Bard Flies

This film club minisode tackles the most sampled movie on Bard Flies: “Shakespeare in Love,” starring (deep breath) Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Judi Dench, Colin Firth, Ben Affleck, Geoffrey Rush, Rupert Everett, Tom Wilkinson, and a coterie of other great actors. John Madden’s portrait of the starving artist as a young man tackles the big questions, including how to avoid your creditors, workshop a script, placate prima donna actors, fend off obnoxious producers, and conduct an illicit affair with a noblewoman with a penchant for the stage. Listen in to Will and James debate whether this is a faithful portrait of what makes Shakespeare great and whether it should have won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. // Credits // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “Shakespeare in Love,” dir. John Madden (1998)

Shipwrecks, women disguised as men, scolds getting their comeuppance, mismatched love matches, and twins! If you’re sensing some common themes in Shakespeare’s comedies, dear listener, you’d be correct. Yet Will and James do not find the combination becomes more charming with repetition despite the play’s reputation as one of the Bard’s best light-hearted laugh riots. In this rip-roaring lightning episode, they question whether the comedies are, as a rule, generally bad or whether it’s just them... // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “Shakespeare in Love,” dir. John Madden (1998)

...what can one say about the Melancholy Dane that hasn’t already been said? It’s the big one, the work that casts the longest shadow in all of English literature outside of the King James Bible. We quote it without thinking. It helped inspire The Lion King. And its most famous soliloquy has launched a thousand parodies. Will and James break down the epic monologues, the bloody action, the meditations on mortality, depression, mental illness, tortured love affairs, murder, suicide, conspiracy, invasion, and a savagely bloody denouement in which (spoiler alert!) everyone dies. // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “Tales from the Public Domain,” The Simpsons, dir., Mike B. Anderson (2002); “Hamlet,” feat. Kenneth Branagh, dir. Kenneth Branagh (1996); John Gielgud,“Ages of Man,” Caedmon Records (1959); “Hamlet,” feat. Clarence Smith, dir. Simon Godwin, Royal Shakespeare Company (2016); “Hamlet,” feat. Bill Murray, dir. Michael Almereyda (2000); “Hamlet,” feat. Andrew Scott, dir. Robert Icke (2017); “Hamlet,” feat. David Tennant, dir. Gregory Doran (2009)

All the world’s a stage in "As You Like It," a tale of exile, disguise, revenge, requited love, unrequited love, roleplay therapy, and illegal professional wrestling chokeholds. Will and James discuss one of Shakespeare’s most beloved heroines in the plucky Rosalind (or is it her handsome male alter ego Ganymede?), whether love is like a contagious virus, and the characters’ meanderings through the beautiful French forest of Arden. // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “Tootsie,” dir. Sydney Pollack (1982), “As You Like It,” Oregon Shakespeare Festival, dir. Don Hunter (1950), “The Seven Ages of Man,” Morgan Freeman (Date Unknown)

Cry havoc! And let slip this explosive episode of Bard Flies, in which Will and James debate the merits of the Romans vying for power in Julius Caesar -- from the dictator himself to his usurpers -- and discuss the grim, all-too-apparent parallels between the incitement of mob violence in the Shakespeare’s play and the January 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill. // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “Julius Caesar,” dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1953); “Julius Caesar,” dir. Stuart Burge (1970); “Julius Caesar,” dir. Trevor Nunn, Royal Shakespeare Company (1973); John Gielgud, “Julius Caesar, Act II, Scene 2: Ages of Man” (1959)

In the culmination of Shakespeare’s second tetralogy, the new elevated Hal has put away childish things and readies himself to conquer France after receiving dubious legal advice from his clergymen and an insulting gift of tennis balls from the Dauphin. In this episode, Will and James discuss the plethora of Henry V’s amazing speeches, which are the gold standard against which most political rhetoric falls woefully short, and how much our king has learned along the way. // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “The Darkest Hour,” dir. Joe Wright (2017); “Henry V,” dir. Kenneth Branagh (1989)

Will and James reflect on how their understanding of Shakespeare and his relevance have changed now that they're halfway through the plays. Plus, rankings mea culpas!

Will they? Won’t they? In Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice and Benedick sink their wickedly sharp wits into one another, cutting through sexual tension and the conventions that held back Shakespeare’s earlier comedies. Will and James discuss whether Much Ado is the first truly successful modern rom com and why it continues to resonate with us so much today. // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “Much Ado About Nothing,” dir. Kenneth Branagh (1993); “Much Ado About Nothing,” dir. Robert Delamere (2011)

England, Prince Hal, and John Falstaff are still a hot mess in the third part of Shakespeare’s Henriad, but maturity and the burdens of the crown are on the horizon as another rebellion materializes, King Henry falls ill, and Sir Jack feels his age while hanging around a house of ill repute. In this episode, Will and James discuss toxic friendships, the responsibilities of leadership, and why Falstaff is the equivalent of Matthew McConaughey’s character in “Dazed and Confused.” All right, all right, all right! // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “Chimes at Midnight,” dir. Orson Welles (1965); “Dazed and Confused,” dir. Richard Linklater (1993)

In this delightfully farcical and absurdly complicated comedy, Sir John Falstaff takes a break from partying with the Prince of Wales to woo two not-so-desperate housewives at the same time in the London suburb of Windsor while a Frenchman, a judge, and the boy-next-door seek to marry one of those housewives’ daughters. In their discussion of a play that some commentators allege that Shakespeare wrote at the request of Queen Elizabeth I, Will and James discuss whether it counts as a spin-off and whether or not spin-offs can succeed on their own merits. //. Credits //. Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” dir. Fiona Laird, Royal Shakespeare Company (2018); “The Simpsons Spinoff Showcase,” The Simpsons, dir. Neil Affleck (1997)