Movie musicals are having a bit of a moment right now, best illustrated by the smash success of Wicked.  Speaking as a theatrical aficionado, I couldn’t be happier.  That being said, I think it’s a bit of a shame that compared to movie musicals past and present, movies based on plays tend to fall by the wayside.  After all, where better to see capital-A Acting than with a script meant to be performed live?  If you’re interested in seeing world-class performers and great scripts, check out these movies based on plays, selected from Mead Public Library’s catalog.

Amadeus

First thing’s first: this movie’s depiction of the lives of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri isn’t remotely historically accurate.  That said, this movie’s version makes for an incredible story.  Based on a play by Peter Shaffer adapted from an even earlier play by Alexander Pushkin, this film imagines that Salieri was consumed by jealousy over Mozart’s genius.  Salieri, portrayed by F. Murray Abraham in an Oscar-winning performance, falls deeper into resentment and obsession until he finally begins to plot murder.  I have to lay all my cards on the table here: this is one of my favorite movies of all time.  It’s visually enchanting, and the performances from F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce deserve every bit of their acclaim.  I’m also a particular fan of how the soundtrack expertly weaves Mozart’s music into the intrigue.  In addition to Abraham’s Best Actor win, the film won Best Picture, Best Director, and much more at the 1985 Academy Awards.  I could go on all day, but ultimately, I simply adore this movie, and I hope you will too.

The Lion In Winter

There’s luxury casting, and then there’s Peter O’Toole, Katharine Hepburn, Anthony Hopkins, Timothy Dalton and more, in a movie where all of their characters are trying their best to emotionally devastate each other.  Peter O’Toole plays an aging King Henry II of England faced with a shaky succession.  Henry favors his youngest son, but his estranged wife Eleanor of Aquitaine (Hepburn) favors the eldest son, Richard (Hopkins).  When Eleanor is temporarily released from political imprisonment for the Christmas holiday, alliances shift, grievances are aired, and everyone acts their heart out.  If you find standard Christmas movies too saccharine and prefer to watch people be enjoyably terrible to each other, this makes for some great counterprogramming, but it’s a great watch any time of year.  Like the previous entry on this list, it also won multiple Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Katharine Hepburn.

Romeo + Juliet

I had to have a Shakespeare adaptation on here!  This film is Baz Luhrmann’s audacious modern take on the story of Romeo and Juliet.  Or at least, it’s modern by the standards of 1996.  Today, the film’s aesthetic is charmingly retro, but just as visually striking as ever.  You should absolutely believe the hype about Harold Perrineau’s performance as Mercutio.  Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Daines definitely understood the assignment of bringing the teen melodrama of Shakespeare’s text to the fore, and there’s even a brief appearance by Paul Rudd as Juliet’s rejected suitor Paris.  Some consider this movie a guilty pleasure, where others love it wholeheartedly and unironically.  Either way, it’s absolutely a watch that you’ll never forget.