I can’t name another playwright within the last couple hundred years that helped shape my taste in period drama more than Tom Stoppard, who shuffled off this mortal coil yesterday. Not even Shakespeare, which I liked well enough, but it wasn’t until I watched Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990) at the impressionable age of 15 that I actually realized that it was possible to have fun with the Bard’s material and still make it clever, thoughtful, and poignant.
Discovering Tom Stoppard is an ongoing, evolving thing. Just when you think you’ve read everything and watched everything he’s ever had a hand in, you discover there’s more. And I could not resist the lure of his turn of phrase. There was a time, in my late teens, when I read every single play Stoppard had ever written. I sought out stagings of his plays, which at the time wasn’t actually all that difficult, because due to the success of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern there was a rash of Stoppard performances to choose from. At one particularly memorable one staging of Rough Crossing at the Goodman Theatre in Ashland, OR, round about 1995 or so, I laughed so hard I nearly peed myself.
And that was basically Stoppard in a nutshell. He could be devastatingly funny to the point of passing out from laughter, and I am a sucker for anything clever enough to get me to laugh so hard I almost lose control of my bodily functions (which sounds weird, now that I type it all out, but just go with me here). Tom Stoppard, as much as Monty Python and Douglas Adams, shaped me as a writer and as person who loves taking something serious (history, in this case) and taking the piss out of it, all while being smart (and a bit of a smartass). So, let’s revisit the historical films and TV shows that Tom Stoppard wrote or scripted:
Three Men in a Boat (1975)
I can’t pretend to understand this one. Tom Stoppard adapted the script, and it was directed by Stephen Frears, but the film itself has been made several times since the 1930s. At any rate, it starred Tim Curry, Michael Palin, and Stephen Moore, as … three men in a boat. It’s based on the 1889 novel of the same name by Jerome K. Jerome and is set pre-World War I. Apparently, the book was intended to be a serious travelogue about three friends boating on the Thames, but the humor overwhelmed its seriousness.
Despair (1978)
Set during the Weimar Republic, the film is based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Vladimir Nabokov. Stoppard adapted the screenplay. There’s … a lot of plot to try to summarize, so maybe just read the wiki entry instead.
Empire of the Sun (1987)
Two years before Empire of the Sun, Tom Stoppard wrote the screenplay for Brazil (1985), which was arguably his biggest film at that point. Equally ambitious in its scope as the deeply weird Brazil, Empire of the Sun was directed by Steven Spielberg, and like Brazil, garnered mixed reviews. Unlike Brazil, however, Empire of the Sun didn’t really develop the same kind of cult fervor. It’s also notable for being one of the earliest films in which Christian Bale appeared.
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990)
Yeah, I love this film. Just go watch it.
Billy Bathgate (1991)
Tom Stoppard adapted the screenplay based on E.L. Doctorow’s novel of the same name. Set in 1935, the film follows poor teenage Billy Behan who comes to the attention of real-life gangster Dutch Schulz (played by Dustin Hoffman). The film also stars Nicole Kidman, Bruce Willis, Stanley Tucci, and Steve Buscemi.
Poodle Springs (1998)
I think this TV movie is set in the 1960s? I’m including it in the off chance that I’m right, because Tom Stoppard adapted it from a Phillip Marlowe novel, and all of those are set pre-1960ish. But, like, the hair on the women really screams late 1990s and so … I dunno.
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
Have you been living under a rock? Do you really need me to synopsize this film? It garnered an Oscar for Tom Stoppard’s screenplay, co-written with Marc Norman. It stars pretty much everybody and was one of the films of the late ’90s that defined an entire generation of Renaissance Fair costuming.
Vatel (2000)
If you haven’t watched this beautiful film set during the reign of Louis XIII, you’re really missing out. Tom Stoppard adapted the English screenplay, and it stars Uma Thurman at her most gorgeous.
Enigma (2001)
Tom Stoppard wrote the screenplay for this film, based on the Bletchley Park cryptanalysts during WWII. It stars Dougray Scott, Kate Winslett, Jeremy Northam, Saffron Burrows, and Tom Hollander.
Anna Karenina (2012)
Another adaptation of this perennial costume flick, but I have gone on the record a number of times to say that, despite its weird costuming, I don’t hate it. Tom Stoppard’s screenplay is a big reason for that.
Parade’s End (2012)
Gorgeous costumes, tedious characters. I think at one point, all three of us here at Frock Flicks have attempted to review this miniseries and failed to make it all the way through. Not even a screenplay adaptation by Tom Stoppard and some truly fabulous costuming by Sheena Napier (Enchanted April) could conspire to hold my attention.
Tulip Fever (2017)
Some of the most historically accurate 17th-century costuming ever put to film in this Tom Stoppard adaptation of Deborah Moggach’s 1999 novel of the same name. Costumes by Michael O’Connor.
Do you have a favorite Tom Stoppard play or screenplay? Tell us about it in the comments!
He was a an immensely talented writer. To mention one of his works which people might not yet seen – I remember watching it on TV: Professional Foul, which you can see on YouTube. It is set in Prague in 1977 and concerns academics running into the Communist regime. That is an oversimplification. It stars Stephen Rea and Peter Barkworth. I’d recommend it! RIP Tom Stoppard.
I’d love to see “Three Men in a Boat,” which was based on a bestseller that inspired all sorts of people to recreate the three guys’ journey. A fad novel, I guess, but lots of fun.
It’s on YouTube right now. I enjoyed it and went out and got the book (also quite funny)
I’ve seen Parade’s End three times, and never get tired of it. I’m not sure what was boring about it for you, but it’s beautiful, dense, moving, funny, distressing, extremely English (as opposed to British), and based on the book by one of the early 20th century’s greatest writers, Ford Maddox Ford. It’s all the more impressive given how dense Ford’s writing was to begin with, but despite the density, after seeing Parade’s End the first time, I went and read a couple of his novels, which are brilliant.
It amuses me more than it should to note that two of this Very Big Serious Playwright’s most famous and popular works are absolutely Shakespeare fan fiction (One of which is technically a ‘Real Person fix’).
Also, that shot from DESPAIR has truly impeccable “I’m not angry, just disappointed” energy (“The two of you have wasted the stuff of a truly legendary orgy in a mere private indulgence. Good day to you!”).
It’s never been filmed (and I have doubts about whether or not it’s even filmable), but Stoppard’s play Arcadia is one of the most beautiful pieces of theatre I’ve ever seen. But I hadn’t realized how prolific Stoppard was until I read this recap! Nor did I realize that he’d done the screenplay for Anna Karenina (and I’m with you – not my favorite, but weirdly watchable?)
Sad that you omitted one of Stoppard’s biggest historical movies: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, in which he was responsible for most of the best lines. It’s a perfect movie in its own way & has a very Stoppard flavour.
On another note, while Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith may not count among Stoppard’s best work, they are set ‘a long time ago’….
Arcadia– Likely the most perfect play ever written. Regency period. And so so many actors featured on WCW or MCM have performed in it onstage. Should be filmed. Could be filmed… AS Byatt’s Possession (successfully?) was made into a film, they share a similar structure. Also R&G are Dead is Genius.