Alice's Playhouse
In Alice's Playhouse you will discover an exceptional collection of feature films adapted from some of the most celebrated plays ever written. Often featuring towering performances, outstanding direction and exceptional writing, this collection is a superb archive of contemporary drama masterfully transferred to the silver screen.
Filmizations of The Bard's work may be scrolled via the 'Shakespeare' sub-feature in green on the left, along with other notable playwrights who have been adapted for celluloid.
For adaptations of novels and short stories, check the 'Special Interest' link and click on 'Based on...'
Right: Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh relax during the filming of Tennessee Williams' masterpiece, 'A Streetcar Named Desire'.
The Merchant of Venice (2004)
7.1/10
Director: Michael Radford
Starring: Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Joseph Fiennes, Lynn Collins, Zuleikha Robinson, Kris M...
Al Pacino takes the lead role of Shylock the moneylender in one of Shakespeare's most searing plays, with Jeremy Irons as the melancholy Antonio who o... Read more
Love and Human Remains (1993)
Director: Denys Arcand
Starring: Thomas Gibson, Ruth Marshall, Mia Kirshner
Quebec film-maker Denys Arcand's ('Jesus of Montreal') first English-language film is this dark comedy that follows a bunch of young urban adults in p... Read more
A Doll's House (Bloom) (1973)
6.5/10
Director: Patrick Garland
Starring: Claire Bloom, Ralph Richardson, Anthony Hopkins, Denholm Elliott, Edith Evans, A...
A strong version of Henrik Ibsen's play about a woman's struggle for independence against her husband's will. Nora Helmer (Claire Bloom) risks destruc... Read more
My Boy Jack (2007)
7.2/10
Director: Brian Kirk
Starring: David Haig, Daniel Radcliffe, Carey Mulligan, Julian Wadham, Martin McCann, Kim...
Famed author Rudyard Kipling is adamant about his son Jack going to fight the Germans during World War I and uses his influence to land the 17-year-ol... Read more
Julius Caesar (1953)
7.4/10
Director: Joseph L Mankiewicz
Starring: Marlon Brando, John Gielgud, James Mason, Louis Calhern, Edmond O'Brien, Greer G...
A superior adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of political power and honour in ancient Rome. Lavishly produced with Oscar Winning art direction-... Read more
A Streetcar Named Desire ( Blu-ray ) (1951)
8/10
Director: Elia Kazan
Starring: Karl Malden, Kim Hunter, Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh
Blanche du Bois, the magnificently brooding Vivien Leigh, a faded descendant of the once-proud Southern gentry, comes to live with her matter-of-fact... Read more
Othello (BBC) (1981)
6.9/10
Director: Jonathan Miller
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Bob Hoskins, Penelope Wilton, Rosemary Leach
After undertaking to film all Shakespeare's plays, the BBC produced some of the most faithful and gripping renditions of the bard's work ever committe... Read more
The Deep Blue Sea (2011)
6.3/10
Director: Terence Davies
Starring: Rachel Weisz, Simon Russell Beale, Tom Hiddleston
Based on the Terence Rattigan play of the same name, "The Deep Blue Sea" is a study of forbidden love, suppressed desire, and the fear of loneliness i... Read more
Looking for Richard (1996)
7.4/10
Director: Al Pacino
Starring: Penelope Allen, Alec Baldwin, Kevin Conway, Al Pacino, Estelle Parsons, Aidan Qu...
A fascinating, documentary-style film about Al Pacino's staging of Richard III and his simultaneous exploration of the relevance of Shakespeare to peo... Read more
Miss Julie (1999)
6.3/10
Director: Mike Figgis
Starring: Saffron Burrows, Peter Mullan, Maria Doyle Kennedy
The interplay between sex, money and power keeps August Strindberg's drama as relevant as ever. This latest version by "Leaving Las Vegas" director Mi... Read more