We applaud the effort of roland emmerich in directing the film anonymous and believe it will be very well received. But in the movie s funhousemirror version of elizabethan history, this conspiracy is. William shakespeare lies at the heart of this controversial period thriller, on bluray and dvd february 7th. Roland emmerichs inadvertently comic new movie, anonymous, purports to announce to the world that the works we deluded souls imagine to have been written by one william shakespeare were actually. Woede om beschuldigingen nieuwe shakespearefilm anonymous. Anonymous, directed by roland emmerich and written by john orloff, speculates on an issue that has for centuries intrigued academics and brilliant minds, ranging from mark twain and charles dickens to sigmund freud, orson welles, and sir john gielgud, namely. Sir kenneth branagh has spent a major part of his career interpreting the works of william shakespeare.
However, peter holland, a shakespeare expert from the university of notre dame, assures that it is a ridiculous idea. Anonymous movie attacks christianity charisma news. Substantial evidence has come to light which proves, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the stratford man was not the author. Having said that, this film is full of ambition and i find it be rather watchable. And odd though the question may be, it matches our current cultural mindset, where everything is suspect and nothing worth trusting. Oct 29, 2011 a new film is reviving an ageold controversy, and bashing the bard. It may not be the most accurate, but shakespeare in love does an amazing job of recreating shakespeares life and times. The guinness book of records lists 410 featurelength film and tv versions of william shakespeare s plays, making shakespeare the most filmed author ever in any language as of july 2018, the internet movie database lists shakespeare as having writing credit on 1,371 films, including those under production but not yet released.
T he last time derek jacobi appeared in a movie with a literary bent it was a year ago in clint eastwoods dreadful lifeafter. If he had wanted to do so, it would not have been difficult. These days, the term anonymous conjures up visions of unknown activists trying to influence history from the wings. Anonymous film takes on william shakespeare abc news. Said playwright is, of course, not william shakespeare, who as played by rafe spall shaun of the dead is a strutting, utterly debauched secondrate actor. Thats the name of a new movie that just opened in about 200 theaters across the usand one that christian theologians are calling out for its leftist politican spin that attacks christianity. I tried, i really tried, to keep track of who was who in anonymous, which is handsomely staged by director roland emmerich. One theory, as demonstrated in director roland emmerichs 2011 movie, anonymous, is that shakespeare did not write any of the plays for which he is credited.
It was edgar allan poes 206th birthday on january 19, and i came across an old post on open culture featuring a couple of cool clips, one being christopher walken reading poes poem the raven, and the other being the 1953 oscarnominated animated short of poes story the telltale heart, narrated by james mason. Roland emmerichs new movie, anonymous 2011, is sure to bring some brief attention to the matter. Oct 21, 2011 xavier samuel talks anonymous bluray exclusive b. Rafe spall as william shakespeare in anonymous anonymous. Spall is funny as a comedic actor, but his portrayal of william shakespeare is so idiotic and lecherous, anonymous instantly feels more synthetic. A new film is reviving an ageold controversy, and bashing the bard. Thats the question asked by the controversial new feature film anonymous, which opens in minnesota movie theaters on. Explaining the concept of roland emmerichs new shakespeare. The script posits that shakespeare was a crass, opportunistic phony.
In his film of the same name, director roland emmerich seems to be suggesting that this idea is not exactly new, and that the plays and poems attributed to william shakespeare were essentially motivated by the same desire. Was shakespeare the guy from stratford, that is a fraud. Anonymous speculates on an issue that has for centuries intrigued academics and brilliant minds ranging from mark twain and charles. A theory that i am very much interested in, the oxfordian theory proposes that the earl of oxford actually wrote the plays and penned shakespeare to them. May 09, 2019 sir kenneth branagh has spent a major part of his career interpreting the works of william shakespeare. It portrays william shakespeare as a fraud who didnt really write all those remarkable plays and sonnets bearing his byline. There seems little good reason to doubt that he wrote the. He is often called englands national poet and the bard of avon or simply the bard. Anonymous revival of oxfordianism threatens to rejuvenate donald fosters discredited theory about the socalled funeral elegy, the worst poem ever mistakenly attributed to shakespeare. The movie poses one possible answer, focusing on a.
His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative. In the film, the earl of oxford made no real attempt to establish his identity as the author. It tells an interesting story in a beautiful and captivating way. Roland emmerichs new film, which suggests that william shakespeare was a fraud, relies on the 90yearold theories of j thomas looney. Oct 17, 2011 anonymous, a new film due out at the end of the month, dramatizes the 90yearold theory that the works of shakespeare were actually written by the tumultuous and increasingly broke london. Now, with the movie anonymous, the argument for the earl of oxford is getting the big screen treatment. Chris lee examines the battle royale over the bards authorship controversy. With rhys ifans, vanessa redgrave, david thewlis, sebastian armesto. For more on the controversy, please see my article, was shakespeare italian. Are there any biographical movies about william shakespeare. Very few commoners of his time are as welldocumented as william shakespeare. Anonymous film takes on william shakespeare anonymous vanessa redgrave plays the aging queen elizabeth, her daughter joely richardson is the young queen in the film, anonymous. In all, anonymous is a great movie and my favorite from roland.
In the film anonymous the real shakespeare, the earl of. List of william shakespeare screen adaptations wikipedia. Perhaps you found your way to this page after viewing the film and doing an internet search to locate more information on the intriguing issue of who was the true author of the shakespeare canon. Oct 28, 2011 the script posits that shakespeare was a crass, opportunistic phony. And now were getting a movie, anonymous, which employs prominent denier, derek jacoby, and hopes to cash in with the mainstream. T he last time derek jacobi appeared in a movie with a literary bent it was a year ago in clint eastwoods dreadful lifeafterdeath drama hereafter, where he cameoed as. Set against the backdrop of the succession of queen elizabeth i. Actually, its not the first time the theory has been mentioned on the big screen. Is the movie anonymous based on a plausible interpretation.
Set against the backdrop of the succession of queen elizabeth i and the essex rebellion against her. Although its just a few lines, oxfordians like to argue they received support from shakespearean actor leslie howard in a movie he made in 1941. Anonymous movie, antistratfordians, conspiracy theories, fraud, william shakespeare the upcoming film anonymous suggests that shakespeare did not write his internationally wellknown works. There seems little good reason to doubt that he wrote the plays performed under his name.
Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author. Oct 27, 2011 was shakespeare the guy from stratford, that is a fraud. For centuries we have all been told and taught that the author of the shakespearean works was william shakespeare from the english villiage of stratford. Anonymous, the movie shakespeare oxford fellowship. The case against shakespeare, simply put, is the elitist claim. Anonymous ambitiously conveys the theory that shakespeare did not write a single play. Nov 01, 2011 director roland emmerichs film anonymous portrays william shakespeare as a barely literate actor who falsely claims credit for the more than 30 plays, to say nothing of the 154 sonnets all. Anonymous, a new film due out at the end of the month, dramatizes the 90yearold theory that the works of shakespeare were actually written by.
Twain and charles dickens to henry james and sigmund freud, namely. They write things, and that writing changes society. The story of the film is entirely fiction, but the film does a great job depicting the day to day workings of elizabethan th. Over 60000 dvd titles are available now, ranging from hard to find movies and cult classics to major movie releases. Thats because of the release of the new movie anonymous in theaters october 28, a period historical thriller, directed by roland emmerich the day after tomorrow, independence day and based on the theory that someone else wrote the plays normally attributed to shakespeare. An argument is made in the film anonymous that shakespeares father was illiterate, but it seems logical that the mind capable of writing shakespeares plays and poems was capable of learning.
I wish spall would have played shakespeare a bit more likable or complex. In all, anonymous is a great movie and my favorite from roland emmerich despite its contrived efforts to undermine shakespeare s legacy. But he was the greatest of all writers in english, in some ways the engine for the languages spread around the world, and one of the. Shop dvd empire for free sameday shipping on instock dvd movies and blurays. The tag line on the poster for roland emmerichs anonymous reads was shakespeare a fraud. Anonymouse collective, a swedish group of street artists. Anonymous is a 2011 period drama film directed by roland emmerich and written by john orloff. Roland emmerich rewrites william shakespeares role in literature. Set in the political snakepit of elizabethan england, anonymous speculates on an issue. Oct 27, 2011 anonymous revival of oxfordianism threatens to rejuvenate donald fosters discredited theory about the socalled funeral elegy, the worst poem ever mistakenly attributed to shakespeare. His vision of london fairly breathes soot and oozes sludge, his streets. In 1598, edward starts feeding the plays to ben johnson, the famous writertobe, to take them to the theatrical troop where shakespeare performs. The ready acceptance of his authorship by elizabethan audiences would today be comparable to us all suddenly believing that ashton kutcher wrote the collected works of edward albee. Are you confused by the provocative premise behind roland emmerichs new movie anonymous, or at very least the posters tagline was shakespeare a fraud.
No, it is not based on plausible interpretation of history at all. Is the movie anonymous based on a plausible interpretation of. Incredibly, for a film shot mostly on german soundstages, anonymous richly evokes the london of its time, when the splendor of the court lived in a metropolis of appalling poverty and the streets were ankledeep in mud. The movie begins on a stage where an unnamed man derek jacobi presents the audience with the controversial theory that william shakespeare did not write his own plays. The challenge is laid down in stunning fashion by german director roland emmerich in his latest work, anonymous, one of the best films of. But in the movies funhousemirror version of elizabethan history, this conspiracy is. If he had been an ordinary playwright, there would be no controversy over their authorship. A conspiracytheory movie about shakespeare might work if it were playful and clever, a trickster fable on the order of steven spielbergs catch me if you can. If the kennedy assassination doesnt interest you, and youve got a few extra years on your hands, you might want to look into the debate over who wrote william shakespeares plays. Oct 26, 2011 very few commoners of his time are as welldocumented as william shakespeare. But in the movies funhousemirror version of elizabethan history, this conspiracy is just one part of a larger web of intrigue, in which spoiler alert. A theory that i am very much interested in, the oxfordian theory proposes that the earl of oxford actually.
The new movie anonymous says shakespeare was a fraud and has literary scholars screaming fie. Director roland emmerichs film anonymous portrays william shakespeare as a barely literate actor who falsely claims credit for the more than 30. William shakespeare authorship conspiracy theories. Flashbacks reveal oxfords passionate affair with queen elizabeth i and how in his younger. Anonymous proposes that william shakespeare didnt really write all those plays, sonnets, and poems they say he did. Anonymous group, the collective name of loosely affiliated individuals who participate in hacktivism. His 1989 breakthrough in film featured branagh as the star and director of henry v he won. Given the long history of william shakespeare as hollywood source and subject,this might be the only new angle left. It creates a realistic, convincing globe theater, which establishes how intimate it really was.
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