Shakespeare Movie Fest Coming to Falls Library

The Menomonee Falls Public Library will have five Shakespearean movie offerings in early December. The films chosen --- THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, ANONYMOUS and LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST---offer something for everyone, comedy and drama, and will make a Shakespeare fan out of anyone. They will be shown in the library’s Meeting/Community Room off the main lobby. Admission is free to all, based on the movie’s rating. Details are as follows:

Monday, December 3 at 2:15pm and Saturday, December 8 at 10:15am: THE TAMING OF THE SHREW (1967) Starring: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and Michael York. Poor gentleman Petruchio from Verona journeys to Padua to find a wealthy wife. He finds and marries the shrewish Katharina, making a bet that she can become the the most obedient wife. Taylor and Burton bring zing, spark, and many laughs to their roles. Directed by Franco Zeffirelli. 122 minutes, not rated.

Tuesday, December 4 at 2:15pm and 6:15pm: SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (1998) Starring: Gwyenth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes and Judi Dench. Will Shakespeare is suffering from writer’s block when he meets and falls instantly in love with Lady Viola, inspiring one of his best plays, ROMEO AND JULIET. The twist is she plays Juliet in a time when only males were seen on stage, so she pretends to be a male playing the part of a female. Directed by John Madden. Rated R, 122 minutes.

Wednesday, December 5 at 2:15pm and Saturday, December 8 at 2:15pm: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (1993) Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson and Kate Beckinsale. Two love stories intermingle, one mischievously funny and the other sweetly poignant, in Shakespeare’s sexy and sparkling comedy, from this critically acclaimed hit fraught with mistaken identity and rousingly amusing adventures. If you didn’t like Shakespeare before this play, be prepared to change your opinion! Directed by Kenneth Branagh. PG-13 , 111 minutes.

Thursday, December 6 at 2:15pm and 6:15pm: ANONYMOUS (2012) Starring: Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave and Joely Richardson. Set in the political snake-pit of Elizabethan England, Anonymous speculates on an issue that has for centuries intrigued academics and brilliant minds: who really was the author of the plays credited to William Shakespeare?. Directed by Roland Emmerich. PG-13 , 130 minutes.

Friday, December 7 at 2:15pm: LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST (2000) Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Alicia Silverstone and Nathan Lane. From Shakespeare’s play comes a 1930’s grand musical comedy. Four friends find their plan to swear off love complicated by the appearance of a beautiful visiting princess and her maids-in-waiting. Worth seeing for the soundtrack alone, featuring music from Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin and Jerome Kern. PG, 94 minutes.

For more information, check the library’s website home.mf.lib.wi.us or call Karen at 262-532-8912. Menomonee Falls Public Library, W156 N8436 Pilgrim Road, Menomonee Falls.