William Shakespeare was a phenomenon. A truly once-in-human-history kind of writer, I think. He transformed the English language – we quote him nearly every day without realising it. No writer before or since has captured the human condition so acutely, or impacted the society and culture around him so profoundly.
The big problem with Shakespeare's work, though, is that too often we're exposed only to the dry words on the pages of an annotated script which is inflicted upon us in the desert of a classroom. This is insane. Shakespeare's work is meant to be experienced, lived, not studied at a dry distance. A great live production of a classic Shakespeare play is a joy. I'll treasure for ever the memories of seeing David Tennant's Hamlet and Richard Freeman's Richard III. And I'll forever regret not seeing other live performances, like James McAvoy's Macbeth or Scott Wentworth's Antony in Antony and Cleopatra.
Luckily, some really wonderful performances of Shakespeare's plays have been created and captured on film … and I'd like to share some of my favourites with you.
Following on from the post about my favourite SF films, I thought I'd chat a bit about the Fantasy films I really love. As before, this isn't a comprehensive list. There are many, many Fantasy films on my shelves … but these are the ones that hold a special place in my heart.
After that, my most vivid SF movie memory is turning on the tv and catching the end of the original (because in my world Tim Burton's remake never happened) Planet of the Apes, with Charlton Heston SPOILER ALERT HERE, AVERT YOUR EYES IF YOU NEED TO! stumbling across the half-buried Statue of Liberty.
My love affair with speculative fiction began when I was in fourth class primary school and the librarian handed me The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Once I fell through the wardrobe in Narnia I never looked back.
So in this post I'm going to share with you ten SF films that I love a lot, that I rewatch at least once a year, that cheer me up and help me recapture that feeling of being gloriously entertained … which is enormously helpful when the words are flowing like cold molasses.