The Best 90s Screen Adaptations of Shakespeare, Ranked / Emily Temple in: LitHub April 23, 2018

Remember when Hollywood was obsessed with bringing updated Shakespeare plays and literary classics to the big screen—instead of just chewing over old franchises until they become gray and grainy, like gum? Oh yes. I’m talking about the 1990s. A lot of adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays graced our screens in the grungiest decade, and most of them were actually pretty good! Or at the very least, I think of them fondly—besides, everyone knows there’s a different standard for quality when you loved something as a teenager, and also when it was the 90s—and below, I’ve ranked some of the most memorable.
Now, before you start in on the omissions: I know The Lion King was inspired by Hamlet, but it’s not credibly an adaptation. Same goes for Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead—and I’d argue that My Own Private Idaho is too loose and expansive to really count (and most of the Henry IV stuff is around Keanu Reeves and his character). Ethan Hawke’s Hamlet, alas, came out in 2000. And it may be a fool’s errand to rank teen rom-com updates alongside unabridged, four-hour Shakespearean-language tragedies, but what the hell—Shakespeare loved fools. ... [mehr] https://lithub.com/the-best-90s-screen-adaptations-of-shakespeare-ranked/

12 Let the Devil Wear Black, dir. Stacey Tile (1999)
11 Hamlet, dir. Franco Zeffirelli (1990)
10 Othello, dir. Oliver Parker (1995)
9 O, dir. Tim Blake Nelson (2001)
8 Titus, dir. Julie Taymor (1999)
7 A Midsummer Night’s Dream, dir. Michael Hoffman (1999)
6 Twelfth Night, dir. Trevor Nunn (1996)
5 Much Ado About Nothing, dir. Kenneth Branagh (1993)
4 10 Things I Hate About You, dir. Gil Junger (1999)
3 Richard III, dir. Richard Loncraine (1995)
2 Romeo + Juliet, dir. Baz Luhrmann (1996)
1 Hamlet, dir. Kenneth Branagh (1996)