Big screen Bard: Shakespeare Biofiction on Film 1907-2025

This chapter comprehensively examines William Shakespeare’s appearances in Anglophone feature films, from Shakespeare-the-man’s first film in 1907 through to 2025. Many of the films discussed in this chapter are biopics, though Shakespeare appears as a character in a diverse range of film genres – such as travelogues, drama, sci-fi, comedies, conspiracy thrillers – with varying production contexts and audiences. The chapter explores the first Shakespeare biopic, The Life of Shakespeare, made in Britain in 1914, as well as various early silent films and ‘talkies’, including transport films like England’s Shakespeare (1939) and travelogues like Harold Baim’s Our Mr Shakespeare (1944). Other films discussed include the influential Hollywood romcom Shakespeare in Love (1998), Anonymous (2011), Bill (2015), All Is True (2018), the short film Shakes Versus Shav (2023), before the chapter concludes with Hamnet (2025), the Oscar-winning adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s bestselling novel. The chapter demonstrates that big screen films are preoccupied by Shakespeare’s inspiration, drama (often identifying the author with his character Romeo), romantic life, home in Stratford or London, and enduring global legacy.