War of The Words Trivia Quiz

Answer: Kenneth Branagh

Kenneth Branagh used the full text of "Hamlet", leading to an epic four hour movie, and cast every star in Hollywood. Derek Jacobi was Claudius, Kate Winslet was Ophelia, and even the cameo roles were played by the likes of Robin Williams and Gerard Depardieu.

However, in this battle, the regal Best Actor performance of Laurence Olivier makes a very good case for the earlier film as well.

Answer: Baz Luhrmann

Baz Luhrmann, known for high-stylization and wild editing, made a raucously fun movie, but on the battlefield of "words" could definitely not compete on a Shakespearean level with the rock-solid performances, text interpretation, and character choices of the Zeffirelli version.

Answer: Joss Whedon

Joss Whedon of sci-fi esteem is the director of "Firefly," "Cabin in the Woods," and other more "geeky" titles, but revealed his inner Shakespeare-aholic in his thoughtful treatment of "Much Ado About Nothing". It's a great complement to the Branagh but by no means blasts its predecessor off the field. Let's call this one a happy draw in the War of the Words.

Answer: Ian McKellen

Ian McKellen played a fascist-style Richard III in a very aggressively adapted version of the original play. It's quite different from the more classical Olivier version, and both are considered must-watches for Shakespearean cinephiles. Another draw in this War of Words?

Answer: Orson Welles

Orson Welles was "Macbeth" in 1948, a move which pre-empted such an attempt on the title by the prolific Laurence Olivier. The film was troubled, however, and this is definitely a case where the latter film made a successful attempt to supplant the prior film's status. Orson Welles, however, was quite successful as Othello and Falstaff, definitive as the latter.

Answer: Julie Taymor

Julie Taymor, designer and director of "The Lion King" on Broadway, went on to direct Shakespearean adaptations of both "Titus Andronicus" and "The Tempest". Her "Titus" is the first major adaptation of the play and a makes a case for itself as the performance to beat for this wonderful title.

Answer: Ralph Fiennes

Ralph Fiennes, perhaps best known for playing villains in "Harry Potter," the "Titans" franchise, and of course, "Schindler's List," also played the military hero Caius Marcius Coriolanus in a 2011 film. It was the first major film release of this title, which had previously only ever been done on the small screen.

The modern look, stunning performances, and gripping fight sequences make this one a major player in the filmed War of the Words.

Answer: The Tempest

"The Tempest" was done in 2010 by Julie Taymor of "Titus" fame, and took the daring risk of turning "Prospero" into "Prospera," making Shakespeare's famous wizard a woman. Helen Mirren was more than up to the task, but the film did not get the same respect of Taymor's first Shakespearean outing of "Titus". Meanwhile, Christopher Plummer also played Prospero on the Stratford, Ontario stage the same year, and the production was shown in theaters across North America and is available on DVD.

Answer: Laurence Fishburne

Laurence Fishburne played Othello in the Oliver Parker-directed movie also starring Kenneth Branagh as Iago and Irene Jacob as Desdemona. For sheer antidote-to-old-racism reasons, it became a winner on the "War of the Words" battlefield of Shakespearean cinema, but it also featured great performances and a well fleshed out world of Venice and Cyprus.

Answer: Derek Jacobi

Kenneth Branagh's "Henry V" used the chops of Derek Jacobi in the narrator role of the Chorus, and on the whole this movie posed a nice counterpoint to the more rousing pro-war Olivier version of the play, which was made during WWII and was used largely as a way to raise British morale. Branagh's movie came out in 1989 and was far more circumspect about the violence occurring throughout the storyline. And so we end on another great draw between legends in the War of the Words.