ABSTRACT
On screen as well as on stage, Shakespeare in Continental Europe is usually Shakespeare without his language. There are minor compensations for this grievous but unavoidable loss: those who watch a Shakespeare play filmed in their own language can fully understand every passage of the new, contemporary text, whereas the average Anglophone spectator may have major difficulties with the Elizabethan English of the original. Moreover, the use of modern translations facilitates that contamination between Shakespearean lines and newly scripted material which often characterizes films based on the plays. But why should European directors choose to adapt, appropriate, or reference a Shakespeare play? The answer can be found in a combination of artistic, political, and marketing reasons.
