The Film of the Play

William Shakespeare's script + Gun Porn = commercial and critical success.

A film which is an adaptation of a theatre play. Screen-to-Stage Adaptation is the inversion.

Even easier than The Film of the Book. The dialogue is already written, so you do not need a scriptwriter. If you are lucky enough, the actors who played it on stage will accept to play it on screen, so you do not need a casting call and the actors will know their text better than any film director could imagine.

Yet, there are some drawbacks: in theatre plays, the dialogue is essential, too essential for a movie which will often seem too verbose. Theatre play adaptations also tend to be very static, because, in a play, the action happens in a very limited number of places (for obvious reasons). Consequently, these films are more likely to be a Bottle Episode or make use of Minimalism, Minimalist Cast and The Oner than other movies because of the technical limitations of stage plays.

Running time is the most frequent difference between a play and its movie. While not a hard limit, it is rare to see a film over 3 hours. Many plays exceed this (unabridged Hamlet can run for over 4 hours) and their film adaptations are usually cut to fit into this length. Even if the play clocks in at 3 hours or so cuts may be made to make room for establishing shots if the elimination of transitions doesn't create enough time.

Unlike books and other media adaptations, plays often get made into films multiple times. This is perhaps due to their nature as blueprints for storytelling rather than realized works on their own.

In order to get around the common drawbacks of adaptations of theatre plays (verbosity, lack of action...), there is another approach. These adaptations will use the plot of a theatre play, but will change the setting and completely rewrite the dialogue. The works of William Shakespeare are a frequent target of this kind of adaptation. Alternatively, an adaptation may retain the plot and general setting, but expand the action, with events described in dialogue in the play due to the limitations of what can be seen on stage directly depicted in the film.

Popular stage musicals are also frequently adapted into films. Almost all movie musicals made after the studio era are examples of this.

Sister Trope of The Film of the Book (adaptations of a book into a film), The Film of the Series and The Movie (adaptations of a TV series into a film). Inversion of Screen-to-Stage Adaptation. Might overlap with The Bard on Board (loose adaptations of William Shakespeare's works to any kind of media).

In the lists below "Production" means a the play was performed without significant change to its dialog (usually just abridgement), an "Adaptation" means the play's basic plot is present, but the dialog has been replaced.

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Film Productions of William Shakespeare's plays:

As befits his position as one of the most important authors of the English language and arguably the world, Shakespeare's plays were among the first to find their way to film, with some being adapted for silent film. There's a lot of Kenneth Branagh productions listed here as he seems intent on committing all of Shakespeare's plays to film. Productions are listed by year and then director in the list below:

• Hamlet
  • 1948: Laurence Olivier
  • 1964: Grigori Kozintsev
  • 1969: Tony Richardson
  • 1990: Franco Zeffirelli's production stars Mel Gibson and had a realistic medieval setting.
  • 1996: Kenneth Branagh's take is notable for being unabridged, something that's rare even on the stage itself, leading to a four-hour-long rendition. It is also notable for its Edwardian Setting Update, particularly the costumes for which it received an Oscar nomination. It received an amusing Take That! in Blackadder Back and Forth:
    Blackadder: [kicking Shakespeare in the shin] And that is for Ken Branagh's endless uncut four-hour version of Hamlet!
    Shakespeare: Who's Ken Branagh?
    Blackadder: I'll tell him you said that. And I think he'll be very hurt.
  • 2000: Michael Almereyda's 2000 retelling uses the conceit of a "Denmark Inc." and sets the play in the current day.
• Henry V
  • 1944: Laurence Olivier, done as a wartime propaganda piece.
  • 1989: Kenneth Branagh, done as a Darker and Edgier and much less gung-ho version.
• Julius Caesar
  • 1950: David Bradley: Starring Charlton Heston.
  • 1953: Joseph L. Mankiewicz: Starring James Mason, Marlon Brando and John Gielgud.
  • 1970: Stuart Burge: Starring Charlton Heston again, plus Jason Robards and John Gielgud again.
• Macbeth
  • 2015: Justin Kurzel.
  • 2010: Rupert Goold's production stars Patrick Stewart in a Setting Update that makes him the dictator of a vaguely Eastern European country, with the three witches replaced by three creeptastic nurses.
  • 2021 Joel Cohen.
• A Midsummer Night's Dream
  • 1935: Max Reinhardt and William Dieterle. A Hollywood spectacle with an All-Star Cast, notably including James Cagney as Bottom, Olivia de Havilland in her first major role as Hermia, and Mickey Rooney as Puck.
  • 1999: Michael Hoffman's production changes the setting to late Victorian England. The ensemble cast features Kevin Kline as Bottom, Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Everett as Titania and Oberon, Stanley Tucci as Puck, and Calista Flockhart, Anna Friel, Christian Bale, and Dominic West as the four lovers.
  • 1913: Pillips Smalley - this was a silent film.
• Much Ado About Nothing
  • 1993: Kenneth Branagh.
  • 2012: Joss Whedon, modern-dress but using original Shakespeare dialogue.
• Richard III
  • 1955: Laurence Olivier directed and starred whose performance in the title role has become a Stock Shout-Out.
  • 1995: Richard Loncraine. Ian McKellen starred as Richard in a Setting Update that makes him progressively become the dictator of a vaguely English country.
• Romeo and Juliet may be the most filmed script of all time.
  • 1929: Georges Méliès - This production was a silent film where actors recited their lines live.
  • 1936: George Cukor
  • 1954: Renato Castellani
  • 1968: Franco Zeffirelli
  • 1996: Baz Luhrmann. famous for being set in modern times and made to appeal to the MTV generation.
• The Taming of the Shrew:
  • 1929: Sam Taylor. The first talkie film adaptation of a Shakespeare play starring real-life couple Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. Notable for heavily reslanting the play to suggest that Katherine is not really "tamed" at all. Also notorious for the much-mocked writing credit "Based on William Shakespeare's comedy... with additional dialogue by Sam Taylor".
• Titus Andronicus
  • Titus: Julie Taymor

Adaptations of William Shakespeare's theatre plays:

• 10 Things I Hate About You: A 1999 Setting Update adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew.
• The Bad Sleep Well: Akira Kurosawa's loose (very loose) adaptation of Hamlet, featuring a Setting Update to postwar Japan.
• Forbidden Planet: A 1956 SF film with notable similarities of concept and characterisation to The Tempest.
• The Lion King: It is loosely based on Hamlet and the sequels, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and The Lion King 1 ½, are loosely based on Romeo and Juliet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (a play by Tom Stoppard which is a Perspective Flip of Hamlet), respectively.
• My Own Private Idaho: This film is very loosely based on Henry IV, and has some dialog retained from the play despite having a fairly different plot.
• "O": An adaptation of Othello set in a high-school basketball team.
• Othello: 1951 Orson Welles adaptation that won a Palme d'Or.
• Prospero's Books: An avant-garde adaptation of The Tempest by Peter Greenaway, notable for lavish spectacle via groundbreaking early use of digital editing and CGI, John Gielgud as Prospero lip-synching all the other characters' dialogue as well as his own, and vast amounts of non-fanservice nudity.
• Ran: Akira Kurosawa's adaptation of King Lear, placed in a Jidaigeki setting.
• She's the Man: A Setting Update of Twelfth Night.
• Throne of Blood: Akira Kurosawa's film is an adaptation of Macbeth with a Setting Update to a Jidaigeki setting.
• West Side Story (1961): A 1961 film adaptation of a 1957 Broadway musical, which is itself a Setting Update adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.
• West Side Story (2021): The 2021 remake of a 1961 film adaptation of a 1957 Broadway musical, which is itself a Setting Update adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.

Adaptations and productions of other theatre plays:

• Abe Lincoln in Illinois: A 1940 adaption of the 1938 play by Robert Sherwood.
• Agnes of God: A 1985 adaptation of the 1979 play by John Pielmeier.
• Alfie: A 1966 adaptation of the 1963 play by Bill Naughton. Remade as a 2004 film.
• Androcles and the Lion: A 1952 adaptation of the 1912 play by George Bernard Shaw.
• Are You Being Served?: A 1977 adaptation of the 1976 play based on the series of the same name.
• Arsenic and Old Lace: A 1944 faithful adaptation of a 1939 play by Joseph Kesselring.
• August: Osage County: It is a 2013 adaptation of a 2007 play by Tracy Letts with an all-star cast headlined by Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep.
• The Balcony: A 1963 adaptation of the 1957 play by Jean Genet.
• Barefoot in the Park: Neil Simon's 1963 comedy was adapted to film in 1967.
• The Beast of War: A 1988 adaptation of the play Nanawatai.
• Bell, Book and Candle: A 1958 adaptation of the 1950 play.
• Biloxi Blues: A 1988 adaptation of the 1984 play by Neil Simon.
• Bus Stop: A 1956 adaptation of the 1955 play by William Inge.
• Cactus Flower: A 1969 adaptation of the 1965 play.
• California Suite: A 1978 adaptation of the 1976 play by Neil Simon.
• Carnage: A 2011 faithful adaptation of the 2006 play God of Carnage.
• Casablanca: The 1942 movie is an interesting case. It's an adaptation of Murray Burnett and Joan Alison's Everybody Comes to Rick's, which was unproduced, but had to be censored to please The Hays Code.
• Children of a Lesser God: A 1986 adaptation of the 1979 play.
• El Cid: 1961 film heavily based off the 1637 French stage play Le Cid by Pierre Corneille.
• Closer: The 2004 adaptation of a 1997 play starring Clive Owen, Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts and Jude Law.
• Conduct Unbecoming: A 1975 adaptation of the 1969 play.
• The Country Girl: A 1954 adaptation of the 1950 play.
• Cyrano de Bergerac:
  • Roxanne: A 1987 adaptation starring Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah that moves the setting to a modern suburb in the American northwest.
  • Cyrano de Bergerac: The 1990 film starring Gérard Depardieu, Vincent Perez and Anne Brochet is the best known and most lavish adaptation of the seminal Edmond Rostand play.
  • Cyrano is The Film of The Musical of The Play.
• Dear Evan Hansen: A 2020 adaptation of the 2015 stage musical.
• Deathtrap: The 1982 adaptation of Ira Levin's 1978 play.
• The Dinner Game: A 1998 faithful adaptation of the 1993 play of the same name by Francis Veber (who also directed the film). Jacques Villeret takes up again his stage role.
• Doubt: A 2008 adaptation of the 2005 play.
• Dracula: The classic 1931 Universal Horror film was adapted from the 1927 Broadway version of Hamilton Deane's 1924 play, with Bela Lugosi reprising his stage role. The 1977 Broadway revival was likewise adapted into the 1979 film.
• Educating Rita: A 1983 adaptation of a 1980 play, scripted by the play's writer Willy Russell. The film has heavy Adaptation Expansion, as the original play was a two-hander set in one room, while the film has a much larger cast and variety of settings, directly depicting many events that are reported second-hand in the play.
• Family Resemblances: A 1996 faithful adaptation of the 1994 play of the same name. The cast of the film is the same as the one of the play.
• Fences: A 2016 film based on the 1985 play, featuring much of the same cast as the 2010 Broadway revival, including Denzel Washington and Viola Davis.
• A Few Good Men: A 1992 film adapted by its screenwriter Aaron Sorkin from his own play, which was first produced on Broadway by David Brown in 1989.
• The Field: A 1990 film adaptation of the 1965 play.
• The Front Page (1931) and His Girl Friday: Adaptations of the 1928 play The Front Page by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. The second one performs a Gender Flip on the protagonist and their fiance.
• Glengarry Glen Ross: David Mamet's 1984 play was adapted into a 1992 film.
• Harvey: The 1944 play by Mary Chase was adapted into a 1950 film starring Jimmy Stewart and a 1996 TV movie starring Harry Anderson.
• Having Wonderful Time: A 1938 film adaptation of the 1937 play.
• Holiday: A 1938 film adaptation of the 1928 play of the same name (which was previously filmed in 1930).
• Inherit the Wind: The 1955 play was adapted by Stanley Kramer into a 1960 film starring Spencer Tracy and Fredric March.
• Innocent: The miniseries of the 2008 play "Bayrak" ("Flag") by Berkun Oya, who also penned the screen adaptation.
• I Remember Mama: A 1948 adaptation of the 1944 play by John Van Druten.
• Irma la Douce: A 1963 adaptation of the 1956 French musical play.
• Jeffrey: A 1995 film adaptation of the 1992 play by Paul Rudnick.
• Jezebel: A 1938 film adaptation of the 1933 play by Owen Davis.
• Key Largo: A Film Noir billed as an adaptation of a 1939 Broadway blank verse play of the same name, by Maxwell Anderson. But it's an In Name Only adaptation.
• The Killing of Sister George: A 1968 film adaptation of the 1964 play of the same name.
• Kim's Convenience is a rare TV series example of this, based on a 2011 play of the same name.
• La Cage aux folles: The 1978 film with its two sequels (plus, by extension, the 1996 American remake, The Birdcage), and the 1983 Broadway musical were all adapted from Jean Poiret's 1973 play of the same name.
• Lantana: a 2001 film based on Andrew Bovell's Speaking in Tongues, adapted by Bovell himself.
• Lenny: A 1974 adaptation of the 1971 play by Julian Barry.
• The Lion in Winter: A 1968 film adaptation of the 1966 play.
• Long Day's Journey Into Night: A 1962 film adaptation of the 1956 play by Eugene O'Neill.
• Luv: A 1967 adaptation of the 1964 play.
• A Man for All Seasons: A 1966 adaptation of Robert Bolt's 1960 play.
• Middle of the Night: A 1959 adaptation of the 1956 play by Paddy Chayefsky (itself adapted from 1954 teleplay of the same name).
• Midnight Lace: A 1960 adaptation of the 1958 play Matilda Shouted Fire.
• Miss Julie: A 2014 faithful adaptation of August Strindberg's Miss Julie.
• Mister Roberts: The 1948 play (itself adapted from the 1946 novel) was made into a 1955 film with Henry Fonda reprising his stage role.
• Mourning Becomes Electra: A 1947 film adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's 1931 play.
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding: The film is an adaptation of a one-woman play written by and starring Nia Vardalos.
• 'night, Mother: Marsha Norman's 1983 two-woman play was adapted into a 1986 film starring Sissy Spacek and Anne Bancroft.
• The Night of the Iguana: A 1964 film adaptation of the 1961 play by Tennessee Williams.
• Noises Off: A 1992 adaptation with an All-Star Cast which moved the setting to the United States and added a framing story as the director (played by Michael Caine) fled the Broadway premiere, sure that it would be a disaster.
• The Odd Couple: A 1968 adaptation of the 1965 play by its author Neil Simon, with Walter Matthau reprising his role as Oscar Madison. A sequel was released in 1998. Also adapted into a highly regarded sitcom in 1970, which itself was remade several times, most recently in 2015.
• Oscar: A 1967 faithful adaptation of the 1958 play of the same name. Louis de Funès played his role on stage before playing it in the film.
• Other People's Money: A 1991 film adaptation of the 1989 play of the same name.
• Most of Tyler Perry's Madea movies and quite a few of the others are based on his plays.
• The Philadelphia Story: A 1940 film adaptation of the 1939 play of the same name.
• Picnic: A 1955 film adaptation of the 1953 play by William Inge.
• Plaza Suite: A 1971 film adaptation of the 1968 play by Neil Simon.
• Please Turn Over: A 1959 film adaptation of the play Book of the Month.
• Prelude to a Kiss: A 1992 film adaptation of the 1988 play of the same name.
• The Prince and the Showgirl: A 1957 film adaptation of the 1953 play The Sleeping Prince.
• The Ritz: Terrence McNally's 1975 Farce set at a gay bathhouse became an early attempt by a major studio to do a gay-themed film in 1976, with Richard Lester directing McNally's own screenplay adaptation, featuring most of the Broadway cast, including Tony winner Rita Moreno.
• Rope: Alfred Hitchcock's 1948 film is an adaptation of the 1929 play by the same name.
• Sabrina: A 1954 adaptation of the 1953 play Sabrina Fair. Remade in 1995.
• Shirley Valentine: A heavily expanded 1989 film based on a 1986 play.
• The Shop Around the Corner: A 1940 adaptation of the 1937 Hungarian play Parfumerie, later adapted into In the Good Old Summertime (1949) and You've Got Mail (1998).
• A Shot in the Dark: The second film in the Pink Panther series was loosely adapted from a 1961 play of the same name.
• Six Degrees of Separation: John Guare's 1990 play was adapted into a 1993 film.
• Sleuth: The 1972 film is a faithful adaptation by Anthony Shaffer of his 1970 play, while the 2007 remake takes considerable liberties.
• A Slight Case of Murder: A 1938 film adaptation of the 1935 play.
• A Soldier's Story: A 1984 film adaptation of the 1982 play A Soldier's Play.
• Stage Door: A 1937 film adaptation of the 1936 play.
• Stalag 17: A 1953 film adaptation of the 1951 play.
• The Strawberry Blonde: A 1941 film adaptation of the 1933 play One Sunday Afternoon, which was also filmed under its original title in 1933 and 1948.
• A Streetcar Named Desire: The 1951 movie directed by Elia Kazan and starring Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando is an adaptation of a 1947 play by Tennessee Williams.
• Street Scene: A 1931 film adaptation of the 1929 play by Elmer Rice.
• The Subject Was Roses: The 1964 play by Frank Gilroy was adapted into a 1968 film.
• Suddenly, Last Summer: The 1959 film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz is an adaptation of the 1958 play by Tennessee Williams.
• Summer of the Seventeenth Doll: Ray Lawler's 1955 play was adapted into a 1959 film.
• Summertime: A 1955 film adaptation of the 1952 play The Time of the Cuckoo.
• The Sunshine Boys: A 1975 adaptation of the 1972 play by Neil Simon.
• Swing High, Swing Low: A 1937 film adaptation of the 1927 play Burlesque.
• The Teahouse of the August Moon : A 1956 film adaptation of the 1953 play (itself based on a 1951 novel).
• That Championship Season: The 1972 play was adapted into a 1982 feature film and a 1999 Made-for-TV Movie.
• A Thousand Clowns: A 1965 adaptation of the 1962 play by Herb Gardner.
• Torch Song Trilogy: 1988 film where Harvey Fierstein starred in an adaptation of his acclaimed 1982 Broadway production, which was actually a cycle of three plays (with the same characters) meant to be performed together. In adapting them for the screenplay, Fierstein condensed them into a single narrative.
• Venus in Fur: A 2013 faithful adaptation of the 2010 play of the same name.
• Watch Your Stern: A 1960 film adaptation of the play Something About a Sailor.
• The Whale: A 2022 film adaptation of the 2012 play by Samuel D. Hunter.
• The Whales of August: A 1987 film adaptation of the 1980 play of the same name.
• What's in a Name?: A 2012 faithful adaptation of the 2010 play of the same name. The cast of the film is nearly the same as the one of the play.
• Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?: Edward Albee's 1962 play was adapted into a 1966 film directed by Mike Nichols.
• Robert Altman specialized in these in The '80s, directing film adaptations of Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean; Secret Honor; Streamers; Fool for Love (starring its playwright, Sam Shepard); and Beyond Therapy.

Adaptations and productions of stage musicals:

• Annie (1982) and Annie (2014): Two film adaptations of the 1977 stage musical, which is itself an adaptation of a comic strip, Little Orphan Annie.
• The Boy Friend: A 1971 film starring Twiggy, adapted from the 1954 stage musical.
• Carmen Jones: A 1954 film adaptation of the 1948 musical.
• Cats: Based on the 1981 musical (which itself is based on 1939 book of poems, the 2019 Cats film tries to make a more coherent narrative than the source.
• Chicago: A 2002 adaptation of the 1975 musical which went on to with Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
• A Chorus Line: A 1985 film adaptation of the 1975 musical.
• Fanny: A 1961 non-musical film based on the 1954 stage musical of the same title, which is itself based on Marcel Pagnol's "Marseille Trilogy", which is made of two theater plays that were adapted into films and one film that was adapted into a play.
• The Fantasticks: An adaptation directed by Michael Ritchie and starring Joel Grey was filmed in 1995 but not released until 2000.
• Funny Girl: A 1968 film adaptation of the 1964 musical.
• Greatest Days: A 2023 film adaptation of the 2017 stage musical.
• Gypsy: Had a 1962 film adaptation starring Rosalind Russell and Natalie Wood.
• Hairspray (2007): The 2007 film is an adaptation of the 2002 stage musical, which is itself an adaptation of a 1988 film.
• Hello, Dolly!: A 1969 film version of the 1964 musical.
• How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying: A 1967 film adaptation of the 1961 musical.
• Into the Woods: The 2014 Disney adaptation of the Sondheim stage musical.
• The Last Five Years: 2015 film adaptation of The Last Five Years.
• Kiss Me, Kate: A double-level example. A 1953 film version of a 1948 musical, which was itself a partial adaptation of a Shakespeare play, as it is set in a theatre production of The Taming of the Shrew in which the two main characters are playing Katherine and Petruchio and have an analogous off-stage relationship.
• Little Shop of Horrors: A 1986 adaptation of a 1982 play, which was itself based on a 1960 film.
• Mame: A 1974 film adaptation of the 1966 musical.
• Mamma Mia!: The 2008 film is a close adaptation of the 1999 jukebox musical. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is a sequel to the first film, and is thus also based on the musical.
• Les Misérables (2012): A 2012 adaptation of the 1980 musical by the same name, which is itself an adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables.
• The Music Man: The 1957 musical has been adapted into a 1962 feature film and a 2003 made-for-TV movie.
• My Fair Lady: A 1964 film version of a 1956 stage musical, which was itself based on the 1913 non-musical play Pygmalion.
• Oh! What a Lovely War: A 1969 film adaptation of the 1963 stage musical.
• Oliver!: A 1968 film adaptation of the 1960 musical.
• On a Clear Day You Can See Forever: A 1970 film adaptation of the 1965 musical.
• Paint Your Wagon: 1969 film loosely based on the 1951 musical.
• The Phantom of the Opera (2004): This film, not to be confused with the original silent film or any other of the many, many film versions of the story, is a 2004 adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber stage musical, which was itself an adaptation of the eponymous French novel by Gaston Leroux.
• The Producers: The 2005 film is an adaptation of the 2001 musical, which was itself an adaptation of the original film from 1968.
• Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical: 2022 film adaptation of the 2010 musical Matilda (which itself is an adaptation of the 1988 book Matilda).
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show: A 1975 film adaptation of the 1973 stage musical The Rocky Horror Show.
• The Sound of Music: The film was adapted from the Rogers and Hammerstein musical by the same name. The plot is fairly similar in both, although the movie cuts out some songs and a subplot involving a Romantic False Lead for Captain von Trapp.
• Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: It is based on the Sondheim musical of the same name, which was based on a theater play, the Christopher Bond version of the legendary story of an English barber.
• Sweet Charity: A 1969 film adaptation of the 1966 musical.
• tick, tick... BOOM!: A 2021 film adaptation of the 2001 musical.
• West Side Story (1961) and West Side Story (2021): Both films adapted from the 1957 musical.
• Zoot Suit: A 1981 film adaptation of the 1979 musical drama.

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