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'.
Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
7.4/10
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Michael Keaton, Robert Sean Leonard, Keanu Reeves, Emma Thompso...
Shakespeare's comedy of the wooing of Benedick (played by actor-director-screenwriter Kenneth Branagh) and Beatrice (his real life wife Emma Thompson)... Read more
Shadowlands (1993)
7.4/10
Director: Richard Attenborough
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Debra Winger, Joseph Mazzello
An intelligent, observant, handsome adaptation of William Nicholson's award-winning play, inspired by the late-blooming romance between the fifty some... Read more
Six Degrees of Separation (1993)
6.9/10
Director: Fred Schepisi
Starring: Stockard Channing, Will Smith, Donald Sutherland, Mary Beth Hurt, Bruce Davison,...
John Guare adapted his hit Broadway play, based on a true incident, about a man pretending to be Sidney Poitier's son who works his way into the lives... Read more
Sarafina! (1992)
6.4/10
Director: Darrell Roodt
Starring: Whoopi Goldberg, Leleti Khumalo, Miriam Makeba
Based on the hit play, this musical-drama is set against the backdrop of racial strife in Soweto, South Africa, in 1979, where rebellious schoolteache... Read more
Monster In A Box (1992)
7.5/10
Director: Nick Broomfield
Starring: Spalding Gray
In this, Spalding Gray's second filmed stage performance, he discusses his brushes with life and death as he wrote his pseudo-autobiographical novel '... Read more
Noises Off (1992)
7.5/10
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Starring: Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, Denholm Elliott, Julie Hagerty, Marilu Henner, Mar...
This energetic filming of Michael Frayn's play is an outrageously funny look at love, lies and deceit that takes place behind the scenes as a group of... Read more
Edward II (1992)
7/10
Director: Derek Jarman
Starring: Kevin Collins, Steven Waddington, Andrew Tiernan
Derek Jarman uses Christopher Marlowe's classic play about the 14th century monarch for this daring cinematic treatise on gay love and its place in th... Read more
The Judi Dench Collection (1991)
Director: Anthony Page, Christopher Morahan, Michael Darlow, Stephen Frears
Starring: Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh, Norman Wisdom, Fulton MacKay, Michael C Williams, M...
This collection contains a selection of sterling performances from Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench, including: 'Talking to a Stranger' (1966) ba... Read more
Hook (1991)
6.7/10
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Bob Hoskins, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Maggie Smith, Robin Williams
Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman star in this classic tale about a middle-aged lawyer who discovers that he was once the legendary Peter Pan. An ench... Read more
Cyrano De Bergerac (1950/1990 Versions) (1990)
7.6/10
Director: Jean-Paul Rappeneau, Michael Gordon
Starring: Jose Ferrer, Mala Powers, William Prince, Gerard Depardieu, Jacques Weber, Anne...
A double helping of "Cyrano De Bergerac". "Cyrano De Bergerac" (1950) - Jose Ferrer won an Academy Award for his stunning portrayal of the fabled 17th... Read more