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'.
Romeo and Juliet (DiCaprio) (1996)
7.6/10
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Brian Dennehy, Claire Danes, Diane Venora, John Leguizamo, Leonardo DiCaprio, Pa...
Baz Luhrmann's dazzling and unconventional adaptation of William Shakespeare's classic love story is spellbinding. Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes... Read more
Hamlet (Branagh) (1996)
7.8/10
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Julie Christie, Derek Jacobi
Murder and violence, revenge and intrigue, sex and desire, paranoia and madness - the heady brew of passion and emotion that makes up Shakespeare's Ha... 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
Twelfth Night (1996)
7.3/10
Director: Trevor Nunn
Starring: Imogen Stubbs, Helena Bonham Carter, Ben Kingsley
Shakespeare's richest and most haunting 'comedy' of would be lovers and mistaken identity is given lavish treatment with Imogen Stubbs, Helena Bonham... Read more
Brilliant Lies (1996)
6/10
Director: Richard Franklin
Starring: Gia Carides, Anthony LaPaglia, Zoe Carides
Real-life couple Gia Carides and Anthony La Paglia get to pull out each other's hair in this rigorous adaptation of David Williamson's meaty stage pla... Read more
Act of Murder (1995)
7.5/10
Director: Shirley Horrocks
Starring: Miranda Harcourt
This intriguing documentary presents a performance of the play 'Verbatim', written by William Brandt and based on countless interviews with prison inm... Read more
Dad and Dave - On Our Selection (1995)
6.5/10
Director: George Whaley
Starring: Leo McKern, Joan Sutherland, Geoffrey Rush, Ray Barrett, Barry Otto, Nicholas Ea...
Based on the comedic stories and plays of Steele Rudd (a pseudonym for writer Arthur Hoey) following the Rudd family as they leave behind their city l... Read more
Cosi (1995)
6.9/10
Director: Mark Joffe
Starring: Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths, Ben Mendelsohn, Barry Otto, Aden Young, Colin F...
A budding theatre director is haggled into staging a bizarre version of Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte at a psychiatric hospital. Adapted from the winning st... Read more
Death and the Maiden (1995)
7.3/10
Director: Roman Polanski
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley, Stuart Wilson
Roman Polanski's intense film of Ariel Dorfman's play stars Sigourney Weaver as a South American woman who believes that her lawyer husband's associat... Read more
Othello (Fishburne) (1995)
6.9/10
Director: Oliver Parker
Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Kenneth Branagh, Irene Jacob
Laurence Fishburne is very good in the title role bringing out the warrior Moor's essential innocence and passion, while Kenneth Branagh is brilliant... Read more