Search - Shakespeare in Love [Special Edition] on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Nudity, Questionable for Children, Sexual Situations, Suitable for Teens Movie Release: 1998 DVD Release: 12/07/1999 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Dual Layered,Special Collection Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 2 mins Studio: Miramax Members Wishing: 8 Genres: Comedy Drama, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Period Film, Showbiz Comedy See Also: Shakespeare in Love

William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) is on a cold streak. Not only is he writing for Philip Henslowe (Geoffrey Rush), owner of "The Rose," a theatre whose doors are about to be closed by sadistic creditors, but he's got a nasty case of writer's block. Shakespeare hasn't written a hit in years. In fact, he hasn't written much of anything recently. Thus, the Bard finds himself in quite a bind when Henslowe, desperate to stave off another round of hot-coals-to-feet application, stakes The Rose's solvency on Shakespeare's new comedy, "Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter." The problem is, "Romeo" is safely "locked away" in Shakespeare's head, which is to say that not a word of it is written. Meanwhile, the lovely Lady Viola (Gwyneth Paltrow) is an ardent theatre-goer -- scandalous for a woman of her breeding -- who especially admires Shakespeare's plays and, not incidentally, Bill himself. Alas, she's about to be sold as property into a loveless marriage by her mercenary father and shipped off to a Virginia tobacco plantation. But not before dressing up as a young man and winning the part of Romeo in the embryonic play. Shakespeare soon discovers the deception and goes along with it, using the blossoming love affair to ignite his muse. As William and Viola's romance grows in intensity and spirals towards its inevitable culmination, so, too, does the farcical comedy about Romeo and pirates transform into the timeless tragedy that is Romeo and Juliet. ~ Merle Bertrand, All Movie Guide

Joseph Fiennes - William Shakespeare
Gwyneth Paltrow - Viola De Lesseps
Geoffrey Rush - Philip Henslowe
Judi Dench - Elizabeth I

This Oscar-winning comedy drama about just how one of William Shakespeare's most famous plays came to be gets a rich presentation on DVD in this special edition. This release of Shakespeare in Love has been transferred to disc in letterboxed format at the widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1, which has been enhanced for anamorphic playback on 16 x 9 monitors. The English-language audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital 5.1, while a dubbed French-language track is in Dolby Digital Stereo; the disc also includes optional English-language subtitles. Bonus materials include two commentary tracks (one with director John Madden, the other with the film's cast and crew), trailers and television commercials for the film, a look at the film's award-winning costume design, a selection of deleted scenes, biographies of some of the real-life figured portrayed in the film, and more. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide