Shakespeare in Love

"Love is the only inspiration."

1998 2h 4m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 3,290

RomanceHistoryComedyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Young William Shakespeare is forced to stage his latest comedy, 'Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter', before it's even written. When lovely noblewoman Viola de Lesseps auditions for a role, they fall into forbidden love — and Shakespeare's play finds a new life (and title). As their relationship intensifies, the comedy soon transforms into tragedy.

“Love is the only inspiration.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Joseph Fiennes
Will Shakespeare
Gwyneth Paltrow
Viola De Lesseps
Geoffrey Rush
Philip Henslowe
Tom Wilkinson
Hugh Fennyman
Judi Dench
Queen Elizabeth
Imelda Staunton
Nurse
Colin Firth
Lord Wessex
Ben Affleck
Ned Alleyn

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Madden
Writers: Marc Norman, Tom Stoppard
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $289M — a 11.6× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

28 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Madden, shot by Richard Greatrex. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Stephen Warbeck. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor David Gamble shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow and Geoffrey Rush carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Love is the only inspiration.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0138097 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Madden directs. Richard Greatrex behind the camera. Stephen Warbeck scores. David Gamble cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Grossed $289M — a 11.6× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
228 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by John Madden, shot by Richard Greatrex. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Stephen Warbeck. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor David Gamble shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow and Geoffrey Rush carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Love is the only inspiration.".
8IMDB entry: tt0138097 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 11 themes, including "london, england", "theater play", "queen elizabeth i", "playwright".

The technical file

Cinematography: Richard Greatrex
Original score: Stephen Warbeck
Editing: David Gamble
Production design: Martin Childs
Costume design: Sandy Powell
Makeup / hair: Julie Dartnell
Sound: Robin O'Donoghue
Runtime: 124 min · 2h 4m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $25,000,000
Box office: $289,317,794
Return: 1157% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Shakespeare in Love (1998)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay
Academy Award for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Academy Award for Best Production Design
Academy Award for Best Costume Design

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

John Madden

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

GenerationofSwine2023-01-14
★ 1/10
Does anyone remember this? I do, but only because its what turned me off of the Oscars. Haven't watched them since. It was the rude awakening that they were fixed, the quality of the film didn't matter as much as the bribes. It beat Saving Private Ryan for best picture. And then it beat Bulworth for best screen play. That was sort of enough to turn my head. Both of them? Bulworth was far from best picture worthy, but best original screenplay seemed as much as a shoe in as Ryan for Best Picture. And then it went on to win Best score over Mulan, A Bug's Life, and Prince of Egypt which is curious because it didn't really fit the criteria for Musical or Comedy Score as much as it's competition. And then now, looking back, who remembers it? If it's remembered at all, it's remembered for beating Saving Private Ryan, which has become a classic. Shakespeare in Love is just remembered for it's sweep of the awards, both at the Oscars and beyond, but not for its quality.
CinemaSerf2023-08-28
★ 7/10
Set during the later reign of Engand's Queen Elizabeth, this joyful drama sees poor old William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) having a bit of a creative drought. Lacking ideas and cash, and being pursued by both Richard Burbage (Martin Clunes) and the wonderfully dead pan Geoffrey Rush as Philip Henslowe for work he's supposed to have already penned, things are looking a bit bleak. When Gwyneth Paltrow, an ardent theatre fan prohibited from taking to the stage by virtue of her sex, dresses as "Thomas Kent" and auditions for a part, he sees through the disguise quickly and his creative juices once again begin to flow... Snag is, she "Viola de Lesseps" is engaged to the poverty stricken "Lord Wessex" (Colin Firth) and Virginia bound - as soon as he can raise the dowry from her father... What ensues is a rapid-fire, lightly comical, romantic drama that sees quite a collection of acting talents contributing well to the ensemble effect of this story. Fiennes shines as the playwright in trouble - frequently - as do Paltrow, Rush, a surprisingly effective Ben Affleck, Imelda Staunton as her worldly-wise nurse with Jim Carter as the onstage version of that persona and Barnaby Kay as the mischievous little "Nol". The costumes and sets are magnificent; the writing from Marc Norman and the newly knighted Sir Tom Stoppard is witty and stimulating - cleverly incorporating quite a bit of the original bard's efforts into their screenplay as they go. It would have been easily possible for this embarrassment of acting riches to have overwhelmed this story, but John Madden keeps all pulling well in the same direction. The film will doubtless be remembered more as Dame Judi Dench's consolation Oscar (for not winning for "Mrs. Brown" the year earlier), and as far as they go her performances are fine - but there is much more to this story of the trials and tribulations of a bard in love. A wee bit long, it seems to end more than once, but it is still a story the eponymous writer himself might well have enjoyed.