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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'.

Hamlet (Scott) (2000)

7.8/10
Director: Campbell Scott
Starring: Blair Brown, Roscoe Lee Browne, LisaGay Hamilton, Campbell Scott

Campbell Scott co-directs and stars as Hamlet in this excellent made-for-television version of Shakespeare's popular tragedy. The classic tale centres... Read more

Simpatico (2000)

4.5/10
Director: Matthew Warchus
Starring: Nick Nolte, Sharon Stone, Jeff Bridges, Catherine Keener

In this powerful adaptation of Sam Shepard's play, Jeff Bridges is a millionaire whose success from breeding and training horses has brought him a Ken... Read more

Hamlet (Hawke) (2000)

7.8/10
Director: Michael Almereyda
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Diane Venora, Kyle MacLachlan, Julia Stiles, Bill Murray, Liev Schr...

Shakespeare's tragedy is turned into a modern morality tale with Ethan Hawke as the title character, now an angry film student suspicious of widowed m... Read more

The Big Kahuna (2000)

6.6/10
Director: John Swanbeck
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, Peter Facinelli

Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito and Peter Facinelli are three industrial lubricant sales people attending a convention in Wichita. As they schmooze with cl... Read more

The Cherry Orchard (1999)

6.5/10
Director: Michael Cacoyannis
Starring: Charlotte Rampling, Alan Bates, Katrin Cartlidge, Xander Berkeley, Melanie Lynsk...

Written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Michael Cacoyannis (Zorba the Greek), this adaptation of the classic final drama by playwright Anton Chekh... Read more

Titus (1999)

7.2/10
Director: Julie Taymor
Starring: Alan Cumming, Colm Feore, Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange, Harry Lennix

"Titus Andronicus", Shakespeare's first tragedy, is given striking treatment by director Julie Taymor, who melds ancient settings with modern accoutre... 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

Love's Labour's Lost (1999)

6.1/10
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Alicia Silverstone, Nathan Lane, Richard Briers, Martin Scorses...

Shakespeare's breezy comedy is given some song-and-dance treatment in this mix of Bard and Broadway musical action that is set in the 1930's. A young... Read more

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

7.3/10
Director: Gil Junger
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, David Krumholtz, Andrew Keegan...

This teen comedy, loosely patterned after 'The Taming of the Shrew', concerns the would-be suitors of a girl forbidden to start dating before her sull... Read more

A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)

6.5/10
Director: Michael Hoffman
Starring: Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett

Aka "William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream". The bard's classic comedy has been transported from ancient Greece to late 19th century Italy w... Read more