Shakespeare in Love (1998) poster
Poster: TMDB
FilmR1998

Shakespeare in Love

RomanceHistoryComedyDrama

Young William Shakespeare is forced to stage his latest comedy, 'Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter', before it's even written. When lovely noblewoman Viola de Lesseps auditions for a role, they fall into forbidden love — and Shakespeare's play finds a new life (and title). As their relationship intensifies, the comedy soon transforms into tragedy. From TMDB

227 reactions from 4 sources (Bluesky, Mastodon, TMDB reviews, Lemmy) · newest Oct 9, 2026 · last updated Oct 11, 2026 · How this works

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TMDB reviews *110
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The People
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Reactions

60 of 227 · most liked first
  • A L I E N Cerny @alancerny.bsky.socialBluesky · Nov 30, 2025

    Re: Tom Stoppard - I know that most everyone feels that SAVING PRIVATE RYAN was robbed of an Oscar by SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE. You can think what you like; I’m not a fan of this debate in general, and I’m a Spielberg guy. But dismissing SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE is wrong. It’s a great movie.

    positive · AI labelView post →
  • Tom Reagan’s Witch’s Hat @rufustsuperfly.bsky.socialBluesky · Mar 16, 2025

    Weinstein, of course, made such edgy, non-mainstream movies without stars like The English Patient, Shakespeare in Love, Good Will Hunting & Scary Movie 1-5

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  • Mark Harris @markharris.bsky.socialBluesky · Nov 29, 2025

    Stoppard also had a huge (and largely unchronicled) film legacy. Obviously, just the work for which he was credited--Shakespeare in Love, Empire of the Sun, Brazil--is major, but he was also one of the most in-demand rewriters, fixers, and polishers in movies. We still don't know everything he did.

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  • Sophie @sofiainlondon09.bsky.socialBluesky · Dec 15, 2024

    Fernanda Montenegro in "Central do Brasil" losing the Best Actress Oscar to Gwyneth Paltrow in "Shakespeare in Love" might have been one of the most shocking film awards of my entire life. SHOCKING. I'm still not over it. 😩😩😩

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  • Benjamin Dreyer @bcdreyer.socialBluesky · Apr 10, 2026

    Shakespeare in Love is a considerably better film than Saving Private Ryan.

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  • Sam “The Great Pumpkin” Thielman @samthielman.comBluesky · Jan 26, 2025

    My hottest movie take remains that Shakespeare in Love is a much better film than Saving Private Ryan

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  • Sam “The Great Pumpkin” Thielman @samthielman.comBluesky · Nov 29, 2025

    Very sorry to hear about Tom Stoppard. He was easily the most brilliant conservative artist alive yesterday; I can’t imagine his equal. He complicated my ideas about politics. Arcadia and Travesties are perfect and Shakespeare in Love is still a better movie than Saving Private Ryan.

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  • Matt Colville? @mattcolville.bsky.socialBluesky · Nov 30, 2025

    Simply one of the best writers in the English language of the last 100 years. No equal. So many things I loved had his fingerprints all over it. You want my hot take? Shakespeare In Love was the best movie that came out that year. It wasn't close.

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  • Jeremy Williams @jerqwills.bsky.socialBluesky · Aug 28, 2026

    This week's last 4 Shakespeare in Love (1998) St. Ives (1976) Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) The Unborn (1991) #letterboxdfriday #letterboxd #lastfourwatched #filmsky

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  • Benjamin Dreyer @bcdreyer.socialBluesky · Aug 6, 2024

    Shakespeare in Love is the better film.

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  • PBS News @pbsnews.orgBluesky · Nov 29, 2025

    ... when a relative told him that all four of his Jewish grandparents had been murdered by Nazis. He also won a screenwriting Oscar for the 1998 film “Shakespeare in Love.”

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  • Jessica Ellis @baddestmamajama.bsky.socialBluesky · Jan 12, 2025

    Shakespeare in Love film club time!! Excited to be here, please post along with us with the hashtag #SiL

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  • Sean T. Collins @seantcollins.comBluesky · Mar 11, 2024

    It's not worth getting big mad that Oppenheimer, a fine film and Nolan's best (only good?) movie, won a bunch of awards even if better films were made and nominated last year. I'm happy any time the Academy even hits the dartboard. I remember Shakespeare in Love

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  • christhebarker @christhebarker.bsky.socialBluesky · Apr 30, 2026

    SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (1965) #lostfilmsofhollywood linkly.link/2hi5J @quantick.bsky.social

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  • Jessica Ellis @baddestmamajama.bsky.socialBluesky · Nov 29, 2025

    Oh god. A sublime writer. R&G is perfection, Arcadia is exquisite, and Shakespeare in Love remains the best movie about WS ever made. Safe travels, Tom.

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  • cakemittens @cakemittens.bsky.socialBluesky · Feb 26, 2024

    A man goes to the doctor. “Doctor, I’m depressed." The doctor says “Check out the Academy Award winning feature film Shakespeare in Love. Gwyneth Paltrow gets her tits out."

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  • Cinefeast33 (demon version) 📽📺📚 @cinefeast33.bsky.socialBluesky · Dec 9, 2025

    Happy Birthday, legend Judi Dench, 12/9/34. Degenerative eye sight keeps her sidelined, but impressive body of theater, TV & film endures. 8 Oscar nods 97 Mrs Brown 98 Shakespeare in Love (win) 00 Chocolat 01 Iris 05 Mrs Henderson Presents 06 Notes on a Scandal 13 Philomena 21 Belfast #filmsky 📽

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  • laura olin @lauraolin.bsky.socialBluesky · Nov 29, 2025

    It’s unfortunate that Shakespeare In Love is tainted by the Weinstein association but it’s still a gem of a (Stoppard-written) movie.

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  • Alan Dorich @whatalanwatches.bsky.socialBluesky · Nov 30, 2025

    You are correct. SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE is an excellently written film. Tom Stoppard also co-wrote BRAZIL and did uncredited work on SLEEPY HOLLOW, so he deserves everyone's respect as far as I'm concerned. Godspeed, sir.

    positive · AI labelView post →
  • Corey Atad @coreyatad.comBluesky · Jan 12, 2026

    Saving Private Ryan, a widely misunderstood film, deserved Best Picture over Shakespeare in Love, and maybe even The Thin Red Line

    negative · AI labelView post →
  • Bridget-tattooed miscreant @bridgetaugust.bsky.socialBluesky · Feb 8, 2025

    Shakespeare in Love-my favorite movie

    positive · AI labelView post →
  • John Shirley @johnshirley2024.bsky.socialBluesky · Nov 29, 2025

    He also co-wrote the freewheeling dystopian Terry Gilliam film Brazil (1985) and won an Academy Award for the screenplay of 1998 film Shakespeare In Love.

    neutral · AI labelView post →
  • Louisa @louisathelast.bsky.socialBluesky · Jul 10, 2024

    We keep saying “I too enjoyed the film Ever After/A Knight’s Tale/Shakespeare in Love/etc”

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  • THE NERVE @thenerve.newsBluesky · Jan 10, 2026

    Review of the Week: Hamnet Chloé Zhao’s Bard drama with its powerhouse lead performance from Jessie Buckley is hotly tipped for success. But is it just a deluxe version of Shakespeare in Love? writes @ellenejones.bsky.social www.thenerve.news/p/review-ham...

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  • medicinetacklebox.bsky.social @medicinetacklebox.bsky.socialBluesky · Jun 15, 2026

    Not only was Saving Private Ryan a better and more historically significant film, the main reason Shakespeare in Love won Best Picture was because Harvey Weinstein went on a behind-the-scenes awards campaign for the film. Yes. *That* Harvey Weinstein

    negative · AI labelView post →
  • 🍺Donald Clarke 🎥 @donaldclarke.bsky.socialBluesky · Aug 2, 2026

    Watching SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE on telly. A really good film that many people online inexplicably think is a really bad film.

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  • Julie 🎃👻🎶 @juliemch.bsky.socialBluesky · Nov 8, 2025

    #NovemberMovieChallenge #MovieSky Day 8. An author in a movie. Shakespeare In Love (1998)

    neutral · AI labelView post →
  • Will Tosh @willtosh.bsky.socialBluesky · Feb 28, 2025

    What fun to go to the movies with Jason and get AWFULLY nitpicky about Shakespeare in Love - a film which I still adore, despite everything.

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  • sarah margaret @sarahmargs.bsky.socialBluesky · Jul 2, 2024

    one time on twitter i was talking to someone about r-rated movies and i mentioned that the first one i saw was Shakespeare in Love "which in hindsight is funny because it was so tame" and then a random person showed up to yell at me bc the first r-rated movie THEY saw gave them trauma

    neutral · AI labelView post →
  • Missy Opposes Fascism 🦋🇺🇦🇵🇸🇬🇱🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🍂 @fangirling0nly.bsky.socialBluesky · Mar 19, 2025

    Shakespeare In Love. Best comic relief in that movie, pretty good Mercutio, and apparently the reason Will included the post-coital scene. 😜

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  • Todd Vaziri @tvaziri.comBluesky · Mar 17, 2025

    The quintessential Miramax Oscar movie “Shakespeare in Love” grossed nearly $300M

    neutral · AI labelView post →
  • leah toth @thescrvnr.bsky.socialBluesky · Nov 29, 2025

    I mention rewatching Shakespeare in Love. (Stoppard co-wrote the screenplay.) Husband wrinkles his nose and says “all the smarty-smart girls in college loved that movie.” I said bitch what do you think I was

    positive · AI labelView post →
  • Barbara VanDenburgh @babsvan.bsky.socialBluesky · Dec 3, 2025

    2025 watch #175: Shakespeare in Love. I disliked this movie at the time because of how aggressively '90s it was in spite of its period setting, and now I find myself charmed by it for that same reason. Time is a funny thing.

    neutral · AI labelView post →
  • Rotating Handles @davidhdaw.bsky.socialBluesky · Mar 16, 2026

    Listen this is a side point from the bad OBAA take but people need to fucking stop with Shakespeare in Love as a go to movie that shouldn't have won. It's not even in the top 10 worst best picture wins and Green Book is right there.

    neutral · AI labelView post →
  • Winter Ives @winterives.bsky.socialBluesky · Jul 9, 2026

    ✨Shakespeare in Love✨ Great article about a literary (playwright) and film legend. Tom Stoppard. 🌹✨

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  • Craig Johnson @cajohnson-craig.bsky.socialBluesky · Jun 13, 2026

    There is a genre of movie that is "if you were alone in a hotel room and it came on you would keep watching it" Examples are: Indiana Jones, Brendan Fraiser's The Mummy, Fifth Element, Shakespeare in Love, Star Wars iv-vi What are other examples?

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  • Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren) @gfrancie.bsky.socialBluesky · Jul 20, 2025

    Shakespeare in Love was on tv and I had to watch. I think I saw that three times in the theaters. It had my heart after having survived a truly difficult year. It was the right film for a girl turning 19. I am still very fond of it.

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  • Jason's Mom Has Got It Going On 🎃 @sailorsoapbox.comBluesky · Mar 2, 2025

    I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Shakespeare In Love may not have deserved the Best Picture Oscar over Saving Private Ryan, but that does NOT mean it wasn’t still a lovely, well crafted movie.

    positive · AI labelView post →
  • Theresa Heyd @theresaheyd.bsky.socialBluesky · Dec 29, 2024

    Movie Night mit Kindchen: Shakespeare in Love 📽

    neutral · AI labelView post →
  • Mabinogi62 @mabinogi62.bsky.socialBluesky · Aug 31, 2026

    Saving Private Ryan - Saw it when it came out at the theater. I left stunned. I can't watch it again. I have tried. Also Shakespeare in Love and Blade Runner (1982). Forbidden Planet or any 50s monster movie.

    neutral · AI labelView post →
  • Naomi Kritzer @naomikritzer.bsky.socialBluesky · Apr 21, 2026

    I will note that Mom's theory predated the movie Shakespeare In Love by a good decade.

    neutral · AI labelView post →
  • KPD Max von Sydnow @mpdeejay.bsky.socialBluesky · Mar 16, 2026

    "Shakespeare in Love" gets hate but it's not a terrible movie (and, if we're being honest, isn't any worse than "Saving Private Ryan" or "Life is Beautiful"). It's just aggressively average. Now "Crash" is actually bad, like fellow Best Picture winners "The Greatest Show on Earth" and "Cimarron".

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  • Khashoggi's Ghost @urocklive1.bsky.socialBluesky · Mar 16, 2026

    I have to agree. I enjoyed both Sinners and OBAA, but they're not even in the same league. I also enjoyed Shakespeare in Love, but it was not the best movie of the year. And Crash?🙄 What a joke. I'm not even a horror or vampire genre fan, but Sinners was incredible. Truly a masterpiece.

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  • 852dude @852dude.bsky.socialBluesky · Jan 14, 2025

    That movie fucking created Goop. We can blame Shakespeare in Love for the permanence of Gwyneth Paltrow. Movie has a lot to fucking answer for, honestly

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  • Sara Eileen @saraeileen.bsky.socialBluesky · Jun 27, 2024

    A lot of mine have already been covered: West Side Story 10 Things Branaugh’s Much Ado Hoffman’s Midsummer R + J Shakespeare in Love (not an adaptation but SORT OF) holds a place in my heart, as does Slings and Arrows. I’m sticking to film, if we wanna talk stagings the list is much longer.

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  • I had a pony! @meghancolleen.bsky.socialBluesky · Jul 9, 2023

    Someone on Reddit picked Shakespeare in Love as the most overrated “classic Hollywood film”and I aged 200 years right then

    neutral · AI labelView post →
  • Stephen Curry @scurry.bsky.socialBluesky · Aug 23, 2026

    Shakespeare in Love is an utterly preposterous and completely wonderful film.

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  • All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.comBluesky · Jul 24, 2026

    Having finally won a Best Director Oscar in 1994 for Schindler’s List, Spielberg won his second Best Director Oscar for Saving Private Ryan. The film missed out on Best Picture to Shakespeare in Love, which took home 7 awards. 34/36

    neutral · AI labelView post →
  • Film Chat @filmchat.partyBluesky · Jan 1, 2025

    #HappyNewYear! Our goal is to celebrate the great movies that mean a lot to us. And to kick things off, we invite you to join @baddestmamajama.bsky.social & @nomadicwriter.bsky.social on Jan. 12th for their live tweeting of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE! 🎞️😍 #scriptsky #filmsky #filmchat #shakespeare

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  • Dr Andrew McInnes @drbeard79.bsky.socialBluesky · Aug 26, 2026

    My run over recovery film watch continues with a rewatch (for 1st time since the 90s!) of Shakespeare in Love, which I remembered as a caper but this time - insomniac at 1 am - found surprisingly melancholic

    neutral · AI labelView post →
  • Bill @billtwibh.bsky.socialBluesky · Jul 11, 2026

    I watched Saving Private Ryan for the first time in 28 years today and like…it’s not perfect or anything, but for anyone to have decided Shakespeare in Love was the better film ought to be a crime punishable by years of film school

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  • ob1quixote @ob1quixote.bsky.socialBluesky · Jun 22, 2025

    I like the picture, but Drugstore Cowboy was not a good movie to watch on a date. Shakespeare in Love on the other hand….

    positive · AI labelView post →
  • Ducky Krup @duckykrup.bsky.socialBluesky · Apr 26, 2025

    I really think that the Shakespeare in Love hate is straight up misogyny bc how could an insanely clever and well shot *woman’s movie* beat out a big WWII film

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  • tnbskts 🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿👑🇪🇺 @tnbskts.bsky.socialBluesky · Dec 9, 2024

    Dame Judi Dench, stage and screen actress and all-round national treasure, was born in Yorkshire on 9 December 1934. She is best known for her Shakespearean repertoire. Her film roles include Shakespeare in Love, Mrs Brown, and several James Bond films where she played M.

    neutral · AI labelView post →
  • Doc Ochs @nochshorn.bsky.socialBluesky · Apr 11, 2026

    Mostly Hamnet made me want to rewatch Shakespeare In Love, a perfect movie whose ending makes me shake with the need to make something.

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  • Liberal Buddhist @liberalbuddhist.bsky.socialBluesky · Mar 27, 2026

    #Edwards2026MovieThingChallenge #MovieSky #FilmSky #MarchMovieChallenge Mar-27 Movie character who is a theater actor or actress Shakespeare in Love (1998) Gwyneth Paltrow as Viola de Lesseps

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  • Michael's Movie Group @michaelcinemagroup.bsky.socialBluesky · Mar 24, 2026

    I remember the eyebrows raised when Saving Private Ryan lost BP to the fluff of Shakespeare In Love; I wonder if there was a similar reaction at the 1949 Oscars #OTD when Hamlet got BP over Treasure Of The Sierra Madre. I’m a big fan of Olivier’s moody film so I approve; but Madre has its fans too

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  • Wet Tribe @wettribe.bsky.socialBluesky · Nov 30, 2025

    Tom Stoppard, the five-time Tony Award-winning playwright, who co-wrote the 1998 film ‘Shakespeare in Love’, has died at 88. You will be missed, Tom. #RIPTomStoppard

    neutral · AI labelView post →
  • Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.socialBluesky · Nov 30, 2025

    With Tom Stoppard's passing, maybe folks can enthuse about what a wonderful film Shakespeare in Love is rather than refer to it as 'that film that stole the Oscar from Saving Private Ryan.'

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  • Shane Liesegang, SJ (シェーン|شَيْن|เชน) @sjml.bsky.socialBluesky · Nov 29, 2025

    As a theater kid who was not yet a film nerd, all I knew was that I *must* see Shakespeare in Love (as my theater teacher insisted) and I spent the whole time with a stupid grin on my face from how much I was enjoying and only when this credit appeared did I realize (and say aloud) "ah, that's why."

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Official Trailer

Top Cast

Joseph Fiennes actor profile photo
Joseph Fiennes
Will Shakespeare
Gwyneth Paltrow actor profile photo
Gwyneth Paltrow
Viola De Lesseps
Geoffrey Rush actor profile photo
Geoffrey Rush
Philip Henslowe
Tom Wilkinson actor profile photo
Tom Wilkinson
Hugh Fennyman
Judi Dench actor profile photo
Judi Dench
Queen Elizabeth
Imelda Staunton actor profile photo
Imelda Staunton
Nurse
Colin Firth actor profile photo
Colin Firth
Lord Wessex
Ben Affleck actor profile photo
Ben Affleck
Ned Alleyn

Cast from TMDB.

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