This four-part series explores the life of the world's greatest and most famous writer. Mixing travel, adventure, interviews, documentary, and live action sequences with the Royal Shakespeare Company, it presents a biography of one Elizabethan: his life, family and friendships, triumphs and disasters, loves and his losses. Viewers see how Shakespeare's life and work were shaped by his times, how he created some of the greatest literature in the world,...

Six episodes combine history, biography, iconic performances, new analysis, and the personal passion of their celebrated hosts (Ethan Hawke, Jeremy Irons, Derek Jacobi, Trevor Nunn, Joely Richardson, and David Tennant) to tell the story behind the stories of Shakespeare's greatest plays.

In this BBC series, American scholar James Shapiro examines the plays Shakespeare wrote during the turbulent reign of Elizabeth's successor, King James I. One of the new king's first official acts was to name Shakespeare a king's man. Shapiro convincingly argues that the dark, complex plays of Shakespeare's last decade-King Lear, Macbeth, and The Tempest, among others-mirrored both royal life and the era's profound social changes.

In 1988, Kenneth Branagh tackled the role of Shakespeare's prince of Denmark for the first time in his professional career under the guidance of celebrated actor Derek Jacobi, considered by many to be "the best Hamlet of his generation" (New York Times). Narrated by Patrick Stewart, this hour-long film documents how these two men found new depths in Shakespeare's classic drama. Filmmakers Mark Olshaker and Larry Klein follow the Renaissance Theatre...

A Touch of Greatness is a feature-length documentary film focusing on the extraordinary work of Albert Cullum, an elementary school teacher for over twenty years and a pioneer in American education. Championing an unorthodox educational philosophy, Cullum regularly taught his elementary school children literary masterpieces, most notably the works of Shakespeare, Sophocles and Shaw. Combining interviews with Cullum and his former students with stunning...

English novelist and scientist C. P. Snow classed certain scientific ideas with the works of Shakespeare as things every educated person should know. The lectures in this series explore the fundamental discoveries and principles of the physical and biological sciences--physics, genetics, biology, astronomy, chemistry, meteorology, thermodynamics, and more--providing a comprehensive and integrated introduction to all of science. The Joy of Science,...

Celebrate Shakespeare's 400th anniversary with this hilarious comedy about the playwright's mysterious lost years. Bill Shakespeare is a hapless lute player with a big dream. When his bandmates kick him out of their group, Bill leaves his wife and kids behind to seek fame and fortune in the big city of London. He's written a great work for the stage and he's certain he'll prove all his doubters wrong.

When England's aging King Lear renounces his throne to divide his kingdom among his three daughters, treachery, madness and murder soon follow. After banishing Cordelia, his most loyal daughter, Lear is betrayed and cast out by her elder sisters Regan and Goneril. Meanwhile, evil brews at the Gloucester castle as Edgar falls victim to his brother's deception. As battle lines are drawn and backs are stabbed, Lear rages against a fearsome storm....

In the gentle streets of fair Verona, a clash of servants between the warring Montagues and Capulets sets the wheels of fate in motion. At a masked ball, the lovelorn Romeo spies the beautiful Juliet and the two soon fall madly in love, only to feel despair once their true identities are revealed. Matters worsen when Romeo slays Tybalt, a nephew of the Capulets, and is banished from the city. Only the intervention of a loyal friar and nurse can...

Who was Shakespeare? Was it really Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford? This video examines the background for this theory.