|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shakespeare, the titlist
2005.01.09 — Entertainment | Movies | Movie Analysis | by Andrew Cole
Kenneth Branaugh's Prince considers doing himself in. [source] |
I had occasion to read Shakespeare's great soliloquy for Hamlet—you know the one... and noticed a peculiar phenomenon. So many pieces of it had become titles of movies that it boggles the mind.
The passage is Hamlet's attempt to talk himself into committing suicide, a rather unlikely source of inspiration for the titles of comedy movies, but oh well.
Most screenwriters are familiar with the passage from their classical literature classes in college (or the several movies made of it). And they all want to slip in a little shout-out to Big Willy, even if they're penning a lame Shelly Long vehicle.
Hamlet's Soliloquy
(Act III, Scene I)
William Shakespeare
To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing, end them. To die, to sleep—
No more, and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to; 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep—
To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
Okay, This Mortal Coil is a Goth group that has only scored one film, but hey.... |
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause; there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life:
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despis'd love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th' unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin; who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have,
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action. —Soft you now,
The fair Ophelia. Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins rememb'red.
Most screenwriters apparently stop paying attention after the first several lines. That leaves a couple of dozen more phrases that could be mined for movie titles.
How about The Whips and Scorns of Time, the futuristic story of a man doomed to time travel? Or The Law's Delay, the tale of one man's struggle to clear his name after being imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit?
You want comedy? What about Who Would Fardels Bear? |
You want comedy? There is Who Would Fardels Bear?, a British farce about the wealthy Fardel family and their long-suffering servants. Or The Hue of Resolution, the heartwarming comedy about a young man who must overcome his natural shyness to become a celebrated artist. Or Great Pitch and Moment, the charming story of a down-on-its-luck cricket team that must win the big tournament in order to save the local pub.
But Shakespeare can do it all. Consider The Name of Action, a Steven Seagal-Sylvester Stallone team-up that pits two ex-Navy-Seals-turned-race-car-drivers against a pack of redneck militia terrorists. Or even, Soft You Now, the heartbreaking story of a young woman's struggle against a terminal illness and the emotional distress it causes her children.
That still leaves a dozen more, at least, for future generations of screenwriters before they even have to consider cracking open King Lear.
f e e d b a c k
Respond to this page by your e-mail client. Please be sure to mention the title of the article.
