare in Love" was announced as the Best Picture, and I might add well deserved! I love War Movies and "Saving Private Ryan" is one of the best, but "Shakespeare in Love", was a breath of fresh air, one that will keep you smiling from start to finish.It is the story of the young Will Shakespeare with a bit of writer's block and he's trying to find his muse for inspiration. He discovers her in the form of one Lady Viola, who he must meet with secretly( a la Romeo and Juliet) as she is pretending to be a boy(a la "The Twelfth Night") in order to be a part of the actor's group in the 1500's, and alas, The Lady Viola is promised to another. With his newly aquirred inspiration and feelings of love abounding, the young Bard's famous words now flow easily from quill to paper. Anything you might expect to find in a play by Shakespeare, you will find in this wonderful original screenplay(also awarded Best by Oscar). There is comedy, romance, tragedy, duels, love triangles,royalty,all unfolding beautifully in this incredible film. If you have read any Shakespeare at all, you will often find yourself patting yourself on the back, for recognizing dialouge and events interspersed in the story that will later be found in his greatest works. You may even notice a hint of the long running scholarly debate of whether Shakespeare wrote his own plays. But it is not neccessary to be a fan of his to throughly enjoy the film. This film garnered critical acclaim internationally as well as from Oscar(7 Oscars) and also for the well deserving cast. Performances by the likes of Judi Dench, Geoffrey Rush,Gwyneth Paltrow,Joseph Fiennes and Colin Firth will take your breath away.The costumes, cinematography, direction and the score all make for one all around outstanding film to be enjoyed for years to come. As I mentioned the picture and sound is the best, and my only reason for the 4 stars is because of the price of this edition at this time.( I like to review the entire package) There is some bonus material(not shown in the tech info) and that is some notes on some of the real life figures that are a part of the story. Very informative. "Parting is such sweet sorrow"......enjoy...Laurie
Rating:
Summary: a nice lovestory
Review: The film tries to give an impression about Shakespeare, his life, his plays and about the Elizabethan age.
The costumes are authentic and give us the appropriate impression of that age.
the actors in the film are very good, and they make the film worth watching. i wouldnt say that the film is a realistic biography of Shakepeare's life but some parts of the film you can compare to his real life.
if you like a nice lovestory you should watch this film.
Rating: 
Summary: Movie for Women only?
Review: Shakespeare in Love is a movie mainly designed for commercial success, as most movies are, but in this movie this point comes out very clearly. Even though that things don't fit in the plot, they are in the movie, because the viewers just expect them. This contributes to the flat storyline. The target audience is definitely women. 80% of this movie is a sentimental lovestory. There are some funny dialogues and some intelligent turn points in the story, but they are clearly in the minority. Shakespeare would never like a movie like that. Action beneath the surface is not represented, but simple stereotype characters act in their typical way. Maybe women like that, just like they like BSB or NSync, but anyone who cannot stand these Boygroups won't enjoy this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Simply beautiful
Review: In my opinion, this is one of the best films ever made. The performances are outstanding, the language is beautiful, and the writing and directing could not have been more skillfully done. In essence, in all the times I have watched this film (which is many, let me assure you) I have never seen so much as a second of the film that I would change in any way. I am an avid fan of horror movies and was so pleasantly surprised by this film. It is not merely a comedy, nor merely a retelling of a Shakespearean tale, though it incorporates both comedy and Shakespearean text; it simply transcends what films are normally able to achieve for me. I really liked the fact that there are so many little things that the fan of Shakespeare can pick up on that enhances the comedy and wit, but are in no way necessary for the enjoyment of the film. This, in itself, is a testament to the talent of the writers and director, to be able to produce such a layered piece of art that works on so many levels and is entertaining, regardless of the viewer's knowledge of Shakespeare and his work. Everything seems to fit exactly where it is, which I find not to be the case with most films. The performances really steal the show, however. Fiennes plays an extraordinary Shakespeare; I can't imagine anyone else in this role. Paltrow, I believe, delivers the best performance of her career. Rush and Dench are simply amazing. I cannot say enough good things about this film. It is essential for any fan of good cinema.
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